Fireman Tattoos and Policeman Tattoos: Becoming a Part of the Brotherhood of Fireman Tattoo Design and Policeman Tattoo Design

Monday 09th of February 2009 04:37:26 PM [Add To This Article]

Fireman tattoos and policeman tattoos are unique because many people have these tattoos who are not actually fireman or policemen. As with military tattoo designs, usually members of these groups prefer slightly different forms of the tattoo designs, but with firemen and policemen, who go home each night and behave as private citizens, while military members often spend months at a time doing nothing but focusing on their role in the military, this line is more blurred when it comes to tattooing and tattoo designs. People who support firemen or policemen in general may have nearly identical fireman tattoo designs or policemen tattoo designs to those borne by actual members of the forces in question.

While support for brave men and women in public service who routinely risk their lives for the safety and well being of other people has always been a popular sentiment, these tattoo designs have become increasingly popular and even considered patriotic in the years since the 9/11 tragedy. Due largely to social stigmas associated with excessive support for the police force, fireman tattoo designs have been and likely always will be at least slightly more popular among the civilian population, but following 9/11 massive numbers of people got discreet NYPD tattoos in very visible areas, such as the wrist or the top of the hand, and the notion of tattoo designs related to police bravery and sacrifice became more prevalent than in the past. Other common police tattoos, which are more often sported by policemen themselves or their loving family members and friends, include police badge tattoos, specific models of police car tattoos or even gun tattoo designs of the particular weapons that a given officer is licensed to carry. Family members, friends and colleagues may display portrait tattoo designs either as a memorial or as an indication of love and support for their particular officer, and police tattoo designs often incorporate the American flag to indicate their devotion to law and order in our nation.

Fireman tattoo designs vary widely in their creativity and their placement, but do have some marked similarities to policeman tattoo designs. Firemen tattoos often incorporate angel wings or show a fireman carrying a woman or a child out of a burning building to safety. They may also bear the common 9/11 slogan, "Never Forget." People who have been personally saved by a fireman often get that man or womans name, initials or image tattooed on their body as a permanent reminder of the potential sacrifice that the fireman made to rescue them and also to help them remember and be grateful for their continued life on earth. Firemen, like policemen, often get badge or shield tattoos that have been personalized to represent their personal firehouse or their group of friends and colleagues that work together on the force. Common images include axe tattoos, flame tattoo designs, fire hydrant tattoos, crossed ladder and flag designs and "thank a fireman" themes. These tattoo designs vary hardly at all between the people who get them in support of firemen and the firemen themselves, except that firemen will usually customize their tattoos with their rank, their personal badges or honors, or the number of their firehouse or engine.

Both firemen and policemen risk their lives on a regular basis to keep other people safe, and they experience frightening and disturbing things in their line of work. As a result, a group of firemen or policemen who work together and have become close may get a tattoo to symbolize this bond that they believe ordinary civilians and even people in other lines of public service may not be able to understand. Fireman tattoos and policeman tattoos of this nature are either extremely customized or profoundly generic. The nature of the brotherhood tattoo will depend largely on the nature of the men and women getting it. If they all consider themselves rebels or like to think of themselves as living slightly outside the rules of conventional society, they may design the tattoo themselves or even commission a unique work for the entire group to get. However, if they are somewhat constrained by the rules of their particular force or have members who are concerned about the nature of the tattoo, they may all select something discreet off of a page of flash in order to enable everyone in the group to feel like getting that tattoo is an option.

While fireman generally have few to no official regulations governing where and how they display their tattoos or what kind of tattoos they get, policemen are often far more limited in their options due to the importance of appearance in this particular job. Public officials place high importance on the police force appearing clean cut and trustworthy, which can affect where they allow tattoos to be visible. Most forces prefer that no tattoos be visible when the officer is in uniform, and some even go so far as to prohibit them entirely except on areas of the body that are seldom, if ever seen in public. As a result, a highly visible police tattoo probably indicates that an officer is retired or that the person bearing the tattoo is actually a supporter rather than an actual member of the force.