Attitude helps a lot, but you still will have to be somewhat strong to get thru training and to do the job well. Now, I'm not talking about being able to out do some big man in the weightroom - I'm talking about being in decent shape- good cardio and be able to do some heavy lifting. In fire academy you'll be expected to drag an 80 lb dummy, pull a charged hose line, carry, set and hoist a 24 ' extension ladder....things like that...Years ago when I went thru academy- there was a little Asian girl in our class- she was all of 5'2 and 105 lbs of sheer determination! She'd set her mind to it. Now other than the physical part of it- most every where in the U.S. now, you have to be at least an EMT- Basic to get hired as well. So you need to have the capacity to deal with the medical stuff too. It really is the best job in the world- I love my work, love the shifts(24 hours on- 48 hours off) love all 260 members of my extended family.We have about 20 women in our dept- there's a few that are kind of pains, cuz they have chips on their shoulders and think everything that comes out of the guys mouths in something derogatory to them...me, I'm just one of the guys- we all work, laugh, train, cook, vegetate and learn together...You should look into ride-a-long programs- we have them here, where you can ride on the engines for a half a day , observe, hang with us and stuff...Its a good way to see if its something you really would like-usually all it takes is signing a waiver and having a background check run...anyway- good luck to you Elizabeth whichever way you go! Feel free to write back if I can help in any way...

what i do on my off time is go to the station an wash the trucks, fuel them up, clean the station. an no its was hard to join all i had to do to join was live in the area for a year but i lived here for 14 yrs so ya i had that covered. but what i like well i love is the group of ppl i work were pretty tight with an how every call is a diff one you know, but what i dislike was doing all the grunt work but hey every1 has to do it an remember if they're picking they like you lol thats what i was always told.

welcome to the family elizabeth

welcome to the nation, my computer wouldnt let me replie to your discussion. but if you have any questions feel free to ask anything

Welcome to the family Shirley from the jersey shore

welcome to ffn from NY

welcome to your new family