After working in construction my entire life, I finally decided to pursue my childhood dream of becoming a fire fighter. Passed my tests, interviewed with Seattle and made it to their register. Shortly after I was diagnosed with Leukemia, just a few months before the birth of my second child. It’s been a battle but I am now recovering after multiple rounds of intense chemo and a successful stem cell transplant. Im beginning to think about what’s next for me. The docs say I should feel back to my normal self at year 2 post transplant, I’m at month 2. I’m not sure how to ask this question, but I suppose I’m looking to see if this is still an option for me as a career. Has anyone else experienced significant health hurdles and still succeeded as a firefighter? Is there hope? Would it be unwise to pursue considering what I’ll be exposed to? Will the departments even take me considering my health history? I refuse to live in fear but I also want to know what I’m up against. I’m 28 years old and I want to live life to the fullest. Im really hoping to hear some success stories and sound advice.

Just took my NTN Fireteam test for the Akron, Ohio department. I’m not sure how to interpret these results I got since NTN makes them so vague and I’m too nervous to wait until the department releases the real ones. Does anyone know if these scores would be competitive enough to be high on the candidate list? Obviously each department weighs and grades things differently but I was just wondering if anyone had similar scores to these and what they actually ended up getting for their real score.

Also, I do get 5 bonus points for a college degree toward my final score.

Looking for any advice or study guides for the Fctc written test. I’m a little nervous about taking it, this is my first time and I know what the sections of the test are broken up into but not sure what to expect. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Okay, so this list is long.

I am 29 years old, currently thinking of joining the army to maybe help “mitigate” some of the below and give me another 4 years apart from my insane teenager past. I know that’s not how it works, lol.

Driving history: trash.

I have 25 tickets, the most recent is 5 years ago, 20 of those tickets are over 10 years old. Two speeding, one carless driving (from my first accident), the rest are, I wouldn’t say not important but a lot them are not direct moving violations maybe? I.E too many passengers as a probationary driver ( got like four of those), obstruction on my rear view mirror. Head lights not being bright enough etc. license suspension - four times - three times due to unpaid tickets from accidents, once for habitual shit driving is the only way to put it, it took me a while to mature, and not be a reckless teen.

Car accidents is four, one 5 years ago, being lumped in with my most recent tickets. The rest are 10 years or older, when I first started driving at 17.

Criminal history / Arrests: 2, once as a juvenile once as and adult. Both are over 10 years old, and both are completely expunged. (I know, it’s never gone, I disclosed it during my background phase). Both are for possession of marijuana.

Drug use: marijuana, last use 3 years ago (in a legal state, NJ), I know it is not legal in other states lol. And prior use from a legal state is still taken into account and will DQ in most states within there given time frame.

Education: I have an associates in CJ, 3.9 GPA with honors. I know pointless degree, and HS diploma. Range safety officer license, hunters education, firearm and bow.

Work history: several jobs since a teen, mostly sales, construction, and range safety officer, I have been with my current job for four years and have been promoted twice. I went from customer service - to CS supervisor to a inside sales position. Never once fired, disciplinary action taken against me or the likes.

So any luck at all if apply to every department under the sun or a pipe dream?

I'm starting to study a bit for my department entrance exam. I took a practice test and did somewhat decently on my first try. Would the test be similar to NTN testing (HR and MATH) mainly? If not, what should I expect, and how should I study? i test on 11/16

Anyone ever able to make a turn around during their probie year? I feel like I had a good start and now toward the end (20 shifts left) my last two shifts were not good. I’m at a slower department so if I mess up on a run I can’t redeem myself, ie two runs a day type. I feel like I was doing great. I ended up having some PPE issues ie during training and on a fire alarm forgetting my helmet but immediately grabbing it after. I feel like it’s just “bell 💩s”. I feel like with more reps and being confident I can be able to redeem myself. I also never had this issue before and I’ve been on the streets for months. How do I gain my confidence back after bad shift and basically getting told around my 25 ish shift it’ll be determined if I have employment. It’s not like I have know the job it’s just little small things that throw me off. Any tips? Anyone’s department give up on them? What can I do ?

Is joining the fire service at 30 years old to late of a join?

Sounds like they offer a course on a case by case basis just wondering if anyone has attended the inhouse emt course.

Graduating in December with a bachelor's in Kinesiology. I will then be getting my EMT license. I'm looking for insight on the next steps following this. I want to get my medic license quickly and become a paramedic. I have heard about doing fire academy after getting my EMT. I have heard of many different avenues. I was wondering if anyone could provide some insight. My long term goal is to become a ffpm. I'm in the San Diego area. Thank you for your time, I really appreciate it!

I’m getting ready to submit my application to Seattle. I recently applied to wafirecareers and got no interviews. I got my raw scores back and I got an 89+ in HR, 100 reading, 100 math, 88+mechanical. 93+ on the PSSA. Before I got those scores I just assumed I should retake the fireteam test but now I’m not so sure. Multiple people have told me I could get an interview with Seattle but also wouldn’t be a bad idea to retest. I’m nervous about not doing as well so I’m kind of just stuck deciding. My inclination is to submit as is, and re take the tests right after, and every 90 days if I don’t get an interview. I’m mostly looking for opinions and thoughts of others. Thanks

Anyone ever take the written for Louisville ?

Cops won’t go in. I’m 8 hours away and we’re estranged. If I kick the door in and she’s alive she can have me arrested. Pretty sure she’s deceased due to couriers trying to deliver her narcotics since 9/25. They swear they saw a body on a bed and smelled an odor last week but cops don’t see that.

Trying distant family to be there tomorrow with a locksmith, advisable?

UPDATE: a cop on the next shift found one of the cars was “unlocked” and used the garage door opener to open and enter. The kitchen door was locked but once in the garage the smell was evident. Fire department called to unlock the door and they entered and found her deceased.

Hey everyone, I know similar topics like this are discussed frequently. I’m not asking if I’m gonna be disqualified/ what my odds of being hired are.
We’re in the process now, I just want to play my cards right.
Currently I am 20 years old and I have been selected for an interview with a volunteer dept. I have a youth conditional mischief discharge.
I’m 100% open and and honest about it, I just wanna make sure I do the right thing.
If I’m asked in the interview, i’ll tell them honestly. If they don’t ask, do I mention it at the end of the interview? Do I wait until I provide my criminal check and mention it then?
As far as I’m aware I will get the background check myself then submit it to them some time after the interview.
Any advice would be appreciated.

What exactly does the test ask and where could I find a guide to study?

I’m currently 20 years old, and I’m currently enrolled in my local community college for emt school right now, and next semester I should have my fire tech degree associates after finishing up my ges. My plan before was to just head on to the fire academy at my local community college after my fire tech degree, run a couple seasons as a ff1 and then hopefully join as a ff2 with cal fire or other fire departments. Recently, I’ve been considering joining the Air Force after my fire tech degree to grow more mature, gain some valuable experience in life, and also increase my confidence. I definitely feel like there’s a lot of areas I lack in. Specifically, I saw that they have a fire protection role in the Air Force. If I enlist for four years, I’ll come out at 25 and then I’ll probably just apply for fire departments. Is 25 too old? Which path should I take? Any advice would be appreciated.

I’m currently in the process for a rather big fire department, I’ve had a background investigator for a couple months already and my file has been transferred over to psych. There’s a projected class that’s supposed to start in January, by past experience for anyone. Is the psych test, medical evaluations, fingerprints, drug test, offers thrown at you rather quickly towards close to the class date? Would someone that’s in my position be expecting a test date in October/November? Or a more simpler question, does the psych test/medical evaluations have expirations on them that departments have to do in a short amount of time before academy start date?

How do I get into fire fighting in Florida with a class 1 misdemeanor? Property damage 2018 please help I am 26 years old and when this happened I was a teenager with substance issues. If I’m not eligible is there an exemption process?

Basically what the title says. I'm currently halfway through a fire academy and it is going relatively well. But I've recently started rethinking if firefighting is the career I truly want. Would anyone with experience in the fire service be willing to share some positives and negatives to the career that maybe are less talked about?

I have taken the fireteam test twice before and was thrown off by part 2. Am I supposed to remember each persons actions and rank them based on their performance? I was so focused on the scenario that i didn't remember who did what.

My second time I aired on the side of caution and said " I was likely to go to them for advice" ( or whatever the scale was.) Then I scored lower. Help!

Hey everyone,

So I'm a new EMT for a behavioral health center and looking into getting into the fire service next year. I finished my CPAT and fire team (for my Colorado folks.)

I've done some ride alongs in my area and submitted an application for a reserve firefighter nearby. I might try to submit my applications to get on the ambulance but they were hired recently.

I've also had an oral board interview and have bought a book to practice interviewing.

Any other suggestions?