Flames burn hotter today, and other things you might not know about fighting fires

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Excellent article aimed at civilians in the Chicago Tribune about the dangers of firefighting today.

The December deaths of Daniel Capuano and Mark Zielinski remind us that even with constant training, updated policies and state-of-the-art equipment, a firefighter's job can be deadly.

We know this, yet such deaths still take our collective breath away.

Capuano died Dec. 14 after falling down an elevator shaft while fighting a fire in an abandoned warehouse in Chicago. Zielinski died Dec. 4 while resuscitating a shopper in Matteson.

Though the nature of their deaths are very different, both speak to the ongoing dangers, stress and unpredictability of the firefighting profession, risks those in the field will tell you they try desperately to keep at bay.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/daily-southtown/news/ct-sta-firefighters-today-st-0107-20160106-story.html