How to Become a Firefighter?

It isn’t always a natural choice when you decide to become a firefighter. It is an honour to become a firefighter. However, it is a competitive field to work i.

Who Is a Firefighter?

A firefighter is a professional that is to fight dangerous fires. Firefighters are more aligned towards service than seeking personal gains. As a firefighter, you drive by your commitment to serve people in their times of need.

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Firefighters are lifesavers as sometimes they can be called upon to fight dangerous fires and help evacuate as many as they can. 

As professional firefighters, they fight different types of fire outbreaks. It could be a pure domestic fire or a complicated and dangerous fire in a public place.

Due to their job roles’ sensitive nature, firefighters undergo severe drilling and training to certified for service. Their training routines sometimes resemble that of the military because they trained to serve and protect lives.

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Firefighters are highly regarded and respected in society. Because of their job nature, it requires a certain level of bravery and physical strength. While it can become competitive to become a firefighter, there are some requirements needed to become one. The following are the requirements for becoming a firefighter:

Firefighting is not an easy task. You have to work pretty hard to meet eligibility criteria. Also, you have to train for long hours while having a sincere desire and passion for helping other people, especially when their lives are in danger.

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Due to the popularity of firefighters, it can become quite competitive to become one. You shall struggle with hundreds or thousands of other applicants when applying for a specific department position.

The following requirements are needed to become a firefighter:

1. Meet the Basic Requirements

To become eligible for this role, you need to have an expired driver’s license. It would help if you also were either 18 or older. However, people who are below 18 years early can apply to become junior firefighters.

The junior firefighters have little or no involvement in firefighting except to understand the role and prepare physically and mentally until they are old enough to become a professional firefighter. Then again, depending on your chosen department, there is an age limit from 28 to 35.

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2. Satisfy the Education Requirements

To become eligible for a firefighting position, you should have a minimum of a G.E.D. or a high school diploma. However, to further their professional careers, mots of firefighters get a fire service degree. Additionally, it would help if you aimed to be an E.M.T. To improve the chances of getting hired, you need to have an academic background in both E.M.T. and fire service. 

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Some fire departments could even require that you become certified in E.M.T. Then, some other more significant departments could expect you to have a paramedical license.

3. Maintain a Suitable Physical Condition

To become a firefighter, you will need to pass a test that focuses on your physical abilities. This physical ability test involves drilling. It includes stair climbing practices, dragging firefighting hoses, and carrying firefighting equipment. 

Other physical tests include the raising and extending ladders, forcible entry, search and rescue, ceiling breaching, and pulling techniques. During application, firefighters get ready for the test’s physical requirements and the job.

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4. Maintain Clean Social Media Profiles

If you have a Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram account, you should be careful about your actions. Posting, reposting, liking, or commenting on the wrong content can get you in hot water. You should expect all prospective employers to go through your timelines on social media.

It would help if you tried to get rid of immature, risqué, embarrassing, or other disturbing posts on your social media timelines. You should check your feeds and notifications. Try to keep your pages and schedules clean and professional. Or, if you prefer, you could shut down or foreign social media accounts.

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5. Maintain a Good Financial Record

Many people tend to ask about the relevance of an economical paper to firefighting, but it matters a lot. Like every other discipline, having bad credit can hurt your chances of becoming a firefighter. People with bad credit scores are told to improve this when applying for something as crucial as a firefighter position.

6. Become Engaged with Your Community

Firefighting is under the public safety department. This means that working in that field is a form of community service. When you volunteer our time and effort to serving your community, you prove your preparedness to help the city on a much engaging and significant level.

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Whether you choose a non-fire related or a fire-related position, you can take advantage of numerous opportunities to serve the community.

7. Pass Your Firefighting Exams

Studying and passing your firefighting exams is one of the requirements you need to become a professional firefighter. This exam comes with multiple-choice questions segmented into distinct categories. 

8. It Would Help If You Were Ready to Undergo a Psychological Assessment

There is no studying involved to pass a psychological evaluation. The test examines your emotional and mental stability to endure the extreme adversity and risk involved in firefighting.

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9. Graduate from the Fire Academy

To get a step closer to becoming a firefighter, you need to get your entry firefighter certifications at the state level; it could be the Firefighter I or Firefighter II certificates.

Once you get hired, you will have to attend a firefighting department school. The academy helps you become prepared for the job. One great way to be admitted into the academy is to join a fire department volunteer service.

10. Excel at the Interview

Why do you choose to become q firefighter? As cliché as this sounds, if you fail to answer appropriately, you could ruin your chances of becoming a professional firefighter. Get ready to answer these sorts of questions professionally. It is important to note that the answers you give will influence the decision of the hiring panel.

Conclusion

There are several daunting requirements and obstacles that you will have to scale over to be a firefighter. Being a firefighter is more of a community service than a financially rewarding career. The requirements are quite strict, so as the most qualified candidates can be selected.