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Friend Burned Library In Past; Will It Prevent Him From Becoming a Firefighter?
I have a buddy I went to school with who is a couple years younger than me. He recently sent me a message saying that he wants to become a firefighter, so I gave him tips and things about school. He is a great guy and would make an excellent firefighter BUT when he was 16 he and few buddies put a firecracker in the book return at the local library just as a prank, and ended up burning the whole place down. Seeing as how he was a minor when it happened, and it was just a prank, what are his chances of getting in the fire service?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John on
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People change but its hard to say whether he would be able to or not, the only way to know is to apply and be truthful about everything.
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Permalink Reply by Paul Montpetit on
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I would say zero....if an arson conviction shows up he won't get in...and yes it may have been a "prank" but it is still considered arson.....Hey Trey is this someone we chat with....? Hmmmmmm?
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Permalink Reply by Rossi Paloma on
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Tyler, I will disagree a little bit with you on this one. My work requires me to notify my employer of everything, and that means as little as a traffic ticket issued to the amount of more than $250.00. Of course, this will also depend on where he applies for a job. Any government job, which I work for, that he may consider applying for will do background investigation and I'm pretty sure those "minor" prank stunts will come up. If he does not tell them about it up front it will get worse and will deter him from getting the job. Yes, he should be given another chance and it only happened one time. But it's those "one time" events that normally and more likely will get us all in trouble. And some of them worse than this.
I hope he has "grown up" and has proven himself to society to be able to get that second chance. Everybody deserves a second chance. But it will be hard-er and he has to be patient about it.
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Tyler here in NY about the only thing we can find out during a background check is record of felonies AND any Arson or Arson related convictions....I don't think anyone wants or needs a firebug in their department...
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A prank...??!! You call burning down a library a prank...??!!! He was 16 years old not 7 or 8...He could have been charged as an adult for that "prank"....Definitely was old enough to know better.....
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Permalink Reply by Trey Ford on
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I have always known him as a really good kid. Good parents, good family, he was into sports, got good grades. We live in a small town with nothing to do so they were probably just bored and it went really wrong! I think he'd make a great firefighter personally.
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No he just recently sent me a message asking about the fire service because he's wanting to get his fire science degree, so I gave him advice.
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But you mentioned "normally" when talking about finding it...wouldn't he be better off to say he had a misfortune as a minor and leave it at that....if he says "NO" and they later find out otherwise I believe that would be grounds for dismissal.....
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Permalink Reply by Derek R. on
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Hey Trey,
Listen. You might want to tell your buddy to fess up about the incident regasrdless if his record is sealed or not.
That prank was only 2 years ago, and STILL on the minds of many firefighters. Things like that don't go unforgotten quickly by those that worked it. And to add, all it takes is a quick search to get all the details you want. Such as
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/06/18/...
This paper even gives out the names of the "accused". I guess there is no young offenders act there. Point is, that "prank" will come back to bite him in tha ass someday. Better off owning up to it and hope for the best.
Personally, if I were in a position to hire someone, it would not be him. He is still only 18. Not sure if that still signifies jr/exploroer status or not.
Anyway, my point. Tell him to fess up at any interview. I know there are some fire chiefs and officers that jot down names in stories such as this for future reference. If he does come straight with this information, he might get a chance, as long as he seems remorseful.
To add..I don't think you did your friend any favors here. See what happens when you let out information on a public forum?
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Permalink Reply by Norm Tindell on
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He would not get my recommendation. I'll have to agree with Rossi.
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