fairfax county

[edpmedic]

I just wondered if anyone has an idea of how soon before you needed to be there (April 28th) they would let you know you had the job so you had time to find a place to live? (As of today there are 45 days till April 28th.)

Didn't see a reply last and just curious and thanks again...

When I received the offer for early January, I was given about 2-3 weeks notice. I had to decline. I later called recruitment, and was lucky to receive the offer for April. If you have completed the process, try calling recruitment to "check your status". A reliable source told me that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. If you show them that you are hungry, the may just give you the nod. If housing is an issue, you could get a gym membership for the shower, buy canned soup, and sleep in your car(kidding). Perhaps you could find a room for rent on a month to month basis, and put your furniture into storage, until a better housing opportunity comes up, if there are no other options.

[localva]

When I received the offer for early January, I was given about 2-3 weeks notice. I had to decline. I later called recruitment, and was lucky to receive the offer for April. If you have completed the process, try calling recruitment to "check your status". A reliable source told me that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. If you show them that you are hungry, the may just give you the nod. If housing is an issue, you could get a gym membership for the shower, buy canned soup, and sleep in your car(kidding). Perhaps you could find a room for rent on a month to month basis, and put your furniture into storage, until a better housing opportunity comes up, if there are no other options.

Hee, that's 100% correct Fairfax indeed gives "grease" to the "squeaky wheel". That's how I got in. There was an issue with my application so I had to give the recruitment office additional paperwork on several occasions. But, instead of mailing or faxing the paperwork I went in person. After the second time I had a friendly relationship with the head of recruitment, to the point were we were talking about house renovations for 30 minutes. I was told to my face the fact I came to the office to drop off the paperwork (more than once) was impressive and showed my aggressiveness for the job.

Three weeks later I got the call for the position.

[jdmedic]

Hi All,

Thanks for all the info guys. I call about every 2-3 weeks and talk to A.D. about my file and see if it needs anything. (Not really sure if I should be calling the Capt. or Lt.) I try to be the squeaky wheel without being annoying, and she is really nice about it. Edpmedic, I would live in my car for a career at FFax and I am really hungry, but I looked on Cl and found several nice places to cook soup that are open now if I do get a call. lol (Thanks Buckeye).
I appreciate you guys telling me your experiences, being from out of state I just wondered how long you had after you got the call. Thanks again for contributing to the board.

[edpmedic]

jdmedic, one more point of advice. In addition to an odd hour drive by of your potential residence, check any available blogs in reference to the development/apartment. My wife has found some potential spots, then read numerous horrendous reviews on the blogs. My wife also made up a checklist of what to ask the rep when you view the residence. Certain items such as repair policies, pest control, parking, noise pollution, outside lighting, soundproof walls, escape clause for the lease, etc. should be mentioned, and put into writing, if possible. When you move in, you want a landlord who is a johnny on the spot, not a slum lord.

[eaglesrule1024]

Hey so it's almost time to take the test on the 19th @ 1pm and all that's on my mind is what's on the test. And if there are going to be mechanical questions that deal with gears and at what speed should this be moving at ? and belts that remind me of cars same thing as the gears with speed (definitely not a car guy..if you haven't noticed) because this is something I definitely have no idea about. Oh and anything else I should be aware about ?

rob

[edpmedic]

Hey so it's almost time to take the test on the 19th @ 1pm and all that's on my mind is what's on the test. And if there are going to be mechanical questions that deal with gears and at what speed should this be moving at ? and belts that remind me of cars same thing as the gears with speed (definitely not a car guy..if you haven't noticed) because this is something I definitely have no idea about. Oh and anything else I should be aware about ?

rob

None of that as far as I can remember. Are you referring to the entrance exam, or the psych? The entrance was reading comprehension, some math, I think, basic ninth grade stuff. As for the psych, make sure you love your parents, don't hear voices, and present as extroverted as opposed to introverted. Good luck!

[jdmedic]

Entrance Test

edpmedic- thanks for the advice, you can email me at jdmedic at gmail if you want. I hope to get an offer, has been on my mind all the time lately because of something I was told.


eagles rule- I have taken several F.D. entrance exams and most of them are straightforward with some math ( I detest math, and still scored a 96%.) Some logic and reading comprehension was a big part of what I remember.

examples (These are like the test but I can't recall the exact questions):

Three guys were seen leaving the scene of a fire. A male wearing a red shirt a male wearing a blue shirt and a female wearing a green shirt. The one in the green shirt had burns on her hands. The one in the red shirt was carrying a gas can.etc. etc. etc.

Then there are multiple guess questions like:

Who was wearing the green shirt?
a. Frank b. Dave c.Shannon d. No one

The person carrying the Gas can had on:
a. blue pants b. red shirt c. green hat d.purple horseshoes

The math is a mixed bag.
Like:
The square root of xyz is ?
a. xx b. xxx c. xxx d. xxx

A 2400 sq ft building loses 600sq ft in a fire, the total percentage lost is:
a.10 b. 20 c. 25 d.30

3 fire trucks are headed to a structure. Truck A is 7 miles from the fire, truck B is 2.5 miles from the fire and truck C is 5.5 miles to the fire.Truck A is traveling 15 mph faster than truck B, and truck B is going 5 mph faster than truck C. Truck C is traveling 40mph. How many minutes will it take truck A to arrive?

a.xx b.xx c.xx d.xx

truck C arrives how many minutes before truck A.
a.xx b.xx c. xx d. xxx

These are just a few examples of the types of questions you will find on the test. (Almost identical to Denver test and close to FFax)Most of them are fairly simple and straight forward. You can also buy the study guide, but I'm not sure if it really helps or not? If you need more info, feel free to email me.

[MBMEDIC03]

Paramedic lookin for answers!!!

Just looking for anyone out there who may have any info on the approx. number of medics who they usually take for the ALS pilot program. I just finished all my testing up in early February. I know that some people have already received a phone call for this. It has taken me since last May to get this done due to some my medical certification, but that is all good now. try and post something, this is got me goin crazy!!

[MBMEDIC03]

Paramedic lookin for answers!!!

I just finished up all my testing in february and was wondering if anybody had any info on how many paramedics have been called for the ALS pilot program that starts in April. I know it is getting close and I just wanted to know also if they make all the medics go through this prior to the academy now or if they may wait until after the fall academy to put you through this. This wait is the hardest part and i have kept in touch with recruiting and i cant seem to get to much info from them. Help if you can thanks! its been a long road so far I started the testing in may of 07.

[wre722]

Well, passed the CPAT this past Saturday. I was surprised to see so many people fail. I didn't train for it as much as I wanted, and I definitely didn't get the fastest time of the day, but there was no way I was going to fail that test!

If I pass the medical, polygraph, and psych tests before the end of summer, would I technically be eligible to be selected for the fall recruit class?

[FirefighterPEP]

Congratulations on passing your CPAT... I was there also and thought it was gonna be harder than i thought. I've never taken the CPAT before but I knew what I was in for.

If I pass the medical, polygraph, and psych tests before the end of summer, would I technically be eligible to be selected for the fall recruit class?

What other steps are there to the hiring process aside from medical, psych eval, and polygraph(sweating bullets about this one)? There's got to be some kind of interview right?

[edpmedic]

Congratulations on passing your CPAT... I was there also and thought it was gonna be harder than i thought. I've never taken the CPAT before but I knew what I was in for.



What other steps are there to the hiring process aside from medical, psych eval, and polygraph(sweating bullets about this one)? There's got to be some kind of interview right?

No oral boards to speak of, in my experience. I guess that the post test psych interview with the psychiatrist/psychologist(can't remember), and the polygraph can be considered interviews. I guess that since you will go through a full academy, suppresion/medical knowledge is not crucial at the pre-hire stage, as you will be trained thoroughly in recruit school.

[jdmedic]

Nothing Yet

I just finished up all my testing in february and was wondering if anybody had any info on how many paramedics have been called for the ALS pilot program that starts in April. I know it is getting close and I just wanted to know also if they make all the medics go through this prior to the academy now or if they may wait until after the fall academy to put you through this. This wait is the hardest part and i have kept in touch with recruiting and i cant seem to get to much info from them. Help if you can thanks! its been a long road so far I started the testing in may of 07.

MBMEDIC03,
I finished up the same time as you and have not heard anything yet. Hopefully someone here has heard something. Good luck, I hope to see you and edpmedic around april.

[localva]

After your CPAT you are scheduled for a psych test/interview, full medical examination, and then a lie detector session. All of those areas send their paperwork to the main office and that's it. You don't do anything else. The cut off before each recruit class is about three months. You can usually find out the date they actually select the recruits. If you're testing this summer you should be on the list for the fall.

As an FYI, the lie detector session is the main one that can make or break you. It's done by a police detective in an empty room and it takes a couple hours. My advice, DO NOT LIE regardless of what you did. If you're caught lying you're gone, they don't care what you did. Trust is a requirement for this job, if you lie go find another career.

Just remember that Fairfax gets on average 2000-2500 applications a year.

[wre722]

As an FYI, the lie detector session is the main one that can make or break you. It's done by a police detective in an empty room and it takes a couple hours. My advice, DO NOT LIE regardless of what you did. If you're caught lying you're gone, they don't care what you did. Trust is a requirement for this job, if you lie go find another career.

localva, what kind of questions do they ask you over the couple hours? Is it just on the information presented in the personal history packet, or do they expand on that? I don't have any skeletons hanging in my closet or anything, I am just nervous about being too...nervous to pass. It will be my first polygraph and its one I'd rather not screw up.