Tbh I don't know if they'll do it again. A lot of the part timers never pick up shifts.
They have an academy of 50 EMTs starting soon I hear though.
I'll give you a heads up if I hear anything but I'm not as in tune with the EMS division as I used to be.
Two ways to become a Firefighter paramedic.
Get hired as an H3 EMT and promote up which could take years.
Get hired as an H2 FF and promote up - which comes with a fat raise but you gotta spend six months on an ambulance.
Firefighter paramedic rank is getting pretty full though.
Not a lot of...
I'd just apply.
The worst they can do is say no. I doubt they will.
I'd also apply for the full-time EMT spot and just go through the process. It might not open again for another four years.
You don't have to take the job if you don't want it but it might be a nice option to have a couple...
Not sure.
The per diem or part time would be under the H008 job classification with the city and county and not the H003 job classification. It would probably be on a different part of the website if it were open.
Last full-time test was over four years ago though.
Come be one of the highest paid single function EMTs and Medics in the country.
Can't promise you good protocols. Can't promise you the best morale in the country.
You'll get a 3% a year pension max 90% if you do 30 years and lifetime medical for you
and your spouse when you are vested.
This...
Not totally.
After your cross train any shifts you work on the ambulance are completely voluntary. Not a lot of firefighters pick up ambulance shifts though. I've only done it twice because they let me pick my partner and hours. A few do to keep their skills up and a few do it because they...
I do. I was thinking I knew the Possom. They were AMR ALCO and it was pretty tightknit at the time.
Did not hear good things about Paramedics Plus. Didn't hear good things about Falck. AMR was good for 20 years but people still complained. The devil you know vs the devil you don't I guess.
No requirement to cross train.
It actually takes years to even get a shot at cross training. That leads to some burnout in the EMS division but I haven't worked in a system yet that didn't have EMS burnout. (Including Honolulu EMS)
The county EMSA kind of sucks and the protocols aren't the...
AMR and King American have a lot of 911 units but those units also do IFT. I don't think King American transports outside of SF.
The way the system is designed is for SFFD to handle 75-80% of the run volume but it's technically a three-way 911 tag team between King American, AMR, and the SFFD...
Not sure. They weren't too strict on enforcing it last I heard. I haven't been on the ambulance for awhile now.
We had a ton of firefighters from different departments or captains working part time on our boxes for a bit.
Same retirement benefits as suppression personnel. My ambulance time counts towards my retirement.
EMS division gets all the same benefits as we do. Except I think the way the math works out we accrue vacation hours a little faster
than EMS.
The Firefighter Paramedics (not regular...
You're not wrong but there are plenty of Bay Area medics making **** wages by comparison just outside of SF.
If you do make it a career you can go anywhere you want in retirement. We're the last ones with 3% a year up to 90% pension in the state.
One of the main reasons I tough it out here...