Debating between paratech (non-pneumatic) and Holmatro struts. Basic sets to do logging trucks and whatnot.

Anyone have experience with either and can compare the two? Is one better than the other? Why? They seem reasonably similar in price for the most part but Holmatro seems to cost more to get into the game as their base is pneumatic where paratech that’s an upgrade.

I grew up in Southwest Detroit, my son was born in 1999. 2003 I moved him out of Southwest so he wouldn't run the streets of the D like I did when I was young. He's now 25 and he's went back to the city to be a Detroit firefighter. Needless to say I am proud of him and one happy father. Stay safe all. (He's the one in the middle)

Apartment had a fire, my unit had black water all over the floor, and thin layers of gross grey/black stuff when I wiped it. Roller bag smelt bad of smoke I had to get rid of it.

Long story short, what items are safe to keep and what isn't? There's conflicting stuff on Google. Is it true metals and glass are fine, but plastic is not? If items were in totes would they be safe or not because I read smoke can get absorbed into the plastic.

Is stuff in cabinets safe even if they aren't air tight closed? Should dishes be thrown away if they aren't glass or metal? Or is ceramic ok or don't risk it?

Should all canned goods be thrown out like I read? Due to not knowing how hot it got in the unit even if the fire wasn't physically in there? Or does it depend on if it's bulging?

I read to toss all clothes, mattresses, etc. Which is fine. But I wasn't sure if some stuff was safe to donate, like toaster ovens, or air conditioners, or if those aren't good now. I just don't want to make myself or anyone else sick.

Thank you for your time and answers.

Has anyone taken EMT class while taking firefighter 1? What was your experience?

For some odd reason the command staff on my department thought I was ready to be an LT, and now I'm looking for ways to make me a better fit for the position. My actual in house LT training doesn't start until January, so I'd like to show up with a little bit more knowledge than I already have.

Currently I have the nims ICS 100, 200, and 700 certs, a cert from a basic Wildland class, a cert from an ice rescue class, my EMT-B with no endorsements, and in house fire/EMS training.

What other classes and certs would y'all recommend that I can do online between now and then? And also what qualities do y'all like to see in your lieutenants that I can apply to myself?

This is an educational podcast I created to help new firefighters. It uses Jones and Bartlett, 4th Edition and many other modern sources. I recently received my Firefighter I and II certificates, and during my time in the academy, I noticed that many people struggled to learn through traditional methods. I wanted to create something more enjoyable and engaging than direct book learning.

I still plan to produce more episodes based on various data sets I compile. Hopefully, they will benefit others as much as they have benefited me. If you have any interesting ideas for topics I should discuss, please feel free to share them, and I'll do my best to create something within a reasonable timeframe.

Here’s the podcast—it’s called Main Fire Guy:
Listen on Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7ERtBFYjrDzzLBmvqjOYHv?si=QmWE4rr-Scu_yBoAYwg_Vw

Today is the day of my JRAT (12/10)! Super excited! Super nervous, but all around ready. I’ve been looking forward to this, but please wish me luck!

So my bf saw and article about station 9 being the busiest station in the country averaging 33,000 calls a year which is insane. Doing the math that averages 90 CALLS a day?? That doesn't make sense right? Unless there were like 5 engines at the ststion but even that then would be 20 something calls a day which is a lot.

We both work for a dept in AZ where our busiest truck is about 6000 calls a year so like 15 calls a shift which I always though was busy. Does anyone have any insight on these stats?

Thanks!

So recently i went to a mva and it was a girl i was really close with, and sadly she didnt make it. It was really bad in my opinion i dont really want to go into detail but lss she was trapped after she wrecked and was hit. Ive been to calls where it was old folks i knew and everything else but this one hit really hard and i see her alot. I feel like i could have done so much more if i could have been faster. Can yall give any advice on how to not let it affect me as much? Idk i cant afford a therapist right now and my friends dont really understand. Im just kinda stuck

I went through the 100 course, but still need to take the test, as well as doing three more courses. FML 🤦‍♂️

Slower meaning every station averages less than 10 calls a shift. Busy meaning most stations average 10-30 calls a shift.

What lights do your depts use to set up an LZ? We recently had one of ours shit the bed, so looking at options for a new set. We’ve been approved for up to 500 on a set, anyone have any recommendations?

Anyone have any opinions on Hartford Hooks? Thinking if buying one and have seen some good videos on them. Better than a normal Z hook?

Big Shaun and the Steel People have released a parody song as a contender for this year’s U.K. Christmas Number One.

All the money raised from sales will go to supporting firefighters mental health via the Fire Fighters Charity.

Hear and watch the song here: https://youtu.be/QjEtR4KZyE8?si=nUIGWa9iYr9bHwFV

Pre-order the song here: https://kycker.ffm.to/firesd

Still on probation for another year but will soon be allowed to go on calls; While I'm likely not going interior for a while, what are the essential accessories I should keep on hand?

So far I'm thinking:

Doorstop

Cherry-bomb

Pre-cooked bacon

Length of webbing

Multi-tool

Flashlight

Lost a good, solid captain yesterday.

Been trying to find a wider helmet band for my lid for some time now. I have about a 2”-2.5” helmet band on now in the streamlight but was looking for something a little bigger. Ive been told inner tubes to bike tires but cant seem to find the right fit, any tips?

Hi all from the Netherlands. On our voluntary post we have a pretty oldschool time tracking method. Piece of paper where everyone signs when they respond to a call and when the firetruck is back from the incident this form is put in a box for later manual processing.

We do have a digital roster which has the ability to keep track of incidents and responders but its not really a great experience and we also need to track time for training and other tasks so we have this "one form for all".

This form gets converted to a digital data which by 4 eye principle is accepted and gets forwarded to office for payments etc.

The nice thing about the form is that is has everybody their names on it and its super easy to tick of names and times.

I'm not sure how it works for other voluntary posts in the world but here you are paid for getting to the fire station within 8 minutes. We have a rule that you must personally sign the form. The fire truck can be on route and people still sign.

I'm wondering what other methods voluntary posts use. Especially digital variants and how with that system you deal with how to verify that staff actually signed at the post or how to ensure that no fraudulent signing can occur. Also, if you can link to software that would be great!

Welcome to the Weekly Employment Question Thread!

This thread is where you can ask questions about joining, training to become, testing, disqualifications/qualifications, and other questions that would be removed as individual posts per Rule 1.

The answer to almost every question you can ask will be "It depends on the department". Your first step is to look up the requirements for your department, state/province, and country.

As always, please attempt to resource information on your own first, before asking questions. We see many repeat questions on this sub that have been answered multiple times.

Frequently Asked Questions:

• I want to be a Firefighter, where do I start: Every Country/State/Province/County/City/Department has different requirements. Some require you only to put in an application. Others require certifications prior to being hired. A good place to start is researching the department(s) you want to join. Visit their website, check their requirements, and/or stop into one of their fire stations to ask some questions.
• Am I too old: Many departments, typically career municipal ones, have an age limit. Volunteer departments usually don't. Check each department's requirements.
• I'm in high school, What can I do: Does your local department have an explorer's program or post? If so, join up. Otherwise, focus on your grades, get in shape and stay in shape, and most importantly: stay out of trouble.
• I got in trouble for [insert infraction here], what are my chances: Obviously, worse than someone with a clean record, which will be the vast majority of your competition. Tickets and nonviolent misdemeanors may not be a factor, but a major crime (felonies), may take you out of the running. You might be a nice person, but some departments don't make exceptions, especially if there's a long line of applicants with clean records. See this post... PSA: Stop asking “what are my chances?”
• I have [insert medical/mental health condition here], will it disqualify me: As a general rule, if you are struggling with mental illness, adding the stress of a fire career is not a good idea. As for medical conditions, you can look up NFPA1582 for disqualifying conditions, but in general, this is not something Reddit can answer for you. Many conditions require the input of a medical professional to determine if they are disqualifying. See this post... PSA: Don't disqualify yourself, make THEM tell you "no".
• What will increase my chances of getting hired: If there's a civil service exam, study for it! There are many guides online that will help you go over all those things you forgot such as basic math and reading. Some cities even give you a study guide. If it's a firefighter exam, study for it! For the CPAT (Physical Fitness Test), cardio is arguably the most important factor. If you're going to the gym for the first time during the hiring process, you're fighting an uphill battle. Get in shape and stay in shape. Most cities offer preference points to military veterans.
• How do I prepare for an interview: Interviews can be one-on-one, or in front of a board/panel. Many generic guides exist to help one prepare for an interview, however here are a few good tips:

1. Dress appropriately. Business casual at a minimum (Button down, tucked in long sleeve shirt with slacks and a belt, and dress shoes). Get a decent haircut and shave.
2. Practice interview questions with a friend. You can't accurately predict the off-the-wall questions they will ask, but you can practice the ones you know they probably will, like why do you want to be a Firefighter, or why should we hire you?
3. Scrub your social media. Gone are the days when people in charge weren't tech-savvy. Don't have a perfect interview only for your chances of being hired gone to zero because your Facebook or Instagram has pictures of you getting blitzed. Set that stuff to private and leave it that way.

Please upvote this post if you have a question. Upvoting this post will ensure it sticks around for a bit after it is removed as a Sticky, and will allow for greater visibility of your question.

And lastly, If you're not 100% sure of what you're talking about, leave it for someone who does

I was curious what load you guys prefer for your cross lays? Do you prefer a minute man, triple layer, or flat load, a variation of, or a different load?

Does anybody know of a more formal operator/engineer course? I can pump water just fine, but I don’t think anybody at my agency knows engineer math or uses charts. I actually discovered a written engineer test made by the department, but it hasn’t been actually used in a generation, I found out after studying for it for two days. How did you learn the more technical aspects? And other engineering tactics? I’d like an in person class, ideally held by my state (NV) or in the Western US, but I’d do an online course if I had to.

I currently volunteer at my local department and have been enrolled in the Fire academy. Since joining my department I’ve decided to put on my nationality flag on my radio. My parents were immigrants and it’s not meant to rebel against America or offend anyone. A lot of the officers disapprove of it but what does that say about my character if I were to remove because someone doesn’t like it? Long story short we respond to a call and afterwards we’re in the patients front yard and the recently retired chief comes up to me and says “that flag you have on, it’s an embarrassment to us. It’s an embarrassment to the community and the people who serve in it. Do you think you look cute wearing it?” And I respond saying it’s in not meant as a political statement or to rebel against America but he cuts me off and says “ I almost want to take a picture of you right now and send it to every department to see how embarrassing you look, and don’t even think about putting me as a reference because I will burn you every chance I get.” I was extremely caught off guard and frustrated by this. A few minutes later he calls me and says he was joking and it was meant as a lesson since “there’s people out there that think that way. And that wouldn’t be allowed on a paid department.” Next day I spoke to a major at a big paid fire department that I applied for about the situation and he said how it was a load of bullshit and that guys at his department wear their own flag and how he was pissed off for me and said they’re just a bunch of racist red necks. He also said I needed to stand my ground and if he were me he would report that guy but also wear an American flag but to keep wearing my Mexican flag. Since then there’s been people that support me and to say keep wearing my flag on my department but there’s the majority at my department that are against it and say I have to wear an American flag and that’s the only thing authorized. I want to know your thoughts and opinions and what should I do.

What books or book would you recommend to a recently promoted line officer?