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Firefighter Career

Nutterbuster

Nutterbuster

Well-Known Member
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Oct 12, 2017
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Where the skys are so blue!
My office job is continuing to suck the will to live out of me, while pumping fat into my body. While looking for alternatives I noticed that the cpat looks pretty passible, and the university I currently work for has a partnership with the Alabama Fire College.

Kicking around taking the cpat, maybe trying to get in with one of the half dozen volunteer departments up here for a bit, and then trying to get a job in the local big city. I could probably knock out an associates in fire science in a couple of months for pennies on the dollar. Pay seems equal-to or better-than my current line of work, and I think I'd rather take my chances burning to death or falling off a ladder instead of developing a double chin and diabetes.

Anybody on here work as a firefighter? Pros and cons?
 
Hear you a little bit about the office job. I've resigned to my fate I guess but had many close calls with the quarter life crisis.

I can tell you from working in local govt finance for almost a decade that around here a lot of small town/suburban/rural VFDs are really, really hurting for new blood. I really can't blame people either. It takes one special type of person to do that fo free. I think it's absurd. We're going to be seeing more paid, regional forces in the next couple decades so that opportunity is only going to grow in this part of the country.
 
The CPAT is easy to pass but I took it shortly after being released back into the Wild after 10yrs in the military. That was 13yrs ago when I was 30.

My buddy is the local fire chief and continually hounds me to join the local FD on a volunteer basis. I humored him last summer and took the CPAT again at age 42 and passed without issue. Mind you, I train year round as a CrossFit athlete and Olympic weightlifter so physical tasks come fairly easy for me.

He says that’s the absolute easiest way to get hired full time is to start off as a volunteer. Show up, work hard, don’t be a knucklehead and ppl will take note.
 
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I'm a fulltime firefighter in MA. We have an 80 member dept and about 12 of us are hunters (2 saddle hunters!!) We work 24 hr shifts so 24 hrs on 72 hrs off. If a hunter's life is what you want the it's awesome! Just had my 3rd kid last week so this season might be a wash but job/hunting mix I couldn't ask for a better route!
 
I know several guys who are firefighters and/or paramedics, and they speak very well of it. They say it’s very tough to break into, but once you’re in, you’re set. You really have to love being at the firehouse and spending hours on end with the same guys, but if you do, it’s great. Volunteering is a must, from what they tell me. Most calls are car wrecks and helping little old ladies, not putting out wildfires or saving babies from burning apartments, so if you’re hoping for a thrill ride, this probably ain’t it. Boredom at the firehouse can be intense, but you’ll also have shifts where you spend all but two hours out on calls. It can be pretty tough on the body, so try to plan it out so you’ll retire in your 40’s or 50’s, and you may not even get that long. Hope this helps!
 
I have a few family members that are and I was a wildland firefighter for 5 years. I would've stayed with it if it wasn't for the traveling commitment with wildland firefighting. Volunteer as said before and hopefully you'll get into a good department that will get some of your basic classes knocked out. I'm not sure how your departments are set up around there but I had a chance to work alongside some guys on a wildland/urban interface fire crew that were a well trained mix of structure firefighters/EMT/paramedics/wildland firefighters that basically could choose whether or not to travel during the summer fire season or stay at home. Seemed like a pretty cool concept.
 
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I met a bunch of firefighters in Santa Barbara a few years back. A friends sister worked for the department and those guys loved it. They were on for 2-3 days then off for 6 or 7. It paid well and some even had side businesses to make more money. The drawback for them was California wildfire season,then it was all hands on deck.
I thought about getting into that line of work but i am too old for that now. No such thing as a 48 yesr old newbie fireman.
 
jcam1841 said:
I'm a fulltime firefighter in MA. We have an 80 member dept and about 12 of us are hunters (2 saddle hunters!!) We work 24 hr shifts so 24 hrs on 72 hrs off. If a hunter's life is what you want the it's awesome! Just had my 3rd kid last week so this season might be a wash but job/hunting mix I couldn't ask for a better route!
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What exactly does it take to get into it. I signed up for the CPAT because $20 is nothing and it honestly sounds kinda fun. Do they pay for the training? Is there a written exam I can go ahead and knock out? I'm trying to get ahold of the volunteer departments around here but they won't pick up. Must mean they need folks, right.;)
 
Nutterbuster said:
What exactly does it take to get into it. I signed up for the CPAT because $20 is nothing and it honestly sounds kinda fun. Do they pay for the training? Is there a written exam I can go ahead and knock out? I'm trying to get ahold of the volunteer departments around here but they won't pick up. Must mean they need folks, right.;)
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(not a career firefighter, was a volunteer firefighter for a while, not active right now)

Volunteer departments, at least the one I did, pay for the training. You're going to end up starting with Firefighter I, which is about 200 hours worth of training. Some departments have you do EMT as well, but more typically it's just basic CPR and first aid stuff.

Chances are, if you go the career route, you'll need to redo Firefighter I, even if you've already done it through a volunteer department and got a ProBoard or IFSAC cert. They will usually want you to learn things their way.

The volunteer departments probably didn't answer because there's usually no one there unless there's a call or it's a meeting or training night, or if someone is really bored.
 
Around me a full time firefighter doesn’t pay well. There are no big cities either. What it does do is give a guy good benefits and a bunch of time off. Almost every full time firefighter I know has a side gig. Of course even with two jobs they still have more time off than me. Volunteer departments around here consist of a metal building just big enough to hold the truck. There’s no one there with exception to the once a week or month they meet and train. Unless they get a call.
 
I am a 14 year career firefighter. The bigger the city usually means bigger money and call volume. Sometimes it’s not true though. I have my medic as well. Like others said above. I also do side work. I lay brick and block on the side. Look and see what Alabama’s retirement is. It’s better than mine I bet on Mississippi.
 
One friend of mine is FF and really doesn't like it , says that all he does is drive around giving NARCAN shots to overdoses...

Another friend has been a a FF for quite a few years now and he has built up quite a yearly vacation quota -I am pretty sure he starts hunting in Sept and doesn't stop till Jan, its amazing. But he has worked quite a few years to get there.
 
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Nutterbuster said:
What exactly does it take to get into it. I signed up for the CPAT because $20 is nothing and it honestly sounds kinda fun. Do they pay for the training? Is there a written exam I can go ahead and knock out? I'm trying to get ahold of the volunteer departments around here but they won't pick up. Must mean they need folks, right.;)
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Typically where I'm from, public service jobs pay for your training and a starting salary to attend the training if you get hired. That is where I would start. Apply at every fire departments in your area that appeals to you. If they are hiring, there could be a written test to start. If you past the test the process will continue until such time as you get hired or rejected. Market yourself and try and get hired. If you can't get hired then next step would be to volunteer and pay for training. Not sure on how it works in your area. If you can get hired, you then don't have to worry about working your present job and attend training on your own time.

I spent 31 years in public service and its not a bad way to go in life. Good Luck.
 
I’ve been a career fireman almost 15 years. There’s a lot to discuss. If you’re really serious and want some details you can PM me and exchange numbers. Overall, it’s a blue collar job and is best suited for people with good common sense and problem solving abilities. You can’t be claustrophobic!! Be willing to get dirty, sometimes for long hours, wipe asses, get puked on, see someone’s insides laying on their outsides, list goes on. They call you, it’s you that has to handle the situation, nobody else is coming...

It is an awesome job for the people well suited to it. I’ve worked my way up to lieutenant and am doing pretty well now. Money is ok to start as a rookie, great benefits and pension, but you pay for it. You can look up cancer statistics on firefighters to see what I mean. We just lost a brother to cancer 5 years post retirement. Things will hopefully get better as we are transitioning to being more health conscious with decontamination of gear and body post fire. Lots of hydrocarbons in today’s combustibles that weren’t there in legacy homes of pre-1980s.

It’s shift work, awesome for getting time off. In some ways you get more time with family, but you also miss them every 3rd night (my schedule is 24 on 48off), miss some Christmas mornings, thanksgivings, etc. you’ll end up mainly being friends with firemen because they’re the only ones off work when you are.

Certainly not all doom and gloom and blood in the streets, there’s lots of down time. There’s usually some training hours to complete or something, it generally a decent amount of time to relax, watch a little tv, we workout each shift and stay moderately busy during the day and will try to do a movie or something together in the evenings. A good crew (or bad one) can really make or break how much you enjoy your job since you’re all stuck together for a while.

I couldn’t imagine doing anything else, unless someone wants to give me $100k a year to hunt. Started when I was 24, retirement eligible at 49. Florida changed some things, I’m grandfathered but new guys have to do 30. Look into your states retirement plans for high risk employees, see what some of the local departments are paying and their benefits. I’m county employed, 300 man department, we are on state retirement. If you pickup with a city you’ll be on city pension. That can be better or worse.

These are some things to research and make some decisions off of that. Many people start with a small department ( we call them feeder departments) while waiting to be picked up with a larger department with good benefits. Nothing wrong with that but realize state to city pensions don’t carry over, sometimes you can buy back years of service up to 5 yrs or so. And it ain’t like being a nurse and you can go work anywhere in the country. Pensions don’t move and certifications do t always carry over to any state. So where you plant your feet be ready to ride it out for 25.

Best of luck in your journey


Spencer
 
I spent 32 years as a volunteer firefighter, 10 years as Chief. Still do volunteer Rescue Squad 38 years and counting. Find someone in your area on the Fire Department and tell them you're interested. I know of no departments not needing help. If you are committed to helping people there is no better way to do it, in my opinion. Good luck to you and God bless all the volunteers.
 
I was suppose to take the firemans test for Pittsburgh 37 years ago and never did. I had more than a few friends that were firefighters and they told me I messed up not taking the test. My nephew is a Pittsburgh firefighter and loves it. They work one 24 hour shift and then they get 3 days off. If your a hunter that works out great. Don't be like me and definitely go for it.
 
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