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Weight vest for fire dept PT testing
I have something that concerns me and I have got to get this out. The other day I went to take a PT test to see if I could get on as a fulltime firefighter at a nearby county fire dept. I felt good when I got there.. Well they was useing this vest not sure how much the thing weighed?? But it was the heaveist thing I have ever put on in my life!! I have been in the fire service for 18 years and being in fullturnout gear with an SCBA on would not be as heavy as this vest!! I didnt even get halfway through the course until I went down , I gave out!! And to those of you who think I am a whimp , let me assure you I am not I am in good physical condition, besides being in the fire service for 18 years i have also worked and lived on on a farm so I am used to heavy work!! But this vest should not be used in the fire service , I wasnt the only one haveing trouble with it!! I am also a safety officer with the volunteer dept I am with and like I said fire gear and SCBA weighs less than this vest!! I know depts need the testing but use a firecoat and an SCBA with actual wieght not these vest!!!!!! The idea in new SCBA design and also fire gear design is to make it so it has less wieght on a firefighter than to add weight to them , the less weight you can place on a firefighter the better they can perform there jobs and reduce firefighter fatigue.. If you ask me this vest is just asking for a lawsuit!! If memebers want to use it to do weight traing in and then let them use it but dont make it a mandatory thing!!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on
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Does not matter I am against this weight vest it should not be used , this was not a far testing and there was no warning of how much it weighed prior to them putting it, we do not have high rises in the area so why even go there, train for what you have in your area, we use fire gear so the physical agiltity testing should be done in fire gear,
First and foremost, this sounds like the CPAT test, is this the test you are talking about? Stair climb, hose advance, tool carry, ladder raise and extension, force entry, search, dummy drag, overhaul?......If so then this is a standard test with standardized equipment....challenged in the courts and upheld to be a fair testing.
Such a test does require a video be shown to all applicants before the test and does describe all aspects of the test, including the weight of the vest. You also are given a chance to practice the test prior to the actual test day.
The whole point here is to simulate endurance, not speed. My guess is you were trying too hard and not pacing yourself, which led to you failing....suck it up and move on, heck this thread has been up for over a year and you are still whining about it.
As for whining about the lack of highrises, get over it. Who is to say there wouldn't be a high-rise built in the future? What is stopping you from being requested for a high rise fire for mutual aid? So why wouldn't you train for such a challenge...DUH?
I agree with using standard PPE, but having tested with many depts with PPE, it gets downright nasty after awhile, besides if this is the CPAT, it is standardized gear with standardized equipment, no substitutions.
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Permalink Reply by Fireman Larry on
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A lot of departments are looking for the best, which means, anyone applying had better be ready for the tests. One thing that most people testing don't do to prepare themselves is read the detailed descriptions of each scenario given. That agency sets the bar high to find the strongest applicants, the ones that don't workout daily to be ready, will know what it takes next time. As far as the weight of the pack, any applicant's that were recently discharged from the military, will have no problems with a pack test, we carried that and a lot more on full day hikes. Even though this was just an agility test, in the Fire Service, we have to be prepared for the worst at all times. good luck if you try for the next position available.
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Permalink Reply by capcityff on
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You brought up another good point. How many applicants are out there? A LOT. How many jobs? NOT MANY. I think I heard once that there abre about 200 applicants for every one job. Why take a guy that can't pass something as simple as the CPAT when there might be 10 more right behind him that can. They want the best so crying and saying that you want to take the easy way out won't do anything but hurt you. People are too soft these days.
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Permalink Reply by Patti Walz on
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After reading all of the posts I can only say that being belligerent and saying "it's not fair" is not very professional. When I did my PAT test I was wondering how in the world other women were able to do this. What I did was ask them, who in turn pointed me to the right person who knows a trick or two about getting through the PAT test in a quick and safe fashion. Next time if you find you have difficulties why don't you ask someone who has completed this test about the tricks/knowledge they have. Otherwise if you find that it is still not fair then maybe you should consider a different field.
My only other comment is suck it up and grow a set.
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Wow... someone who had troubles with something, sucked it up, and tried harder. Doesn't it feel better to earn your spot than to cry about it for them to make it easier on you?
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He sounds like a baby? HAHA You're crying about the test being too hard. Take steroids? Yea ok. It's an easy test that I have seen both men and women pass with ease.
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Did you even read my post? You reply back with one line that means absolutely nothing to me. I don't care how much time you have in the fire service. If you can't pass a simple CPAT then I don't want you working with me. Pretty much every paid guy has taken it or something similar. They earned their spot and you can too. There are plenty of others lined up that want this job bad enough to actually work for it.
And once again, your 18 years mean nothing to this department. Don't ever bring that up to them because they don't care what you did somewhere else. When I started the fire academy I was told to forget most of what I already learned at previous jobs because now I was going to learn the "DC" way which is the only way that matters considering that's the department I now work for. Also if your 18 years is from some rural volunteer department that runs 200 runs/year and you show up for 50% of the runs then is it really that much? That's about 1800 runs in your 18 years then. My engine alone runs over 5000/year.
You just need to suck it up, train harder, and stop acting like a child.
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Really????? Well from reading your posts, mine must be bigger than yours and I am a woman. You sound like a whining crying baby.
I work hard and I earn everything that I have, I do not ask to have anything handed to me on a silver platter, nor do I ask someone else to do MY job. I may not like what I do at times, but I will WOMAN up and get it done, and when I am done I will have a smile on my face.
Darling, if you ask any number of people they will tell you that I created Hell. I would never hire an individual who through a temper tantrum like you and I sure and hell would not work for anyone like you.
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How does that make any sense? It a physical job! Have you ever even been in a fire? How are you macho if you can pass a joke of a test?
You may have passed your fire class but you should go retake the first grade. Then you can learn some spelling and grammer. Just don't act so immature or they might put you in a time out.
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The fire service is filled with people who know a true honest days work, unlike you. This is not a fun job, this is a tough job and it requires hard physical labor. You want fun go to an amusement park. You want a solid honest days work, be a firefighter.
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Permalink Reply by NOVAFireman on
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I've seen this type show up for recruit academy before, with the I fight what you fear shirts, etc. You know, those who said they belonged to Smallville VFD and is Chief this, OIC that, with certs out the back side.
When it came down to actually pulling lines, throwing ladders, and doing PT, it was obvious these jokers were nothing more than windbags. Didn't take long to weed this type out of the academy so they could go back to Smallville and complain how it all wasn't fair.
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Calm down "RICKY", lol... I too have to ask this clown what the hell an "IDOT" was, "now Ricky", and I use the term lightly, how will you ever get a job if you can't spell..... Answer, keep flipping those burgers pal... one other thing, don't take your shortcomings out on the nice people here, they just made a comment, if you need to yell at someone, pick me, I'm not so nice...
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