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Trying to be a firefighter
Help! I am a 23 year old female living in southern California. I have been working put for almost 7 months now and I want to try to start getting more into the fire thing except I'm not sure where to start. I have been trying to find a mentor but haven't had any luck. I have also been trying to find a book that will give me any help or insight or things I can just start learning. ANY help would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Moose on
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Usually the local volunteer fire departments have their drill and meeting nights posted on the front of the house somewhere, or you can find out at a regular town/village meeting from the mayor or trustees.
Than you show up, introduce yourself and ask for information about joining and a tour of the station. They give you an app and you fill it out and get it back ASAP so it looks like you are interested.
Ask the chief if they have any training books or videos you can start with and borrow them, we are a small dept yet we still have a library of training videos like the "Bread & Butter" series.
Lastly, listen to all of these wacky discussions on these nutty web sites and network with some of us, you can learn a lot that way too!
Good Luck and keep us posted.
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Permalink Reply by Eric Gregory on
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http://www.ci.fullerton.ca.us/depts/fire/default.asp
Probably the best place to go for info in your area is your local fire department. They state on their site that recruitment is closed but I'd bet if there's another department in your area that is hiring or accepting new members (volunteer) they can help you find them.
They can also tell you if/when recruitment will be reopened and give you an idea of what you need to do to improve your qualifications. It's also the best place in your area to find that "mentor" you're looking for.
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Permalink Reply by mallory riss on
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Thank you so much for your help! I actually live in Fullerton! Do you live around there? I have tried to get in contact via e-mail but haven't heard back. I will check out the website more though.
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No, I'm not around Fullerton, I'm in Clarksville, TN. If I were you I'd call them or stop by a station, introduce myself and explain that I'm interested in a career in the fire service and ask if they might have a few minutes to sit down and talk to you about the fire service and the things you can do to make yourself a more attractive candidate.
Good Luck
Eric
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Permalink Reply by Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd on
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Contact Rio Hondo College, you need to attend a fire academy. You also need to get your EMT and national certification, also done through a community college. Look up Oxnard Regional Fire Academy. The have special training for female candidates to help them tackle the PAT testing. (standardized physical agility training certification)
Note: this may not be the right abbreviation, but you get the idea.
Do ride a longs, visit as many fire stations and fire academies as possible to make the right choices yourself, based on your needs. Most importantly, have a backup plan. In CA, don't forget that they are laying experienced firefighters off...
CBz
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Permalink Reply by Fabulous Heather Days of Summer on
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Search some of the other forum discussions such as female firefighters.
Also, join the groups on FFN for female firefighters, women in the dept, women in EMS, and california firefighters, etc. etc. etc. then start making friends with each of them - networking is a great way to build confidence in the fire service.
And READ READ READ the counsel.
Getting an EMT license and getting on an ambulance service is an excellent way to start, and many ambulance services are hiring in S. Cal.
Contact your local fire fighter school, check community colleges, etc. and then ask the teacher about area departments.
And like the others said, go from dept to dept and introduce yourself, ask questions and make relationships. Volunteer departments are often more open new members more quickly than paid career departments and they may train you and pay for your fire fighting/EMT school if you are able to commit service to their department for at least a few years. This gives you a good base to move into a paid career position - with some training and experience and relationship under your belt - you become more valuable to paid career departments.
Look up FFN members like: Anthony Velasquez - who lives/works near about the region that you are interested in.
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http://www.firefightingnews.com/fdDirectoryList-US.cfm?statecodeID=CA
Here is a list of California Fire Depts.
Most Volunteer Depts (and some Career Depts) require that you live within their service area... so you may need to move into a district to be accepted on a department.
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