Hello All From Simcoe Ontario

[simfirdept]

Hello Everyone! I just signed up for this today. I'm a 24 year old volunteer firefighter from Simcoe Ontario who is trying to pursue a firefighting career fulltime. Our Station is paid volunteer and we are on call 24 hours a day 7 days a week. What I was wondering is how difficult is it or was it for you guys to pursue your career? I have applied to 3 cities in Ontario so far and have had anywhere from 400-1600 people applying for 10-20 positions. Is it this competitve elswhere in Canada and the U.S.? Also does anyone really know what these cities are looking for i'm starting to lose hope. I heard it can take anywhere from 3-10 years to get on fulltime. Why I wanna know what these cities are really looking for is I do fine on the aptitude and fitness testing but get no further. I have my first aid, dz license, firefighting experience, 20/15 vision as well as other fire courses but no phone call for the next step. Lots of cities hire people with little or no experience at all. What I can hope for though is I talked to a fellow fulltime firefighter and he said within the next couple years the hiring process is gonna see changes and if you have firefighting experience it will benefit you and you should land the job. It has been a costly adventure so far but i'm hoping that someday soon I will land my dream job of being a full time firefighter.

[msharpe1047]

Simfir, One thing you might try is moving up in the EMS field as well. Around here not too firefighters are hired unless they are an EMT-B or higher. That is because the majority of the calls the fire department goes on are EMS related. Accidents and such. This is just one suggestion. But I know alot of department hire Fire fighter/parmedic for this reason because they are first responders to many scenes. If you have more questions just post them. These forums are a wealth of information. Good luck on getting hired full time.

[simfirdept]

Thank you for the info. Can you tell me more about this EMT-B program and where can I go to register for something like this. Thanks alot

[msharpe1047]

EMT-B

Simfir, I am not sure where you would go in Canada. You might want to post that question on one of the forums and let people from Canada help answer your question. I know from the ems forum that in Canada the designations are different then they are here in the states. Hope this helps.

[LadyCapn]

Simfirdept, the Emt-B program won't be of much use to you as it isn't recognized in Ontario. Unfortunately if you want to work EMS you have a 2 year full time college program ahead of you.....and that is just to work BLS. msharpe is correct though, many places in Ontario do look for an EMS background so that may be an option, even if just to get the qualification. I believe that possibly Mohawk or Conestoga is offering the program part time, might be worth looking into.
As for what can help you get into full time Departments, start signing up for classes at the Fire College. Get as much education as you can. Look into the the Module classes, they will provide the sign offs for most of the curriculum. Look into the Firefighter Certification, it doesn't differentiate between full time or volunteer. Get involved in your Departments Fire Prevention Program. Chances are when you get hired full time you will be spending an awful lot of time doing Fire Prevention, let them see that you are there for the community in all ways, not just the "sexy" stuff. Hope that helps. By the way, I believe Oakville just posted.....check out workopolis.com.....and good luck!!