How to Become a Firefighter (An Unconventional Step-By-Step Guide)

Each cycle of our EMT class here at South Metro, I tend to have the firefighter by oberazzi via flickrsame conversation. It usually happens sometime toward the end of the second week, but sometimes sooner. It is almost always after class. It begins with one of my students approaching me while I’m gathering my things and putting my laptop away. The conversation begins like this, “So…I’m taking the EMT class because I’d really like a job in the fire service. What other things should I be doing besides becoming an EMT? How should I prepare for the testing process?” Once the question has been asked, the group of students interested in hearing the answer invariably grows to dozen or so. The conversation can go on for a considerable amount of time depending on how far into the weeds the students are willing to travel. Over the years, as I’ve watched the success and failure of so many would-be firefighter candidates, my advice has changed and become more unconventional. These are the things I seem to find myself saying over and over again, each time a new crop of candidates shows up. I think you’ll find this advice different from a lot of the advice you might read out there. That’s what makes it so valuable. 1) Recognize that a firefighter is something that you are, not something that you do. This can be hard to wrap your brain around so let me deconstruct it. That wasn’t a platitude. It wasn’t a bumper sticker. It’s the honest truth. Yes firefigh...
Source: The EMT Spot - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: EMT Source Type: blogs