Becoming A Firefighter

If you would like to be a firefighter when you grow up, it is a good profession to pick. It is a secure job, attractive hours, pays pretty good and has a great retirement. Firefighting is also dangerous. Firefighters are killed more often than most professions. Being a firefighter should be planned early. Some requirements should be started when you first decide to be a firefighter.

Plan to get a college education if you want to be a firefighter. Today you can be a firefighter with just a G.E.D., but more and more fire departments are requiring a high school education. A few fire departments are now requiring some college education.

You must live a clean life. You cannot get on a fire department if you have been indicted for criminal activity and served time in jail. If you get caught using drugs, you cannot get a job. Some departments are forbidding the job if you smoke. You can be fired if you are caught drinking at work.

You are required to be so tall and weigh so much to be a firefighter, but that should come in time. Most fire departments require recruits to be 21 years old before applying for a job.

Deciding to Join

If you decide to join a fire department, you have to pass a written test. Next comes a medical examination and a background check to see that you have been good and not have violated any requirement. If you pass everything, you are accepted to begin the fire training school.

Fire Training School

You are taught to be a firefighter in the training school. It is not easy. You will have to drag heavy hoses, lift heavy ladders and catch fire hydrants. You will climb ladders as tall as 100 feet and taller. You will be tested on the evolutions and be fired if you fail too many tests. If you are repeatedly late to fire school or get into trouble while in or out of school, you are kicked out of fire school.

The firefighter is also taught many hours as a emergency medical technician. Sometimes you must be state certified in emergency medical service to be qualified to join the department. Getting state certification can be quite expensive.

Being a Rookie

After you graduate fire school, you become a probationary firefighter and are assigned to a fire station. It is hard work at a fire station. It is scary when you make a fire. You still get scared making a fire after you are over the nervousness when you make certain fires.

You will likely be assigned to an ambulance rather than a fire truck at first. Expect to make calls all night long. Ambulances make many more runs than a fire truck. After a year or so, you can transfer to a pumper or ladder truck.

You get paid every other week for an average of almost 50 hours a week. That may seem like long hours, but you can sleep at night if you are not making a fire or other emergency. You will alternate between working days and night. Some shifts are 24 hours, but you get several days off at one time.

You get your dress uniform furnished and your expensive firefighting gear and helmet. It used to be a rookie had to pay for his own gear. You get paid when sick, and the medical bill is paid if you are injured on duty. The fire department furnishes the breathing apparatus to protect your lungs. No longer are there "Leather Lung" firefighters. All the equipment and modern tools furnished are making the fire scene much safer than ever.

You will be relieved when you complete your probationary period and graduate to a full fledge firefighter. Your opportunities are not limited. After a period of time, you are eligible for promotion after passing high enough on a written, competitive examination. This can be repeated until you have reached district chief in suppression.

Picking Another Fire Field

You may choose another fire field periodically. These include the fire prevention division, arson, fire training, emergency medical services and fire alarm dispatcher. Promotions are available within each section or division. After you complete 20 years, you may retire with a good pension.