Suggestions for Pursuing a Career in Fire Fighting?

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Permalink Reply by Jay Nicholson on November 24, 2008 at 12:15am

As I have said many times here, the vast majority of dept in my area REQUIRE paramedic certification before being hired. According to a Capt. I know, getting hired in his dept. is an impossibility before your 22. They want at least a year as a paramedic experience before they will hire you. Getting your EMT is a great start down that path. Seasonal employment by CalFire or the USFS is another great way to get experience. Any college degree is better than none.

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Permalink Reply by Captain Busy on November 27, 2008 at 1:34am

Your preparation has already started... Anything you post on FFN, My Space, Facebook, etc. will be looked at by folks doing your background check. Don't get any tattoo's. LAFD now has their candidates do a swim test but the real test is to see if you have any tattoo's. Many of the folks that we hire have pretty substantial educational backgrounds that commonly include a bachelors degree but it's not required. That's the caliber of person that you are competing against for a badge. Your only choice to be competitive is to listen to what Jay said above. Get your paramedic certs, work for a year to get experience and continue taking tests, honing your skills both physically and mentally. Why all this work? Aside from the satisfaction of being able to be a professional firefighter, the pay and benefits make it very worthwhile to pursue. Good Luck! Mike

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Permalink Reply by Marques on December 1, 2008 at 2:25pm

You said they check the stuff you post on FFN, Myspace, etc.? How can they do that? I'm not really worried but I don't see how they would be able to see the stuff you post.

Thanks

Marques

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Permalink Reply by Nick Phillips on December 1, 2008 at 3:52pm

I appreciate the help and encouragement. thank you!

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Permalink Reply by Brian on November 27, 2008 at 12:58am

if you look at the jobs section above, look through the different places hiring and see what they generally want..Cleveland ohio wants ff 2 and emt basic for career postions....most want ff 2 medic, .....your in the right direction, get a EMT basic cert. and a firefighter 1 and 2 cert ( approx 9 months for all 3) and you should be ready to apply...you will have the basics, attitude during this time is everything!...it will take awhile, at least 4 months after getting those certs to get hired part time.....if you can, volunteer somewhere after getting emt basic or ff 1..once you get into the emt and firefighter class, they can provide lots of info on where to apply and how to get hired ect.

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Permalink Reply by Marques on December 1, 2008 at 2:27pm

Where are you in California? I live in Southern California and I work at a doctor's office right now and a patient that is a firefighter and EMT/Paramedic instructor told me to basically get my EMT cert, then go and get the Paramedic cert. By doing that it helps with the application process of getting hired for a job. If you just apply as a firefighter with only the EMT cert he said you will be applying with thousands of other applicants. But if you have EMT and Paramedic cert, it will drop the applicants down to under a hundred.

Also if you are in Southern Cali, the best academy for firefighting I heard is Crafton Hills, that's where I am planning on going after I get my certs finished.

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Permalink Reply by Nick Phillips on December 1, 2008 at 3:49pm

Im from Santa Barbara, so i might look in to the academy your mentioning. Thanks for the help. I am just now enrolling in EMT for spring classes at a college not far from here so im pretty excited to get started with that.

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Permalink Reply by John on December 1, 2008 at 2:31pm

Just follow what everyone has told you already sounds like your headed in the right direction.

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Permalink Reply by Bill on February 25, 2009 at 5:27pm

Henderson Fire Dept. in Nevada(borders Las Vegas) is hiring Firefighter/Paramedics Great benefits, salary, retirement, and equipment.
www.hfdcareers.com and www.cityofhenderson.com www.hendersonfireonline.com
Please pass it along!

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Permalink Reply by Fireyladd - Chief Sharp on February 25, 2009 at 7:15pm

The other thing you might consider is to volunteer in a agency. This would give you some valuable hands on experience.

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Permalink Reply by Erick - FutureFireFighter.com on March 7, 2009 at 1:04pm

You're on the right track. After you get your EMT-B, you'll want to look into any community colleges and/or departments and offer a FF1 academy. There may be more pre-requisits besides EMT-B. For example, where i live, in the bay area-east, my local community college offers an Academy thtrough our local department. The requirements are EMT-B and 9 units of fire science. Do lots of research and make friends in your EMT class. You're very young, don't forget that. You've got plenty of time! If you're going to go the paramedic route, I would recommend working as an EMT for at least 6months to a year before starting paramedic school.

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