[Job/Career] EMT/Fire Academy Training

K

kicker

Veteran XV
So here lately (past month) i've been thinking about trying to get into the fire academy. Here in Texas i know you have to at least be EMT-B certified before you can become a fireman.

I was wondering if there are any fireman on TW, I've seen some EMT's and i know fngrBang is an RN but i don't think i've seen any fireman. So post away on any pros or cons y'all can think of.
 
its hard to do, there is a lot of competition and they almost always look for experienced volunteer firefighters before getting someone who is totally green
 
no real questions i don't guess. My problem is i just graduated with a BS in Netowrk and Communications Management. Like i said the past month or so the thought of fire academy has been sitting on my mind, and recently it's been getting heavier. The only problem i have is no money, and nothing really to push me towards it. I think if i was to go to the fire academy i would feel like i wasted my money going to school for 3 years to get my current degree but at the same time i don't know if i want to be staring at network analyzers and command prompts for the rest of my career. that's why i was just saying to list some pro's/con's for the idea.
 
If where you are in Texas is anything like other fire acadamies, theres usually a long ass waiting list.. but Texas A&M has a really really good fire sciences program (along with Fire Academy) I'm pretty sure theres a long ass waiting list for that..

I know Miami-Dade and Broward counties in Florida have somewhere along a 3 year wait, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake in Virginia have like year and a half waits, NYC probably also has a long ass waiting time, I'm sure Texas is most likely the same, unless you're in a small ass town, but even then if its too small, you probably have to go to the fire academy on your own expense.
 
con: if you dont like the people or the work you're going to hate it.
con: it can be competitive to get into the school

pro: many departments will pay for your training if you promise to work fulltime for them for a certain amount of years after you are certified
pro: going code 3 :)
 
james said:
Every department I know of puts you through their own academy once they hire you
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Some of the smaller ones don't, mainly because its not in their budget, or they don't hire green firefighters period. Sunrise, Florida (located in Broward County, but has its own Fire Department), won't do it, nor will they hire anybody with less than 2 years.. mainly because its not in their budget to put somebody through the academy.. but in places where they will hire completely new firefighters but not pay for the academy, the starting pay is usually exceedingly good.
 
Pro: usually a very appropriate training regimen with chances for additional education & advancement

Pro: standardized evaluation and merit increase methods within municipal systems

Pro: discounts! Many businesses offer discounts on food, movie tickets, financing, etc.

Pro: personal satisfaction in offering selfless service to a stranger

Pro: retirement@@!!!!

Con: getting stuck in a "good ol' boy" department mentality thanks to the fossilized dead-heads whose daddy's daddy fought fires

Con: getting burnt to a crisp/having a building come down on you/walking into the midst of an environmental disaster unprepared/falling from a ladder, etc.

You definitely want to attend an A&M training opportunity
 
Quoop said:
they almost always look for experienced volunteer firefighters before getting someone who is totally green
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wow. its the exact opposite up here. They like to train you from scratch here so that you dont have any bad habits you may have picked up as a volunteer.
 
Quoop said:
its hard to do, there is a lot of competition and they almost always look for experienced volunteer firefighters before getting someone who is totally green
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You my friend is absolutely correct. The competition is amazing.
 
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