fairfax county

[Heavyrescue02]

A meet & greet before june 26th works for me. I live in Maryland right across the woodrow wilson birdge so im in the middle of most places. are you from the area and how long have you been in the process? I'm 21 by the way.

[eng2man]

I live in NY, should be down in Fairfax a week or so before the start date. e-mail me your info so I can call you. Mine is [email protected].
I have been in the process since July/Aug. of last year. I hooked up with the recruiters at the Firehouse Expo in Baltimore last year, and have been going at it since then. Im gald to see all that time and $ driving back and forth from NY (Long Island) paid off.

[eng2man]

June 23rd, 7pm a couple of us new probies are meeting up (119th recruit class). Try and join us.

http://www.thefirehousegrill.com/contactus.html

Be there.

[Kobersteen]

June 23rd, 7pm a couple of us new probies are meeting up (119th recruit class). Try and join us.

http://www.thefirehousegrill.com/contactus.html

Be there.

Remember that place. The Union meetings are in the upstairs room.

The biggest thing to remember, which has been as issue with some past rookies... DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE! IF CONVICTED, YOU WILL LOSE YOUR JOB... plus it is just plain stupid.

Celebrate your new career, but for Gods sake, be careful... I may even stop by the Grill so make sure!

[eng2man]

Remember that place. The Union meetings are in the upstairs room.

The biggest thing to remember, which has been as issue with some past rookies... DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE! IF CONVICTED, YOU WILL LOSE YOUR JOB... plus it is just plain stupid.

Celebrate your new career, but for Gods sake, be careful... I may even stop by the Grill so make sure!

Yea, the drinking and driving was a big question with the recruiting staff. They told me that someone was just locked up for D&D and the person was only on the job a year or two... Not a good career move...Thanks for the heads up, and I hope to see ya there.

[tucker9]

Completed the recruit process!

Fairfax County is presently running about 4 schools per year and as soon as you are out of school, you are on the street! Good luck.

Alright, good news (I think anyway?) I've made it through to the end of the recruitment process (written, CPAT, polygraph, medical, and just finished psychological). The psych doc said at the end that I tested very high and that I have all the qualities the dept. is looking for.

So......now what? Placed on the list I guess and wait (hopeful) for the call from the Capt. right? How can one ever know how high up on the list you are? Is it "first come, first made it through, first called" in FX County? I suppose they pull from the "special" lists first (ALS, minority). I'm neither yet (ALS) in May '07.

Thanks in advance for the input!

[Kobersteen]

That is great Tucker... Congrats!

Yes, you are now on a list. As you speculate, white males are a dime a dozen in all reality. Yes, in order to meet departmental needs (ALS, diversity, etc) some may be hired before you, but keep your chin up and check in with recruitment frequently to ascertain progress.

I'll seeya in school!

[tucker9]

Should I contact recruitment once I start ALS training and let them know I'm on that path. Or do you think it's better to wait until I actually get the cert.? In other words, is that an advantage prior to getting the cert. as far as where I sit on the list or on which list I sit (I've heard there's a separate "list" for those in ALS training)?

Thanks!

[Kobersteen]

I have not heard of a separate list for those in 'ALS Training'. That does not say that there is not one, just not one that I know of... and I am not in recruitment.

I would certianly let them know when you start ALS school and ABSOLUTELY let them know when you complete it.

[alboyfsu]

I live in Atlanta and started the process with Fairfax County in Feburary. About two weeks ago I came up there to do my poly, psych and medical - all went great. Will I receive a letter stating that I completed the process and my name has been moved onto "the list"? Or should I call recruitment every now and then to check up on my status? Thanks in advance for any help.

[wvffnj]

how is this possible?

I suppose they pull from the "special" lists first (ALS, minority).

white males are a dime a dozen in all reality. Yes, in order to meet departmental needs (ALS, diversity, etc) some may be hired before you,

Seriously, how can hiring individuals according to race be legal? Am I missing something here? Have there been any dicrimination suits filed against the department's recruiting process. I'm curious.

[gepetto]

In talking with people in the department, they are not too thrilled with the idea either. The people who I have talked to also said that the "higher ups" (whether it is the chiefs or the county board of supervisors, I don't know) are looking for the department to reflect the diversity in Fairfax County. Most people I've talked to also say they do not care what you look like, as long as you can do the job. Giving ALS providers preference is fine, but after that it should a matter of being qualifed or not.

[wvffnj]

Does anyone know the current racial makeup of the department?

[DCHTC77]

So, what you're saying is if any minority Firefighter is hired they're automatically going to be tagged as "getting in with the minority tag"?

That's retarded.

[MikeWard]

Short history on employment practices

Seriously, how can hiring individuals according to race be legal? Am I missing something here? Have there been any dicrimination suits filed against the department's recruiting process. I'm curious.

Not only is it legal, it is enforced by the federal government.

In the late 1960's the Supreme Court ruled - in effect - that local government were the "employers of last resort." They are expected to provide the widest effort to comply with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This act was expanded by the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 and includes almost all public and private employers with 15 or more employees.

Fairfax County, like many large fire departments, was under a Justice Department "consent decree" from the late 1970's through the 1990's. That means the county agreed to change it's recruitment, hiring and promotion practices to remedy past discrimination practices and to have a workforce that reflects the community. Under a consent decree, a federal judge periodically reviews the progress a fire department is making in meeting their goals. There are significant penalties for not complying.

For Fairfax County, they were to meet the diversity as represented by the metro Washington DC Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA). This area includes Washington DC and Prince George's County (MD). In the 1970's the fire department hiring diversity issue was African Americans.

In the 1980's the issue was female firefighters. NO paid fire department with more than 100 employees represents their community when it comes to the percentage of female firefighters on the job vs. in the community.

Diversity statistics are driven by the national census which is taken every decade. The 2000 census showed an explosion in the Washington DC SMSA of Asians and Latinos/Central Americans. No public safety employer anticipated this demographic change.

go here: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/fr/deptinfo/Eeo-aa.htm Call the EEO/AA officer directly to get your statistical answer. Caution, if you are seeking employment, that may not be a prudent move

See how this is affecting FDNY's latest hiring: http://forums.firehouse.com/showthread.php?t=83283