Firefighter

Overview

Being a firefighter is not an easy profession since it is a rigorous and physically taxing lifestyle. However, firefighters help the community, have an active job, and maintain a flexible schedule. Firefighting can exist in many different forms, from being a volunteer at the fire station to being head chief. Paid firefighters live at the station for at least 48 hours at a time where they are constantly answering calls from civilians, exercising, cooking, or hanging out with their team. Besides the obvious task of fighting fires, firefighters deal with distress calls from citizens who may need help in other areas including plumbing or a stuck pet. However, since firefighters are only required to work 10 days per month, they are able to take months off at a time and complete their hours at their leisure. Alternatively, they can work overtime, allowing their pay to be increased accordingly. The variety is endless!

Requirements

To become a firefighter at the most basic level, the age requirement is 18 years old with a high school diploma or a GED (General Education Diploma), a group of standardized tests that assess one’s skills in science, mathematics, social studies, reading, and writing. Along with that, applicants must have a driver’s license and a passing score on the physical fitness test specified by the fire station, such as the CPAT (Candidate Physical Ability Test). Although those are the 4 necessary requirements, an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) certificate is recommended and will be taken into consideration when choosing applicants to join the team. 

What Can High School Students Do?

• Go for a ride along with a firefighter
  • Ask the fire station if they would allow ride-alongs on their job to teach you about what they do
• Visit the firefighting center and ask them about their job
• Work on your endurance, strength, agility, and stamina by continuing to exercise
• Look into being a junior firefighter
  • https://juniors.nvfc.org/juniors/
• Take ROP classes and CPR classes
  • EMR, EMT, Fire science 101
  • https://northwoodhigh.iusd.org/counseling/college-career/rop-classes
  • https://www.procpr.org/landing/bls_video?gclid=Cj0KCQjwo6D4BRDgARIsAA6uN1_KjYPKCxdbBwOHnpK3X0NZSEdeevrseGIH2LPTIzlhNVDOgrm7O4saAiBiEALw_wcB
• Start preparing for the physical fitness test
  • Video with example test: https://youtu.be/c2gfALR0Vgs 

Please check out the source below, it has links connecting to more websites to further your research!

•  https://www.firerescue1.com/career-1/articles/what-does-a-firefighter-actually-do-RGMXxYXNZu5u1sbE/