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Tattoos and becoming a firefighter
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Brandon Williams on
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What do you mean
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Permalink Reply by Fireyladd - Retired Chief Sharp on
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This will depend entirely upon the policy of the Department your applying for. Some may not allow the tats while others wouldnt have issues.
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Well im planning on going to get my fire science degree. I just want to know im not wasting tens of thousands of dollars on something i cant do
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Permalink Reply by Bull on
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Why didnt you ask yourself this question before you got tattoos, if you knew what you wanted to do with your life ???
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I didnt think it would affect it
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Permalink Reply by Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd on
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I don't think working as a volunteer ff would be affected by having tattoos. My perspective is that of a career ff on the west coast, specifically SoCal. LA City FD has prospective FF's do a swim test not for swimming but to find out if they have tattoo ink. If you have tattoos then you are immediately disqualified and asked to leave. The feeling is that the tax payer, many being elderly, don't want a biker type of person coming to their aid. It's a stereotype that unfortunately sticks like glue. Considering you would be paid in excess of 100k per year, a certain image is what they want and they make no bones about it. Career FF's on the west coast are suppose to look and act a certain way. Having tats where folks can see them is a no no. Typically, it's the tow truck drivers that show up on accident scenes that have tattoos. I've always wanted one myself but I wanted to be FF more.
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Permalink Reply by Damo on
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The FD I volunteer with doesn't mind tats, but the EMS services in my area do. They can be covered with a long sleeve under shirt though. I don't see it as an issue in the FD, unless the tats are derogatory in any way.
How do you become a FF in So.Cal? That 100k a year sounds like a great wage. I can't get close to that in the private sector where I am from. Lol.
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Permalink Reply by Nathan Henderson on
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It can vary from department to department. Some don't have any problem while others are very strict about no visible ink. One of my departments has no problem with tattoos if they are not visible. We had a volunteer come in with a sleeve type tattoo on his lower arm of sea animals (fish,starfish, etc) that was actually a pretty cool and well done tat. The dept didn't have any policy about visible tats at the time and the BC's or anyone on the shift had a problem with it. The AC saw it one day and just said "Oh, thats colorful" then a few hours later, we had a SOG about covering all tattoos. The volunteer just had to wear long sleeve shirts to make sure it was always covered but nothing else.
I would say don't let it stop you from working towards your goal of getting into the fire service. It may keep you from getting into some departments but there are many that allow them or just have you make sure they are covered.
Good luck.
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Permalink Reply by Wade Seely on
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They do make skin toned sleeves that can be worn to cover up tats.
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Permalink Reply by Keith A. Morrone on
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Mike, SoCal policy is nothing but Liberal B.S. , I have ink on parts of my body that can be covered up with a uniform , hell a T-shirt for that matter. so they would tell me to go and i would.. but come back with a Lawyer and sue them for discrimination..... And people wonder why cali is so #$@#$%$&% up. You can keep Cali.........
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