The Fascination with Firemen

I've become a little bit addicted to Take Home Chef, due in no small part to the fact that Curtis Stone is yummy. Yummy food, yummy man...what more could you want?
Well, I'll tell you! Today's episode was a special Thanksgiving show where he cooked a turkey dinner for a firehouse. Thirteen men were on shift, and they cooked four turkeys, and made pumpkin pie from scratch. That's definitely on my list of things to cook - pumpkin pie filling that doesn't come from a can.
Now, it seems like a lot of women have a "thing" for firemen. Beth's is well documented. In fact, as soon as I saw the show'd be about firemen, I sent her a (very excited) email. So I started to wonder, what is it about firemen? I've come to a few conclusions:
1) The Hero Factor - this one's pretty obvious, I guess. But there's something very sexy about a guy who could carry you out of a burning building, or even get your kitten down out of a tree.
2) The Fitness - when they get bored at the firehouse, they work out. Big strong men with broad shoulders? Mmhmm.
3) The Uniform - pretty much any guy looks better in turnouts.
And I'm sure there are more, ad naseum. But here's the thing...
At the end of "Take Home Chef" the men got called out. Off they went, into the night, and sirens blaring. Since they'd invited the families to the Thanksgiving dinner, the kids were there to see Daddy off. And one little girl was crying. Even though it was just TV, I felt my heart sink. I don't think I could handle it, the "on call" lifestyle and the danger factor. There are enough things that can go wrong in everyday life without adding all the dangerous jobs.
Now, don't get me wrong - I admire the firemen, the policemen, the EMTs. I'm thankful for them. But I just don't think I could live with it. So in short: I'd buy a fireman calendar, but I don't think I'd date one. (Because you know they're knocking down my door...)