How To Become A Firefighter Part 6: The Chiefs Interview And Beyond

No Stress, right?

Deep breath. Remember. You've done this before and they liked you enough to pass you. Now you just have to sell yourself to the chief.

The same general principals apply to this interview as with any other. Remember to tailor your answers to your audience. If you're being interviewed by BC's remember that they are still line personnel. If you're being interviewed by anyone higher up than that they are paper pushers and number crunchers. They will want to know what you are going to bring to the organization. They may ask about community involvement or prevention programs. You need to be able to think a little bit deeper than just what a firefighter does on a day to day basis.

Have a good closing statement prepared. Remember to thank them when you're done.

Now that that is out of the way you're not done. When you get home you need to start getting everything together for a background check. You'll need names, addresses and phone numbers for family, friends, roommates, landlords and former employers. You need to have your work history down without any missing time periods. You will also need official copies of your birth certificate (otherwise how would they know that you were born?) and marriage certificate. Once you've done this for one department, make a copy of it all. That way you have all the information in one easy place.

Hopefully now you're on your way to being in the next fire academy. I hope that you're staying in great shape. One great way to prepare physically is to actually pull hose and swing an axe while in turnouts. If you don't have that ability, get a weighted vest.

Another thing. Most municipal departments run EMS calls. A lot of them. If they require you to have an EMT or medic license to apply expect a medical assessment exam. It's usually just a national registry skill so if you download the paperwork and practice going through each step you should have no problem. When I did my medic assessment while going through the process with my department we had several stations we had to go through. We had to assess and treat a pediatric patient for anaphylaxis, including drawing up and administering medications. We also had to intubate a mannequin and talk about everything we knew about Glucagon. Every department does theirs a little different.


For those of you that have the job, what did I miss? What tips/tricks helped you get hired?

Previously, More Station Visits