firefighter

n. A person whose occupation it is to go to the scene of an unwanted fire and extinguish it; a member of a fire company; a fireman{ 1 } or a woman who fights fires. Some towns have few or no professional firefighters, and fire suppression is conducted mostly by groups of volunteers, called volunteer firefighters. The term fireman{ 1 } was at one time synonymous with firefighter, until women began to engage in the same occupation. [ PJC ]