How to become a Firefighter in Michigan

Click here for City Fire Departments in Michigan

To become a firefighter in the state of Michigan you must receive the Firefighter I/II certification. Some municipalities operate as Public Safety Departments where the police officers are also firefighters. Others operate in the traditional fashion of separate police and fire. Decide which direction is right for you. Several different types of departments exist and are classified as career, volunteer, paid-on-call, and combination. A combination department is made up of paid-on-call and career firefighters.Emergency Medical Services or EMS is now largely integrated into the fire service and many departments require a Michigan EMS license as a Medical First Responder, EMT-B, or a Paramedic.

Difficulty: Moderate

Steps:

1. To start earning your firefighter certification you need to be Eighteen years of age or older and member of an organized Michigan Fire Department or a pre-service student registered through a recognized College or University based Regional Training Center.


2. Determine the minimum requirements for the departments in which you would like to apply.


3. Most departments require an agility and written test, oral board interview, and a psychological exam.


4. Apply for the firefighter positions that are available in your desired area and meet your interest level. Most large city hiring are posted and only accept applications for a certain period of time. So start researching early.


5. Physically and mentally prepare yourself for any agility and written test well in advance. These test are used as a method to shrink the applicants down to a manageable size for interviewing.


6. Usually the last step is a medical exam and drug screen.


7. Exercise extreme patience! Fire departments usually receive hundreds of applications for each firefighter opening posted. The entire process is not as quick as a normal job.

Tips & Warnings

• Fire departments are a paramilitary organization.


• The psychologist is not your friend.


• Firefighters are under payed and work long hours.

Resources

• Michigan Fire Fighter I & II Requirements

Minimum Requirements to become a Houston Fire Fighter

Minimum Requirements to become a Houston Fire Fighter

FIRST, you should determine whether you meet the minimum requirements for a Non-Certified Fire Fighter Trainee academy OR a Certified Fire/EMT Trainee academy?

The following are the minimum requirements for a Non-Certified Firefighter Trainee (FFT):

• Must be between 19 and 36 years of age
• Must not reach his/her thirty-sixth (36) birthday before receiving the Oath of Office
• Completed sixty (60) accredited transferable college hours with a grade of "C" or higher OR Two (2) years of full time (active duty) military service with an honorable discharge
• Driving Record: No more than two (2) moving violations within the last 36 th months
• Ability to complete Fire and EMT Academy ; Approximately 38 weeks

The following are the minimum requirements for a Certified FF/EMT (CFF):

• Must be between 19 and 36 years of age
• Must not reach his/her thirty-sixth (36) birthday before receiving the Oath of Office
• Texas Commission of Fire Protection Certification (FIRE) - Basic or Higher
• Texas Department of State Health Services (EMT) - Basic or Higher
• Completed fifteen (15) accredited transferable college hours with a grade of "C" or higher OR if you hold a Fire/EMT Certificate from the State of Texas , we will accept your certificates and Course Completions in lieu of the fifteen (15) college hours.
• Ability to complete FastTrack Academy ; approximately 17 weeks

Taken from Houston Fire Department's Fire Trainee Employment Minimun Requirements

How to become a Firefighter in Kansas

Fire Departments by Cities:

• Augusta Department of Safety
• Axtell Fire Department
• Butler County Fire District
• Cowley County Fire District
• Decatur County Fire Department
• Dodge City Fire Department
• Hutchinson Fire Department
• Johnson County Fire Department
• Lawrence Fire Department
• Manhattan Kansas Fire Services
• McPherson Fire Department
• Merriam Fire Department
• Mission Twp Fire/Rescue Department
• Oberlin Fire Department
• Overland Park Fire Department
• Riley Fire Department
• Salina Fire Department
• Sedgwick County Fire District
• Topeka Fire Department
• Wichita Fire Department
  

How to Become a Firefighter in Indiana

Fire Departments by Cities:

• Bloomington Twp Fire Department
• Brownstown Volunteer Fire Department
• Centerville Fire Rescue
• Chesterfield-Union Twp Fire Department
• Churubusco / Smith Twp Fire Department
• Clarksville Fire Department
• Clifty Six Fire & Rescue Company
• Danville Fire Department
• East Columbus Fire Department
• Evansville Fire Department
• Garrett Fire Department
• German Twp. Fire - Rescue
• Kingsford Union Fire Department
• Knight Twp Fire Department
• Lafayette Twp Volunteer Fire Department
• Lakes of the Four Seasons Fire Force
• Lawrenceburg Fire Department
• Marion Fire Department
• McCuthanville Fire Department
• New Market Community Volunteer Fire Department
• Perry Twp Volunteer Fire Department
• Pittsboro Fire Department
• Polk Twp Volunteer Fire Department
• Scott Twp Fire Department
• Seymour Fire Department
• South Bend Fire Department
• South Haven Fire Department
• Southwest Allen County Fire Protection District
• Speedway Fire
• Sugar Creek Fire Department
• Upland Volunteer Fire Department

How to Become a Firefighter in Idaho

Fire Departments by Cities:

• Ammon Fire Department
• Boise City Fire Department
• Boise Fire Department
• Caldwell Fire Department
• Coeur d'Alene Fire Department
• Lewiston Fire Department
• Moscow Volunteer Fire Department
• Pocatello Fire Department
• Ririe Fire Department
• Rock Creek Fire District
• Wood River Fire & Rescue

How to Become a Firefighter in New Mexico

Fire Departments by Cities:

• Albuquerque Fire Department
• Bernalillo County Fire and Rescue
• Brazos County Volunteer Fire Department
• Fairacres-Picacho Volunteer Fire Department
• Farmington Fire Department
• Gallup Fire Department
• Hobbs Fire Department
• La Cueva Volunteer Fire Department
• Las Cruces Fire Department
• Los Chavez Volunteer Fire Department
• Roswell Fire Department
• Santa Fe Fire Department
• Santa Teresa Fire Department
  

How to pass a Psychological Exam

This day and age many different career fields are resorting to additional screening test to get the most qualified candidate who applied. Applicants applying for a position as a Firefighters, Public Safety Officers, and Police Officers should expect to take a Psychological Exam. Most applicants who fail during the hiring process is during this exam. Most exams are two parts, a written and an interview with a psychologist. There are a few good books to help you prepare, one is Master the Firefighter Exam pictured below. Use the following steps to give you a greater chance to pass the exam.

Do not try to study for the exam by researching commonly used test like the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). The test is set up to catch people who answer "appearing excessively good" or "faking bad".

The written exam is usually over 500 true or false questions that ask the same questions over and over in different ways. There are question to determine if you are lying, faking, and what your personality is. The sample thing to do on this part of the exam is do not lie! If a question asks you “I never feel like swearing” than you should answer false. Even if you never swear, everyone feels like it at some point in their life. Another

example question, “I read every editorial in the paper”. No one reads every editorial in the paper. Lastly, answer with the first thing that pops into your head. Don’t second guess yourself or think that you’re superhuman.

The interview with a psychologist is the strange part of the exam. You will be in a room with a psychologist who will ask you questions and then take notes while you answer. The psychologist will leave long periods of silence in between your answer and their next question. This is to try to get you to add more information to you answer that could open yourself up to more questions. Only answer the question that was asked and they wait for the next one. Just remember the psychologist is testing you, you may feel very comfortable during the interview which is a trick to open you up. Once again, don’t lie, they know when you do!

Walk out with your head held high knowing you took the exam truthfully and to the best of your ability!

How to become a Firefighter in Georgia

Fire Departments by Cities

• Aragon Fire Department
• Atlanta Fire Department
• Bent Tree Fire Department
• Bulloch Co. Register Dist. Fire Department
• Circle Five VFD
• College Park Fire Department
• Columbus Fire Department
• DeKalb County Fire Services
• Donalsonville Fire and Rescue
• Fannin County Fire and Rescue
• Fulton County Fire Department
• Garden City FD
• Glynn County Fire Department
• Gumbranch VFD
• Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services
• Hall County Fire Department
• Hickory Flat VFD
• Jones County Fire/Rescue Dist 5
• Kingsland Fire Rescue
• Macon-Bibb County Fire Department
• Peachtree City Fire Rescue
• Register VFD
• Rome Fire Department
• Roswell Fire & Rescue Dept.
• Salem VFD
• Shiloh VFD
• Thomasville Fire Department
• Walton County Fire Rescue

How to become a Firefighter in Colorado

Fire Departments by Cities:

• Allenspark Fire Protection District
• Ault Pierce Fire Department
• Aurora FD
• Avon Fire Department
• Berthoud Fire Protection District
• Black Forest Fire/Rescue Protection Dist.
• Boulder Mountain Fire Authority
• Boulder Rural FD
• Breckenridge Red, White and Blue Fire Rescue
• Carbondale and Rural Fire Protection Dist.
• Castlewood FD
• Chaffee County Fire Protection Dist.
• Cherryvale Fire Protection District
• Cimarron Hills FD
• City of Boulder Fire - Rescue Department
• Clear Creek Fire Authority
• Coal Creek Fire Protection District
• Colorado Sierra FD
• Colorado Springs FD
• Colorado State Forest Service
• Copper Mountain FD
• Cotopaxi Fire-Rescue
• Denver FD
• Durango FD
• Eaton VFD
• Eldorado Springs & Marshall FD
• Elizabeth Fire Protection Dist.
• Elk Creek Fire Protection District
• Estes Park VFD
• Evergreen Fire/Rescue
• Fairmount Fire Protection District
• Federal Heights FD
• Four Mile Fire Department
• Gateway Unaweep VFD
• Gilpin County Search & Rescue
• Glenwood Springs FD
• Golden FD
• Greater Brighton Fire Protection District
• Greater Eagle Fire Protection Dist.
• Gunnison FD
• Hermosa Cliff FD
• High Country FD
• Hygiene VFD
• Indian Hills Fire and Rescue
• Jackson 105 FD
• Lafayette FD
• Lake Dillion Fire Rescue
• Larkspur Fire Protection Dist.
• Littleton FD Hazmat Team
• Longmont Emergency Unit
• Longmont FD
• Louisville Fire Protection District
• Loveland FD
• Loveland VFD
• Lyons Fire Protection District
• Mountain View Fire Protection District
• Nederland VFD
• North Central Elbert County VFD
• North Metro Fire Rescue District
• North Washington Fire Protection Dist.
• Northeast Teller County Fire Protection Dist.
• Northern Saguache County VFD
• Platte Canyon FD
• Poudre Fire Authority
• Pueblo FD
• Rattlesnake Fire Protection Dist.
• Rist Canyon VFD
• Rocky Mountain Rescue Group
• Sable Altura FD
• Saguache VFD
• Sheridan Fire and Rescue
• Simla VFD
• Snake River Fire Rescue
• South San Francisco FD
• South Metro Fire Rescue
• Southwest Adams County FD
• Southwest Highway 115 VFD
• Stratmoor Hills VFD
• Sugar Loaf FD
• Sunshine Fire Protection District
• Union Colony Fire/Rescue Authority
• Vail Fire and Emergency Services
• Wescott FD
• West Metro Fire/Rescue
• Westminster FD
• Wheat Ridge FD
• Woodman Valley FD

How to become a Firefighter in California

Fire Departments by Cities:

• California Department of Forestry and Fire
  Protection
• Los Angeles Fire Department
• San Bernardino County Fire Department
• San Diego Fire-Rescue Department
• San Francisco Fire Department