keithps

Not OP, but you rarely are actually in direct contact with flames. You can still get quite toasty in the gear though, if you're in a hot fire. The gear is just heavily insulated, no cooling, it's fucking miserable in the summer. A rule of thumb is that after using 2-30minute air bottles (which might only take 30 minutes), you're done for a while. In the summer, you might only be good for 15 minutes before you need a break. That's why you see so many guys on a scene of a big fire. They're not all working at the same time, they're relieving each other.

Edit: Thanks for the gold, anonymous redditor!

It really has to do more with the materials used in the construction. Almost everything is synthetic and make of things like particle board and plywood. Fifty years ago, a chair was solid wood, natural cloth and something like down for the cushion. Now the frame is particle board, a synthetic fabric and petroleum based foam for the cushion.

Houses are built with things like engineered beams (OSB and 1-bys) and gusset plate trusses, which means structural collapse occurs much more rapidly. Trusses fail when the gussets get too hot, engineered beams fail when the OSB burns through. Older homes built with long span solid wood can stay standing even after the whole house has been on fire. This is because when wood burns, it maintains it's strength equivalent to how big it is. So if you have a 4x4, and it's burned down to 3x3, it's still as strong as a new 3x3. Steel weakens with heat, hence the issue with gusseted trusses.

Women can do it well, but it will be more difficult (unless you have the size and strength of a dude). You're expected to be able to drag a 180lb dummy while in full turnout gear (which weighs about 35lbs by itself). Hoselines also have a large reaction force from all the water. Around 75lbs for a 1-3/4" line and 150lbs for a 2-1/2" line. It's not uncommon for 1 person to run a 1-3/4 and 2 people to run a 2-1/2. Even big, very in shape dudes start getting exhausted after 30-45 minutes of active firefighting.

The fiber generally follows the power lines. So it's underground where the power is underground, and above ground the rest of the time.

I'm in the Southeast, so I've worked a handful of summer fires. One of the worst was about 1pm on a day in July. It was around 95 degrees. I think I worked for about 20 minutes then I had to sit down because I thought I was gonna puke and my face was going numb.