The career of a firefighter is highly exciting and noble. Thousands of
candidates compete year in and year out with just a handful of spots, making the
market highly competitive. If you're a fire candidate currently testing or
you're new to the field and just looking for information, you're in the right
place. I'm Markell Williams from firefighterambitions.com and I'm going to
show you the 23 steps on how to become a sworn firefighter.
Step one: you need to have the passion and ambition to become a firefighter.
This is self-explanatory and obvious but it needs to be addressed. With the high
physical demand, strenuous activity, high call volume, complexity and graphic
nature of those calls, excessive training, and more can lead to an individual
become burned out. These type of individuals can be very cancerous to an
organization. With you truly having the passion and ambition to become a
firefighter, you'll never forget what motivated you to pursue the career in
the first place. Step 2: you need to research about the fire
service. You can utilize any resources that are available from going to school,
utilizing Google, YouTube or, even speaking with sworn firefighters that
are actually on duty. Step 3: you need to get out and network. This means you need to
get out and meet as many firefighters as you can and show them what you have to
offer. This could be done in various ways from ride-alongs where you go down to
the station and you run calls with the fire crews, or charity and union events
where you volunteer your time for their specific cause. Also there's fire cadet
programs out there where you work side by side with sworn firefighters and they
mentor you through your recruitment process. Step four: you need to talk to
your family. Family is everything. They're going to be your biggest supporters through
this whole process. So they need to be on board. There's a same floating around out
there saying it's a full-time job to get the full-time job of a firefighter and
that couldn't be more true. You're gonna spend countless hours of studying,
training, volunteering your time, just for an opportunity to become a firefighter.
So if things are bad at home it's going to negatively affect you during your
recruitment process. So you got to make sure your family's up to par, onboard, and
ready to assist you through your recruitment process. Step 5: you need to
give your education. Most departments out there require that you obtain the EMT
certification and this can be done in three steps. One EMT school, two national
registry, three state certification. Once you obtain all those things then you'll
be eligible for the recruitment process. There are also departments out there that
require further education whether the paramedic license or firefighter 1 &
2. So depending on what department you're testing for you need to understand what
their specific requirements are. Step 6: you need to get in shape. Becoming a
firefighter requires a high physical demand so you need to make sure that you
follow a fitness and nutrition program to keep you up to par and in shape and
ready for your opportunity. One of the huge things in your physical preparation
is you need to try your best to get into turnouts. There's nothing like training in
turnouts. I remember personally I thought I was in
the best shape of my life until I went to a three-day pre academy to get hired
where I was in turnouts and I was quickly humbled. So you need to do your
best to get in some turnouts and train. Step 7:
you need to get organized. What you need to do is grab a big calendar and plot
your whole life on that calendar. From chores, bills, work schedule, volunteer
opportunities, fire department events, whatever the case might be throwing it on
the calendar to where you're organized so you don't miss any opportunities.
Step 8: you need to develop a resume and cover
letter portfolio. First off it is going to make you look sharp come interview day. A
majority of the fire candidates out there won't even prepare a portfolio and
when it comes to the fire members on your interview panel, it's going to benefit
you in two ways. One being it is going to allow those fire members to have a resource of
reference off of. Two, it's going to give you an added boost because it's going to
show those fire members how serious you are and that you truly care about the
opportunity. Any further education you gain, further volunteer opportunities, or
any achievements make sure that you add it to your resume so you can keep it up
to date. With that being said there are fire departments out there that
specifically state they don't want you to bring a resume to the interview.
So make sure that you know the requirements for the specific fire
department that you're testing for. But when in doubt always have a portfolio
ready to go. Step 9: you need to build a budget plan .You need to educate yourself
on how to develop a well-written budget. This is gonna benefit you in many ways.
One being you're not going to be put in a financial crisis which can negatively
impact your recruitment process for you won't be able to volunteer and chairing
union events or write along and build your network with fire fighters because
if you're in a financial crisis you'll be having to work thus
hindering your time to pursue your goals and dreams of becoming a firefighter.
Also the recruitment process is going to require some funds. Whether you're taking
a CPAT, or a firefighter written exam, traveling to another city to test
for the fire department, or traveling to another state to test for a fire
department you're gonna have to allocate some funds so having a well-written
budget plan is only going to benefit you. Step 10:
you need to live the part. The lifestyle of a firefighter is 100% of the time. Our
next-door neighbors know we are firefighters because we were uniformed
some at times, members in the community see us in our
vehicles with our union stickers, and out on calls in the community, or at the
grocery stores. So everything we do is looked at under a microscope and
everything we do will not only impact us as individuals, but it will impact the
department as a whole. So we got to make sure that we put our best foot forward
and be on our a-game 100% of the time. You need to live your life in that same
light. Once you meet firefighters and you let them know that you're pursuing a
career, from that point on you're looked at
under a microscope and you're judged and you are interviewed from that point on. So
you're gonna make sure that you live the lifestyle of a firefighter and put your
best foot for a hundred percent of the time. Step 11: you need to clean up your
social media. The employers nowadays utilize this as a reference tool when it
comes to evaluating their candidates. So you want to make sure that there's
nothing incriminating on there that can negatively impact you in your
recruitment process. Best thing you can ask yourself is whenever you post
something will I allow my kids to see it, will I
be comfortable with my mom seeing it, and if not you probably shouldn't be posting it.
So clean it up. Step 12: maintain a clean record. This is pretty
straightforward. Do your best to stay out of trouble because if not it's
only going to negatively impact you in your recruitment process.
I'm going to give you a scenario. You got two candidates. Equal testing scores, physically fit,
great interview, great hires. They are both competing for one spot. This candidate has
some marks on this record, this candidate does not. Who do you think they're going to
hire? Yeah that one. You want to make sure that you are that candidate. Stay out of
trouble. Step 13: apply for and keep tabs on firefighter job interest
cards and firefighter job notifications. This could be done in several ways
There is a lot of resources out there from sites like NTN, the National Testing
Network or governmentjobs.com, or even you can go to your local fire department
website and see if they offer a job notification link to where you put in
your personal information like your email and your name and you're going to
have a year-long notification. Step 14: apply for open firefighter positions.
Simply put, make sure that you're on top of who's hiring and when they're hiring.
Any time you hear about it or you get a notification on your email make sure
that you go in and you apply. Don't miss any opportunity. Step 15: you need to prepare
yourself for the firefighter testing process. Once you've completed the above
steps and you apply for a position that you qualify for, you're going to undergo
a CPAT, a written exam, firefighter interviews ,and potentially other
examinations depending on the department you're testing for. As for the CPAT,
you're gonna have 10 minutes and 20 seconds to complete eight separate
events: stair climb, hose drag, equipment carry,
ladder raise and extension, forcible entry, search, rescue, and ceiling reach and
pull. As for the written examinations, this is all specific on the department
that you're testing for what they want to evaluate you on. But generally
speaking, the topics that you may see are basic math, mechanical aptitude, reading
comprehension, personality and human relations, memory and more. As for the
firefighter interview generally speaking departments utilize two rounds of
interviews, but the art departments out there that may use three or four rounds
of interviews depending on their needs. Step 16: prepare for the background check.
During your background check you're going to fill out a personal history statement,
you're going to get fingerprinted, you may undergo an interview and a polygraph
test depending on the specific fire
department you're testing for. Make sure that you have all necessary
documentation so your background check can go as streamline as possible. From
your ID, Social Security, to your old addresses, to your relatives, your friends,
all the information you're going to need make sure you gather it.
Step 17: Conditional offer of employment. Once you reach this
point in the testing process the human resources from your specific fire
department is going to reach out to you where you sign an informal offer of
employment. Step 18: prepare for the psychological exam. There are fire
departments out there that utilizes this exam. This exam is set up to assess
your behavior and personality by asking you questions based off your personal
history statement, stuff about your family history, and more. Step 19: prepare
yourself for the new hire medical exam. This exam is setup to gain a baseline
for your performance for your career. This exam will access vital signs,
urinalysis, history and physical, vision exam, hearing
exam, pulmonary exam, chest x-ray, functional movement screen, and treadmill
exam. To prepare yourself for the exam make sure you follow the step above when
it comes to following a nutrition and fitness guide. Make sure you're in shape,
you don't want to go to this exam out of shape. Step 20: the formal offer of
employment. Once you've reached this step of the testing process and you've passed
all examinations you're gonna meet with HR and sign your formal offer of
employment. Step 21: the fire academy. Once you sign your formal offer of
employment you shift from being a fire candidate to being a fire recruit and
you're in the academy where the true work begins. During the fire academy
you'll be evaluated on written exams, skill exams, emergency medical service,
fire equipment use, fire department organization, fire safety, fire prevention,
fire control, hazardous material response, working in confined space,
working from heights, working in hot environments, functioning while wearing a
self-contained breathing apparatus and PPE, and more. Step 22: probationary
firefighter. Once you successfully pass the Fire Academy you shift from being a
fire recruit to being a probationary firefighter
where you'll undergo three or more rotations on different
apparatus with different crews. During probation you'll be evaluated on several
topics. You will learn how your department operates internally and
externally, you'll clean and maintain station facilities, you will prepare and eat
meals as a crew, you'll develop customer service skills, you will run all different
types of calls from fire versus EMS calls. You'll have a lot of training from
ladder skills, engine skills, equipment skills, EMS skills, becoming
more proficient with your PPE and SCBA. You're going to read and understand
general orders and standard operating procedures.
You're going to take written and physical exams and so much more. Step 23: sworn
firefighter. Once you complete all physical skills, written examinations, and you're
signed off by your company officers and your chiefs you're gonna be officially a
sworn firefighter. There you have it the 23 steps to become a sworn
firefighter. Any questions or comments please put them down below we want to
hear from you and be sure to visit firefighterambitions.com for resources that
will help aid you in your recruitment process. With that being said, get your mind
right and go get your dream. Good luck future firefighter.