I don’t know about you guys but the best time of my life is shift change right now. Sitting down and having coffee, laughing, checking in; it’s awesome. It reminds this is not a job, it’s a bunch of dudes. It’s a family.

For any retired firefighters, what did your last days on the job look and feel like?

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

Hi I’m a 26M I’m a Emt and starting the fire academy in may. I currently work for an ambulance company and do 24 hour shifts all the time. My neurologist told me that I should be getting 6 hours of sleep bare minimum but I told him my job and that I’m trying to become a firefighter. He didn’t seem to fond of it and told me in the long run it could affect me. I honestly look forward and passionate about being a firemen one day but now my neurologist got me second guessing. (Little back story) I am taking depakote and I feel great. I’ve only ever have had seizure while going to sleep never while I’m awake . Also if I did have one there was a lot of factors that played a part like I was extremely tired, I didn’t eat enough, sex(idk if that affects that but I noticed it was one of the patterns) and the main one NOT TAKING MY MEDICATION. while I’m on medication I’m pretty confident that I’m seizure free and so far it’s been true. So basically is there any fire fighters or know anyone in a similar situation!? Lmk

Hey everyone! Im looking for some information on the Safer grant for the hiring of firefighters. FEMAs website isn’t the most descriptive lol. Does anyone here have any experience filing for it?

Schedule is 48/96, commute is only 30 min each way. Twins coming sometime this summer. Planning on taking 3 tours off to get adjusted with the wife and soak up (never sleep) being a first time dad.

I know at the end of the day it’s a personal decision, but any insight from y’all?

Zero for 2. 30 year career FF and had cancer Contacted 2 different firms and got crickets. Is easy money for them. Just a rant. Pisses me off. That is all.

Let me start off by saying I’m not a firefighter. (I tried volunteering and it wasn’t for me) But I was curious about what you all think about patch collecting especially non-FD members collecting them. I’ve been wanting to start a patch collection from places that I visit but don’t know how the firefighters would take it especially since I’m not a member of any FD or anything like that. I just want to see what you all think of this.

My high school has a policy where if the fire alarm goes off, students are not to evacuate the classroom unless they see fire. I am wondering how dangerous this could be in the event of a real fire, and I believe this is the best place to ask. I can give more info as to the situation if you ask.

I’ll be taking a third and final attempt at my department’s slow maneuvering course sometime this week and am looking at removal from the program if I do not pass.

I’ll be driving a tanker with a front wheel base that goes to the front of the truck (attached a photo of a similar truck for reference) and has a wide turn radius. I’ve been getting extremely consistent for all elements of the course in practice runs but cannot seem to figure out serpentine forward.

Does anyone have general advice I can try during my final practice runs tomorrow? Reverse is no problem at all, just forward.

TIA

Anyone else going to FDIC?

We have a maze coming up in my fire academy and i’m extremely nervous to do it, it will be on air and if we do not get through it in time we will fail and get kicked out of the program, any advice???

Looking for input for some funny and harmless station pranks. The ones that are stupid and nobody gets hurt. What's your best, or go to easy prank for a quick laugh?

Currently I've a friendly feud going on where we hide this book that no-one's reading in (or around) each other's kit (gym bag/ bedding/ lockers, cars etc.) bonus points if it's only discovered the tour after or whilst they're at home/off duty etc. (E.g. knowing he was temporary to another station for three months, I sent it in his spare turnout gear bag, and it was only discovered weeks later)

It's stupid and we both know it, but he's upped his game lately and I'm at a loss for new ways to escalate it.

Does anyone here have their Verizon Wireless Plan through work? We have it in NY but I’m trying to find out more information on it as the administrator of the plan was retired recently.

I had never heard this tearm before but saw a FB post about Joe Donovan with L26 with little information. Doing a quick Google search told me it was in increased fire activity specifically in the Bronx area due to arson. Does anyone know what I'm talking about and is there a book you know of can read more about it?

Anyone do home inspections on the side? Curious how the pay works and wether companies will work with you to schedule inspections during the off days. Figured we basically are inspecting people’s homes every “smells and bells” call, may as well parlay that experience with a side gig.

Hoping someone can help with a noob question since I'm not a firefighter.

How do fire departments determine how many units to dispatch for a given call? I was looking at the real time CAD that the city of Houston publishes and noticed once there was a call for a gas leak that had 6 units responding. That seems like a lot for a gas leak, doesn't it? What factors go into determining who/how many should go?

Class B is typically defined along the lines of "involving liquids (like oils and alcohols) or gases".

Class K is typically defined as "fires involving cooking liquids and solids".

What's the significance between the differenc of the two?

Rather, how does the extinguishing process differ from one to another, and why?

One thing for me, which is very small, is that I cannot bare the smell of smoke being on my clothing after having a personal campfire. Before, I would wash my clothes to remove the smoke, but until it was washed (or while I was wearing it) I would love to smell the burnt wood after having a campfire (even on my jacket a day or two later). Now, after having a campfire, I have an urge to instantly take the clothing off (and any jacket or hat) and immediately wash it. For whatever reason, something has changed.

Wondering what and how to begin modeling myself towards becoming a firefighter soon. Thanks!

So for those that may not be familiar, Quick Response Service (QRS) is a certification fire departments in Pennsylvania can receive to be dispatched on EMS calls in their coverage area. Minimum certification level required is at least 1 EMR responds to begin patient care, and then assists EMS on site.

The company that I run with has a QRS. They dispatch the Q for any ALS calls, as well as calls that come in when an ambulance is coming from out of district. We have a pickup truck that carries all of EMS equipment, and is our primary Response piece. (However all apparatus have the certification) Our current staffing includes 15 EMRs, 7 EMTs, and 3 Paramedics.

Just wondering how others set them up and what type of calls they respond to. Also how this system is implemented in others States and regions.

My department just got our new 2024 Spartan Metro Star fire engine. This morning we sprayed the wheels and pushed it in. It goes in service April 1st at 08:00 but in a few weeks my department is hosting an open house and having a ceremony for it. What are some old sacred traditions and rituals you do for the arrival of a new engine? We’re EXTREMELY excited to have this new engine and put it in service. Every shift is hoping to have the first structure fire with it.

I'm more of a tech guy but I wanted to get some input from people who know and fight fires first hand. I was in my apartment and I realized that yeah I have smoke alarms but like what happens if there's a fire and I'm away?

My unit doesn't have a system or anything. So I started thinking what if there was a novel fire detection system tailored for residential use, leveraging vision-based technology similar to security cameras. This system would consist of compact devices, akin to fire extinguishers, installed on walls or ceilings. Equipped with cameras and sophisticated algorithms trained to recognize fire-related visual cues, such as flames and smoke patterns, these devices would autonomously detect fires at their inception. By pinpointing the source of the fire, the system could potentially mitigate the spread of flames and minimize property damage more effectively than traditional smoke alarms. Additionally, it could offer homeowners an additional layer of safety beyond conventional fire detection methods. To advance this concept, further research and development would be needed to refine the technology, ensure reliability, and assess its feasibility for widespread adoption in residential settings.

Any thoughts on this?

Regular here on an alt. Due to an educational opportunity my wife had, I decided to leave my old department so we could move.

We decided to stay in her college college town post graduation. I threw my name in the hat for the city's hiring process and am ecstatic that I got a conditional offer yesterday.

So happy to be back at it.

Edit: Thanks, everyone! I've been active on here since before I first got hired in 2019, and it's been great being part of this community. It's a great repository of information and humor.

As someone who is entering into the fire and EMS world and getting some 9-1-1 experience under my belt, I find that I am really not finding myself to be competent. I am training often however I feel like I just don’t know enough of how to use firefighting tactics, size-ups, or even communicating with dispatch. Im always asking questions and trying to learn from the people I work with. I’m continuing my education towards a degree while working at a volunteer department and I’m actively trying to cram as much knowledge as I can, as fast as I can. However I just never seem to be able to rely on my training or know what to do without having my partner guide me through even basic things. I’ve come to understand that being an incompetent firefighter is the quickest way to get a bad rap and I want to turn it around as fast as possible. Any advice helps

I recently transitioned into the role of lead instructor for our new fire recruits, and I’m looking for some input from the firefighting community regarding class scheduling. Our program is 15 weeks long, and I want to make sure we’re utilizing our time effectively and efficiently.

If anyone is willing to share their class schedules or insights from previous academies, I would greatly appreciate it. I’m particularly interested in comparing different approaches to scheduling and learning from what has worked well in other programs.

Thank you in advance for any help or advice you can provide!

A question for volunteers across the internet.

Are you covered for any injuries that happen on the job?

Slipping on ice, injuries while training, burn injuries, broken bones, death, etc

I’m wondering if you are covered by any sort of workplace compensation? Is it normal to not be covered?

Looking to make a move, but trying to find a place not so slow. Wondering if any of you guys are getting good mutual calls? Best I get is car accidents and medicals.