I don't know if "Smokinbarrels" served in an air force, or if he did in what capacity, or if he had an unusual accident when a thought struck him, but his attempt at "flaming" a particular trade , if you'll excuse the pun, displays an unbelievable level of ignorance as to how that trade functions.
In my 25 years service, I was privileged to work with some excellent firemen, both RAF and other air forces, and never once found the the alleged level of boredom, because, to a man, they knew precisely how fast things could go from being an observer, to total involvement in a serious incident. Collectively, the experience of accidents and incidents wouldn't guarantee an outcome, but their was a determination , always, to ensure "their" aircraft and aircrew got the very best result. It is, in fact, complete and utter bolleax to suggest otherwise.
I witnessed some extremely selfless acts, and in my own experience, and on the basis of what some one has already mentioned, you only have to save one life to justify your training, there is at least one former FJ pilot of my aquantance who is still alive today because of the actions of myself and my crew. That does it for me. What's SBs excuse?