I am a Call Firefighter. What is a "Call Firefighter"? There are 3 types of firefighters, Career, Call, and Volunteer.

Career firefighters usually do firefighting as (suprise) their main career. They have shifts they work (usually something like 24 hrs on, 24 hrs off, 24 hrs on, then 5 days off), and are paid a salery. They are each assigned to specific engines/trucks and they live/sleep at the fire station during their shifts. Because of this, they (usually) have a fire pole to slide down. You usually find career firefighters in larger towns and cities, ones that have enough calls in a day that volunteer firefighters are not practical.

Volunteer firefighters, in contrast to career firefighters, do not man their stations all the time. They are not paid (Usually they have other full careers). They carry pagers and radios, and are paged (toned) out when an emergency occurs. This basically means that they are "on call" 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, day or night. While not required to attend every incident, there is usually a minimum percent that they must attend over the month.

"Call" firefighters are exactly the same as volunteer firefighters, except they are paid an hourly wage for any incidents they attend. Call/Volunteer firefighters are usually found in towns and some smaller cities, where having full time firefighters staffed is not economical. About 75% of the firefighters in the US are Call/Volunteer.

If you live or work in a town (vs a city), and have any interest in firefighting, I encourage you to look into Call/Volunteer Firefighting. It is an amazing experience, and you usually dont need any prior experience to join. Departments have weekly or monthly training, and there are classes such as the one I took that will teach you the basics of firefighting, and get you certified as a Firefighter.