from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
firefighter \fire"fight`er\, fire fighter \fire"
fight`er\(f[imac]r"f[imac]`t[~e]r), 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.
Note: 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]