Looking to get started

[marley972]

I'm looking to get started with my firefighting career and want to know the best route to take. That is why i've come to the guys that do it everyday. I live in north texas up by Sherman. Wondering what I need to do....just contact departments and go from there or is there somewhere to sign up and start getting trained?? And are there specific things I need to get certified in, or is it all pretty standard??......Look forward to hearing from y'all


Thanks

[Link338]

Hey. I'd try looking up the phone number in the phone book and calling. Even if no one's there they should have a number recorded in which to reach an officer. I'm sure they'd love to have you, everyone is always looking for manpower. You'll probably start off with in-house training in basic things like hose handling, traffic control, grass fires, etc. Then you'll probably be sent to some sort of fire school, we use TEEX/Brayton Fire Field which is in College Station and run by Texas A&M. There are 4 levels of annual fire schools, and also a Recruit Academy, which is basically a crash course that will throw you in to the career field, although the waiting list is a few years so I hear. After a few annual schools, which are a mix of a little bit of everything, you'll probably take some specialized courses, such as EMT, Extrication, Haz-Mat, Rope Rescue, Wildfires, Emergency Vehicle Operations, Pump Ops, etc. Hope this helps, feel free to ask anymore questions, I'm happy to help.

[josh76262]

I went to rookie school in Sherman. The name of it is Haz-Co fire academy. Pretty good scool that has EMT training with the fire school. In north TX most places require you to be at least a FF-EMT before they will hire you. There is a lot of competition for the jobs. The best way to get a job is to be a paramedic as well.