What I meant was that both professions are good examples of "slack-full" professions. They can still be considered to be doing their job well even if they're no

What I meant was that both professions are good examples of "slack-full" professions. They can still be considered to be doing their job well even if they're not actively fighting (either fires or the enemy). If they're consistently inactive they may get a reduction in numbers, but I've never seen anyone seriously suggest to abolish the fire brigades.