What once would have filled employers with horror are now seen as a lot more normal - but that’s not to say they’re the right fit for every job!
With piercings comes a whole host of safety problems, and if you’re looking to go into a profession that already has a lot of risks, you might want to consider if your body piercings are the right match.
Becoming a professional firefighter is a lengthy process that has a lot to do with safety.
Firefighters need to not only be able to keep themselves safe but also others around them. Because of this, you’re likely wondering if firefighters are allowed to have piercings.
If this is the question on your mind, then you’ve arrived at the right place! We’re going to be taking you through everything there is to know about body piercings and firefighters so that you can be prepared for the future.
Let’s get right into it!
Piercings For Firefighters
The problem when it comes to firefighters and piercings is that they can be an additional risk to your body on top of those you’re already taking to fight fires and save lives.
Firefighting is a very physically demanding job, and in the most severe situations, you are going to be putting your body under a lot of stress.
But the true answer to whether or not you can have piercings as a firefighter is - it kind of depends!
In this section, we’re going to break down some of the common safety concerns when it comes to different types of piercings.
After all, while facial and ear piercings are the most common types, there are also body piercings.
Ear Piercings
One of the best things about ear piercings is that they are easy to remove.
Simple earrings are something that you can take off anytime you want, so it’s not that much of a hassle to remove them before going out to battle a fire.
Ear piercings are the most commonly accepted form of piercings for a firefighter, as there’s no inherent harm in having a small hole in your ear, and a piece of jewelry that you can remove.
It is however unlikely that you’ll be able to wear piercings during a shift.
Facial Piercings
This is where it gets a little more complicated because many facial piercings are not something you can remove with ease.
The main problem is that facial piercings can pose a risk when interacting with safety gear.
Helmets are there to protect you, and facial piercings - especially large ones - have a good chance of snagging or getting caught on helmets.
For this reason, most firefighters are not allowed to wear facial piercings.
Body Piercings
This section is much like the one before. Small body piercings are not going to cause you any issues, but anything larger can be a big difficulty when having to put on the gear.
Firefighters wear a lot of layers and thick protective clothing and often have to put it on very quickly.
If you have a large body piercing there is a good chance that it will interfere with your protective equipment and can make the process of getting ready slower.
As you’ll see in the section below, this can have detrimental effects on yourself and others.
Piercings When On-Call
When working, firefighters are usually on-call. This means that they are prepared and ready to go at a moment’s notice.
A few seconds can mean the difference between saving a life or not, or whether or not a fire gets controlled.
This means that firefighters have an extremely fast process where they have to get dressed and make sure all of their gear is ready.
You can see how piercings would make this more difficult.
There’s no way you’d be able to fiddle around trying to remove a piercing within this process, and that’s one of the main reasons why you won’t be able to wear piercings when on-call.
Because of this, any removable piercings will need to be taken out before you go on-call.
Physical Testing
If you’re unsure about your piercings, one thing to note is that this is something that will be discussed and picked up during the physical testing process that all firefighters will have to go through as part of the selection process.
If you’re going for physical testing, it’s best to remove any piercings that you have.
If you have a particularly large piercing, it’s likely to come up during the selection process.
It won’t necessarily mean the difference between you getting the job or not, but it’s likely that you will be told you won’t be able to come on shift with it, and you may have to make some sacrifices if it is the job that you’re set upon!
Final Thoughts
Piercings of any kind can cause problems for you if you’re looking to become a firefighter.
While smaller piercings and hidden piercings may be alright, most fire departments have some kind of regulations on what you can have.
This may seem overly restrictive, but there are practical reasons why body piercings are not good for a firefighter to have.
Generally speaking, if you have a large or overwhelming amount of piercings, you might want to consider downsizing them or making sure they are removable before committing to firefighting as a career.
Some fire departments may also allow you to tape over your piercings if they do not pose a safety risk.
We hope that this article has given you the information you needed about piercings and firefighting and that you now feel a lot more confident about this topic.
If you are considering firefighting as a career, we would encourage you to look at all the possible restrictions as there are also problems with long hair, facial hair, and certain kinds of offensive tattoos!
