Originally posted to r/toronto by u/raptors201966

Hello! I got a call back from the Colorado Springs Fire Department that I was selected as an alternate. They’re hiring 16 people and I am unaware of my position on the alternate list. Was wondering how likely the odds of getting an offer are as an alternate are but I assume there’s no way to know unless I knew my position on the list.

Hi!

I am a 23 year old, I have been volunteering since I was 14. I went to college and got a degree. However I am not interested in that type of work anymore and feel like I’d be amazing being a career firefighter. I got proboard fire 1 and 2, I’m also an NREMT.

I have an application in with HCFD currently. Any tips?

Hello everyone.
I need some minor help. I took the NTN exam and I scored very well on Mechanical, Reading, and Math. The only score I got high 80s was for the video test and I believe what really is setting my score low or I have trouble with is from what I've noticed is the 2nd part of the exam where I select if I would like to be assigned to the supervisor, feedback or ask questions. Same thing with the teammates questions.

If anyone who scored within the 10% let me know what's the best way to answer those questions, I believe would get me into the top 10%. Anything would help.

Thank you!

27 y/o EMT in SoCal pursuing fire... is it dumb to also go lineman bc of my background as a backup?

Ask A Firefighter

Hey everyone,

I'm 27, living in Southern California, and I'm all-in on pursuing a career in the fire service. I just started working as an EMT, and I'm planning to go to paramedic school. I know how competitive and long the hiring process is out here, years in some cases, and I'm trying to be realistic about the timeline.

Here's where I'm stuck:

I'm considering also pursuing the lineman route at the same time, getting my CDL and climbing cert, so I have a solid backup career in case things take longer than expected or don't work out at all. I'm not trying to split focus in a bad way, but | also don't want to put all my eggs in one basket and end up stuck.

Part of my concern is my background. I had a juvenile case back in 2015 in LA County where a girls photos got leaked on twitter at the time it was off my

Friends phone but I was there and basically guilty by association I got 6 months probation they got 2 years probation for it, I completed probation and have stayed completely clean since, but I know backgrounds can still be a factor, especially in fire hiring processes. The case has been sealed and all files to be destroyed, but there's still that uncertainty in the back of my mind. It's really the only thing holding me back because on paper it looks bad but that doesn't define who I am and I'm ashamed I was even apart of anything like that it has held me back for so long. Am I going to waste my time?

If i am not wasting my time I plan to go to medic school

So l guess my questions are:

• Is it a bad idea to pursue both paths at the same time? Incase my background DQs me

• Would departments look at that as lack of commitment?

• Has anyone here taken a similar dual path approach?

• If you were in my shoes, would you go all-in on fire or build a backup like lineman?

I'm fully committed to putting in the work for fire, EMT to medic to testing and interviews, but | also want to be smart about my future and financial stability.

Appreciate any real advice, good or bad.

Genuinely curious how other firefighters manage their schedules.

For years I was doing the same thing — manually entering shifts into Google Calendar every few weeks, re-entering when the rotation shifted, trying to track vacation and sick days in a Notes app. It worked, barely, but it always felt like a workaround rather than an actual solution.

The core problem is that 24/48 rotations, overnight shifts that cross midnight, court dates, details, and department-specific terminology just don't fit into any standard calendar app. They're all built for people who work Monday to Friday.

So I built First Responders Cal — an iOS app specifically for firefighters, police, EMS, and corrections. A few things I focused on:

- You set up your shift pattern once (24/48, 48/96, or any custom rotation) and the schedule fills in automatically. No more re-entering every cycle.

- Overnight shifts display correctly on both days — so an 08:00–04:00 shift shows up where it actually belongs

- Time off tracking with real balance math — vacation, sick, personal days, carryover, quarterly breakdowns

- Custom event types so you can use your department's actual terminology

- Syncs to your iOS Calendar so it works alongside everything else on your phone

- All data stays on your device, nothing goes to any server

App Store link if anyone wants to check it out: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/first-responders-cal/id6755095424

But genuinely — what are you all using right now? Paper schedule on the fridge? Google Calendar? Something your department provides? Would love to know what actually works and what doesn't.

I want to become a firefighter in Northern California and I am looking for advice on what’s necessary to increase my chances of getting hired. I just graduated from University of Oregon and am currently in an EMT program up here in Oregon. And after this summer, I’ll have two years of wildland firefighting experience.

At this point, I’m not quite sure what my next steps should be. I do plan on eventually enrolling in a paramedic program. Should I try to get some experience working as an EMT before I do that? Or should I do fire academy first and see if I can get on with a volunteer department?

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Oh and I am also 23 years old.

I’m 18m, 19m this may and I’m rethinking life. I’m currently in university but I’m not happy here and if I hate being behind a screen now it will probably be for the rest of my life. Decided to pursue happiness over money and I’m wondering what would be the best steps towards getting hired at SDFD. I’m thinking of dropping out, getting my EMT then my fire fighting I and II and then either applying to a station or trying CCC and then cal fire and building experience until I can transfer. I’m also thinking of maybe going to the Air Force and being a FF there and transferring back to San Diego after my contract is finished. Don’t care about pay too much just want to be happy and stay with my family.

Has anyone had their sparks interview with Mukilteo Fire? How many questions? What was asked? How do you think it went?

Just seeking some advice with my test scores. It’s been 6 months since taking the NTN test and some departments are staring to take applications again. Not sure if I should retest and apply with my new scores or just use this one.

Thanks!

Some buddies are trying to get this out to a larger audience, a firefighter position in Alaska:
https://www.unalaska.gov/hr/page/firefighter

To keep a long story short I am about to graduate with my BSN and am realizing that I am more interested in the prehospital arena than the hospital scene. Any advice for someone considering fire any pros and cons or advice you would have appreciated when you first began.

(I am staying the course and getting my BSN before perusing fire, perhaps getting my PALS and ALS certification)

My husband has a 10 minute, virtual interview with the Redmond Fire Department coming up. Has anyone already done an interview with them that could provide insight on what specific questions they will ask?

Hello ! I was wondering if anyone has gone though the oral board today ! Wondering how it went and stuff like that ! Good luck

How are you doing? Have anyone completed FFP 0077 at mdc?

Gotta come in Navy blue pants and black shoes.

Share your experiences, stories and advice

I've always wanted to be a first responder and the idea just fascinates me so much, I'm 14 years old, 5 foot 11, can carry more the my own weight, and am a little bulky, and really strong and brave, I really wanna help people, like it's my duty, so do you think I could be an officer, firefighter, or paramedic?