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Getting started on a FF career at 48 is going to be an uphill battle. Its not impossible, but there are some departments who dont like to hire anyone over 35. Thats not the norm, but they are out there. I would contact someone with a nearby FD and ask some questions, most people are happy...

Not a whole lot of mention of training in here yet! We set aside time every shift to train. It could be EMS scenarios, first due street familiarization, hoseline/ladder training, etc. Training is the best way to ensure that our skills stay sharp.

Yes, the academies are for both fire and EMS training.

Well thats good to hear, because it doesnt exist in my neck of the woods. Paid personel go through a grueling 6 month academy, volunteers....do not.

And just passing the NR seems to be good enough for many volunteer services to put a provider in the field. Paid personel here go through quite a bit more training than that.

This thread has made me appreciate the fact that i dont live in a small town that only has volunteer coverage. I dont think i ever realized that there were so many places that couldnt afford career staffing. Sure, there may be places in the country where volunteers know what they are doing...

All 911 EMS is handled by the fire departments, so you would have to get hired and then go to a fire academy. All of them offer 24 hour shifts. Otherwise IFT with a private company is your only other option. I know that PTS does 24 hour shifts but its pretty miserable work.

Deploying and flowing a 2.5" hoseline or an unsupported 24' ladder throw top my list of favorite skills. Starting an IV would probably come in third.

Shoooot, id rather be in regular pants than cargos. They look much better IMO. And if we get a fire call i dont want all kinds of stuff to be out of reach under my bunkers.

I work for the fire department and we dont wear pants with cargo pockets, so i dont like to weigh myself down with tons of stuff. Knife, pen, notepad and contact drops. Everything else stays in one of the many bags that come in with me.

I use the IAFF Pro Calendar app, good stuff. You can program in your kelly days too, among other things. There is even a feature to keep track of your sick leave, vacation time, overtime, shift trades, etc.

In a perfect world, sure. But it would be impossible to find a group of people, willing to work for free and quit their day jobs, who could go through the academy. Plus they would have to pay a full time staff (plus overtime) to train them. Its just impossible.

Our paid staff go through a grueling 6 month academy which works out to a little more than 50 hours/week of solid training. Im not knocking the volunteers for not going through the academy because its not an option for them, but the bottom line is that it is an entirely different level of...

Most of them are looked down upon by the career staff here. Not all, but i would say that the majority of them are. They dont have the same training as us, and arent held to the same fitness standards. That leads to a lot of tension between the two sides.

Relax, its just a common way for somebody to say that they aren't feeling well. Don't read into it too much.

Nope, keep it simple with that stuff. Just say O2, IV, monitor for each patient and you will be fine.

At my job, the ALS providers on shift work will make $7500 more per year than those on day work.

Agreed, but thats just the way it is here. The privates here only do IFTs and they max out at around $14/hr for medics. You can make twice that working for the fire departments, and you get to actually use what you learned in school.

That's a shame. Correct, it is not their job, i just think it's something they should have at least touched upon. Around here, getting on with an FD is the only way to make a real career out of EMS. If you were just enrolled in the program for fun, so be it, but the majority of students...

Part of the reason i wish that my program had gone more in depth on the topic of the fire service is that there is no mention that if you are out of shape, you will likely never get a job. There were definitely some really fat/unhealthy people in my class. Its stupid to lead these people to...