Question for the FIRE FIGHTERS here...

[Huntindad]

My 16 year old son has entertained the idea of becoming a fireman. Mostly at my encouragement

Anyway… I see that the Austin FD has as a minimum educational requirement a high school diploma or GED.

I understand that when a cadet class opens up, folks will take a test??? Written first than physical or vice versa.

What would y’all recommend that he do to better his odds at getting on as a fireman? Any college courses help? Volunteering as a fireman??

Getting any certifications before hand help?

Thanx folks,

[tvc184]

If Austin is civil service then the written test will be first. After that it is up to the agency or the local civil service board to set the hiring criteria.

[Firestopper]

The best thing he can do while waiting to become of age to take any FD exam is keep his nose clean. Alot of good people don't make it into the SAFD every year because they made poor decisions when they were young.Volunteering doesn't get you any extra looks by any of the larger paid departments department. But if he wants to serve his community and volunteer good for him.

[dac6933]

The best thing he can do while waiting to become of age to take any FD exam is keep his nose clean. Alot of good people don't make it into the SAFD every year because they made poor decisions when they were young.Volunteering doesn't get you any extra looks by any of the larger paid departments department. But if he wants to serve his community and volunteer good for him.

very good info, also start taking college classes. alot of depts are starting to require college to be able to test.

[hawgman_1]

Go down to your local vounteer fire house and ask them when they meet. Our fire house has a junior firefighter program that allows kids to come down and train on the equipment and sit in on classroom training.

[txhunter817]

The biggest thing is to have a clean record and also be fortunate enough to do really well on the civil service exam. It's very tough to get on. He needs to be prepared for that. He may have to test several times and maybe with multiple departments. Best of luck to him. It's the best job in the world imo.

[Zookeeper]

The best thing he can do while waiting to become of age to take any FD exam is keep his nose clean. Alot of good people don't make it into the SAFD every year because they made poor decisions when they were young.Volunteering doesn't get you any extra looks by any of the larger paid departments department. But if he wants to serve his community and volunteer good for him.

I agree with this 100 percent. I might add that encouraging your son in that direction is not a bad thing but he must have the temperment to do the job. There is a difference in dealing with human blood and guts rather then deer. To deal with people on the worst day or event of there life time after time test the metal of a person and not everybody is cut out for it. Your son can get some good exposure by volonteering at a nursing home, hospital, Take a Red cross first aid course, and later take an EMT course. If he still has an interst when the time comes many JR. Colleges offer an Associates in Fire Protection. By the time he finishs with this he should be getting close to 21yo. Not many Depts. rarely hire under this age. This will not only prepare him for the test that he will take to get hired but also prepare him for THE JOB. Many have the want to but most have the can't.
I did It for 30 years.

[kfd82]

The best thing he can do while waiting to become of age to take any FD exam is keep his nose clean. Alot of good people don't make it into the SAFD every year because they made poor decisions when they were young.Volunteering doesn't get you any extra looks by any of the larger paid departments department. But if he wants to serve his community and volunteer good for him.

I agree with this 100 percent. I might add that encouraging your son in that direction is not a bad thing but he must have the temperment to do the job. There is a difference in dealing with human blood and guts rather then deer. To deal with people on the worst day or event of there life time after time test the metal of a person and not everybody is cut out for it. Your son can get some good exposure by volonteering at a nursing home, hospital, Take a Red cross first aid course, and later take an EMT course. If he still has an interst when the time comes many JR. Colleges offer an Associates in Fire Protection. By the time he finishs with this he should be getting close to 21yo. Not many Depts. rarely hire under this age. This will not only prepare him for the test that he will take to get hired but also prepare him for THE JOB. Many have the want to but most have the can't.
I did It for 30 years.

These two are dead on. Great advice.

[Huntindad]

Thanx for the info guys. Keeping his nose clean is important in many ways. Hopefully, that will not be an issue. Austin's minimum age is 18.

Whether he is cut out for it or not... I don't know. I would like to think so... but you never know. When he gets a little older, I think volunteering would do him good.

thanx again.

[TXFireFighter]

Dont think I need to say anything more other than give it hell and dont be afraid to start small. Its rare that everyone makes it into a large paid dept their first time. That doesnt mean it dont happen, just not that often. If he doesnt get in send him to fire school so they atleast know he is serious the next time around. Once he has his certs then tell him to test everywhere he can and move up accordingly. Pm me if you have any more questions about the deptartments and the fire schools around here. I have lived and worked in this area (austin-round rock-georgetown) all my life. Goodluck to him.

[Thwackmaster]

These two are dead on. Great advice.

X2.

[capt341]

Great advise from everyone so far. When he turns 18 he can get his EMT certification and also attend a fire academy to get his basic certification. Having already gone through rookie school will give him an advantage at some of the smaller departments. As someone said in a previous post dont be afraid to start small and then move on to another department. It seems to be easier to move up in size than getting hired the first time. Best of luck to him and I dont think he will find a better job.

[FIRETX12]

There are civil service study books available. Also, his future dept may not require college classes, but they could possibly give incentive pay for them. I speak for every fireman here on the green screen when I say please contact us any time with any questions. We all would be more than willing to help in any way we can. It truly is the best job in the world.

[txfireguy2003]

All GREAT advice. The civil service exams, at least the ones I took, (PD and FD) are all pretty much high school level English, Reading Comprehension, and Math. Each department gets their exams from one of several different companies, and you can get study guides for the individual test he will be taking. That said, for the next few years, until his is old enough, get some college, keep his nose clean, and keep his driving record clean. Now, when I say keep his nose clean, that means in his personal life as well, because the background checks aren't limited to just a criminal background check and a call to your references, they can dig deep (I know of one guy who's ex-wife got a call), and his credit is important too so don't let him go out and get a bunch of credit cards he can't make the payments on. As you mentioned, Austin's minimum age is 18, however, that doesn't mean that they will hire someone at 18 unless that candidate shows some SERIOUS promise. When I started my current job, one of the guys that got hired with me was the youngest they had ever hired at 21. We have since hired a few in the 19-20 range.

[Epack]

Huntindad, if yall are in the austin area check out the Travis county fire cadet program, i know a few people who have been thru it with good success, they also teach the emt portion of the class with good instructors. I dont think its to terribly difficult to get into, i know of several 18 y/o guys that went thru it several years back and all passed.

Acc fire academy is great too and they give priority admission to those students who are already EMT-basic certified so you might look into that as well!

hope my .02 helps