So I went to school to be and E.M.T. and I worked doing that for a while....and I loved it but, I know alot of people who fight fires and there seems to be such a thrill in it! I would love to start working towards becoming a firefighter but, I just don't know where to start. I really don't know much about fire fighting stuff....Where do I start??? Any advice?
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Re: Where to start???
Tue, September 19, 2006 - 8:01 AMstart training your body....strength, endurance, cardio/pulmonary fitness. Eat good healthy stuff, watch the booze. Then do it some more. Then do it again. Then find someone whos hiring. Keep an eye on firehouse.com which is said to be a good source for hiring. Watch the various municipal websites. Consider state and federal FF gigs too. Then train some more. Unless you hit upon a place that requires a FF cert to begin with, theyll teach you everything you need to know. Then the folks in the firehouse will teach you the RIGHT way to do things. -
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Re: Where to start???
Tue, September 19, 2006 - 10:04 AMThanks for the pointers....I have been physically training alot lately, I figured that I could get really into shape during the winter time and be ready for FF training in the spring and I have been thinking about Fed FF I live in an area where it is a really big thing. I cannot decide though...Forest Service vs. CDF...I may go with CDF because they do alot of Med Aid calls and thats another thing that I love......Good Luck to me...haha -
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Re: Where to start???
Tue, September 19, 2006 - 10:39 AMokaaaaaaaay whata CDF??? (State that begins with C) Dept of Forestry?
Ill tellya....one of the guys in my Fire Patrol house did forest FF on the side....harder than regular fire work he told us. Thats really spartan stuff.
Break a leg Alyssa!~
and keep in touch if you like. Im about to lose my fire gig and Im holding on to contacts like theyre the last life jacket on the General Slocum.
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Re: Where to start???
Tue, September 19, 2006 - 10:49 AMCDF: California Department of Forestry. And yes the Forest Service stuff is where you really get your ass kicked....back country and wilderness fires for weeks and weeks at a time...working 72 hour shift with basically no sleep...This is what my ex does for a living and he says it is one of the hardest jobs ever....But he loves it with a passion. I will stay in touch thanks. -
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Re: Where to start???
Tue, September 19, 2006 - 5:02 PMAlyssa,
Totally agree about the fitness, especially the entry positions. And give up smoking if you haven't already.
I met a bunch of people at Burning Man who were in CDF. They were fit, professional and very competent people. If they are any indication of the organization, I'd say that it would be a good place to start.
If you live in an area with composite or volunteer fire crews, you can join up with them and get entry training as well.
Good luck in your journey.
SJ
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Re: Where to start???
Tue, September 26, 2006 - 10:54 AMIf you are looking to fight wildland fires -- look into a red card course--I'm in Washington State, but I'll bet the community colleges in California have courses that include redcard training--you will need to pack test. (45 pound pack, 3 miles, 45 minutes). You may need a sponsoring agency to take a Red Card class--this is where volunteering comes in...
f you are interested in working in the woods, you may be able to get on with a tree planting crew this winter--or pick up work with a seasonal Forest Service crew. I have a friend who started work with a forest service crew the summer out of high school--she is 22 now and a hot shot (does back country work out of heliocopters), she has time off inthe winter to ski, her EMT training helped her get the job--you also might want to look into ski patrol this winter, esp. back country ski patrol--you may have to start as a volunteer--but your EMT should get you on a crew, and they may be able to sponsor you for redcard training.
Feel free to email me
15 years working in the woods--wildland/backcountry, 9 years structural FF/ EMT-ILS/ Fire-EMS Instructor
