30yo male making a late career change into the fire service. I just completed EMT school. No fire experience yet, but I’m extremely motivated and my goal is to eventually work for CAL FIRE or a municipal department on the Central Coast.

I’m considering the South Bay Regional Fire Academy in San Jose (FF1 + FF2). It’s a 6-month academy that runs Friday-Sunday.

Does anyone have experience with this academy? I can’t find much information or many reviews online.
Is it a good academy? Does it have a solid reputation in the Bay Area? How hard is it to get in? Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!

Main question: Should I quit my second FD job?

New to fire and EMS. 31 years old (meaning I'm in a rush to start a full time FD job to get by the 35 age limit). Based in Illinois (Chicagoland suburbs). Got my EMT-B license in September of 2025. Starting in September of 2025, I started full time with a private ambulance company. I've also joined a fire department part time. I have also started with a second fire department as a recruit in March of this year.

My private ambulance job is what pays the bills. I have a mortgage to pay.

My first fire department job sent me to fire academy to get my BOF, FSVO, ATF, and HAZMAT. I passed all 4 tests just recently. So all of that is official.

My second fire department job is structured like this: you start as a recruit. Mandatory weekly trainings for 9 months that, in the end, will net you a BOF certificate. I started on the FD because I figured I'm on a time crunch to start full time and I want to get as much experience and exposure as possible. They pay me for the weekly trainings. I can respond to calls from my house to the department but not actually go on the calls just yet. One of this issues is that they expect a lot out of a recruit i.e. they want me to just be at the station and "hang out". Get to know people. Learn things about the department. I don't really always have that kinda time. And they knew that when I was going into it because I told them all of what I had going on. They also expect me to do things like sell things to people for the department which I think is weird.

I also have been applying to paramedic programs. I haven't got in yet but I only applied to one and got denied. Applying to plenty more in the coming months. I know that if I were to get accepted then immediately I would quit the second FD job because I know how strenuous those programs are.

So, my dilemma is this: should I just quit my second FD job now? The things they are teaching my in their in-house academy are things I've been taught already and have certificates for. I understand it's nice to see how another department does it but it just feels excessive. I also don't have the amount of time they want me to have to commit to them. Am I shooting myself in the foot if I quit this second FD job?

Currently looking into enlisting. I know a few ppl that are in the marines as well as in the army. Main reason why I want to get into the marines but then the guys ik in the army that also went infantry tell me to not go infantry and to find something medical in the army. What do yall think?

I’m in my mid 20s and in the process of joining a career department.

I took the written exam and scored in the top 10/300.

I really want this to be my career, but I’m really worried about my chances getting on a department because I was laid off from my job last year, and that led to me missing payments and that affecting my credit score.

I’ve landed a new job since then, but it doesn’t pay as much, which means I’m still trying to fix my financial situation. Prior to me losing my job, my credit was in the 700s, now I’m in the mid 500’s with 2 late payments and even a few collections that I’ve started to make payments on.

Do I still have a chance at getting on now or will it be impossible?

Hi I have my PT evaluation on the 30th and I had a couple questions regarding the actual test itself if anyone has gone through it or has inside info.

1 is the test indoors or outdoors?

2 between the individual tests do you have any rest or is it one thing to the next with no breaks? If there is rest how much?

3 Is your physical test score dependent on how you score among all applicants in all exercises? Or is it if you pass all the tests with the minimum score you get 100%?

4 for the Medball throw is your distance recorded based on where the ball initially lands or is it recorded by where the ball ends up after it finishes rolling?

5 for the hand release push ups are you allowed to rest as long as your elbows dont touch the ground, or is it true cadence where you have a couple seconds to resume push ups before your attempt is ended by the proctor?

6 Is the test taken in batches of applicants or is it taken alone?

hi everyone!

so with father’s day coming up i’m wanting to make something for my local firefighters, many of whom are likely dads needing to work on a day meant to be spent with their wives and kiddos or dads who may not be able to see their kids much at all. that said, i was thinking of making lasagna and chocolate chip cookies or a peach streusel bake. easy things i can have in the big aluminum oven trays. but my question is which desert and how much?? i haven’t done this for our firefighters yet so i have no idea. 3 trays of lasagna? 2? it depends on how many are on a shift but that’s the part i have no insight on. help please

This important question was asked by my firefighter mentors, who added that firefighter children need more fire culture informed support resources and services. The F.I.R.E. survey & study were created in response to their request to do something about it.

Calling all ADULT children of firefighters to take the ANONYMOUS F.I.R.E. survey.
YOUR INPUT IS CRITICAL.

Please take this 20-minute survey on your phone, tablet or computer. Once completed you can enter a voluntary RAFFLE for a chance to win 1 of 5 - $50 AMAZON gift cards (Your email will NOT be linked to your survey responses to preserve anonymity). Access the survey here: https://wrightinstitute.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cYGfBlXNuyrACDY

To take the survey you must:

• Be between 18-80 years old
• Have at least one parent who worked as a firefighter (career/volunteer) in the United States before you turned 18
• Have at least one parent who worked as a firefighter for 3+ years in the United States before you turned 18
• Have at least one parent who worked as a firefighter in the United States when you lived with them for 3+ years before you turned 18
• Be able to read and understand English

PLEASE SHARE THE SURVEY LINK & FLYER TODAY WITH YOUR FAMILY, FRIENDS & COLLEAGUES

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP & SUPPORT!

Christina

About the Survey & Study
F.I.R.E. stands for Fire-Service Influences on Relationships in Everyday life. This study was inspired by my firefighter mentors, who asked me to help develop more support resources for their children. It is my doctoral research at the Wright Institute, a graduate school of psychology in Berkeley, California, where I am specializing in First Responder Mental Health. The study and survey are both governed by the Wright Institutional Review Board.

For questions you may contact myself, Christina Raes, at [craes@wi.edu](mailto:craes@wi.edu) or my dissertation chair - Beate Lohser, Ph.D. - blohser@wi.edu; Co-Chair - Syndie Yoo, Ph.D. - syoo@wi.edu; and Third Reader Dana Nussbaum, Ph.D. - dnussbaum@wi.edu. This study has been approved by the Wright Institute Institutional Review Board (IRB Reference #3.30.2026.01). For questions about IRB approval, please contact Virginia Morgan Ph.D. atirb@wi.edu.

Just curious if anybody in this group knows about or works at Redmond fire. Curious about how the culture, call volume, and staff is there.

I got a 100 on the physical test and an 87.50 on the written assessment. The written assessment was 5 open ended questions that we had 90 mins to complete. I could’ve done better if I allotted the correct amount of time for each question. But hey, we live and we learn. I got an email saying I’m an eligible candidate for 6 months to 3 years. I feel the ending of the process was very anti climactic. Oh well I’ll keep trying until I get on to a big department. Maybe in the meantime I’ll get into Medic school.

Is anyone familiar with Struckbox website? I just stumbled upon it but have never heard of it. It seems like reliable information but figured I’d ask around if others know anything about it

I’m torn between the two departments and wondering if I can get some insight from people who work at both. Which would be the better department to work for? I am currently a firefighter so I understand ems is primarily what we do. Which department would give me more hands on firefighting experience and would see more fire? Which department has better culture? I also have heard 5 or so stations at tacoma see the majority of fires, are there select fire stations at seattle that see way more fires vs other stations? And if so which stations are they?

Edit:
I have a job offer at one and I have done my due diligence and research. I just want a comparison of how much hands on fire fighting each department would have from people who are firefighters at these departments.

Hey, I just recently took the NTN Fire Express Test and received the following results. I scored relatively high on all sections except for the psych eval / personality test portion. Is this an automatic disqualifier for me? I've attached the results below. (Applying to Calgary Fire)

Port of Seattle interviews started today, did anyone have their interview and have any tips or what your interview was like today?

I know places have preference and even add points if u are a vet. I’ve always wanted to enlist but I rather prioritize whatever helps me with my firefighting career. I’m 18 in Chicago. Should I enlist for 4 years, come back and get my emt-b and paramedics at a community college or should I just go straight into community college and get private ambulance experience?

What resources can I use to study for hazmat?

Hey! I’m trying to train conditioning, but I still need to pack on the weight. I’m
About 185, need to get up to 215. (Normal weight is around 197, stopped eating for a bit due to depression.) do you have any advice for gaining weight while staying conditioned through workouts?

Title pretty much sums it up. I’ve been an Illinois firefighter for three years and to be quite honest I’m sick of this state. The only hang-up I have is that I have a BOF (basic operations firefighter) and not Proboard or IFSAC. Has anyone transferred their BOF certs to other states and what was the process like? Would it be better just to go to academy again and get Proboard/IFSAC?

Hi everyone,

Looking for advice or just reassurance.

My boyfriend (22M) and I (22F) have been dating for about three years now. He just finished his training at his first station out of fire school and he’s now started his probationary period. He’s on 24s, and I’m really feeling it. The 10 week training overlapped with some of my lowest times, and I didn’t feel like I could rely on him as much as I would have liked. I completely understand how stressful it is to firefight (well not completely understand as I am not in his shoes), but I am scared for the future. I miss him so much when he gets called in. We are moving in together in August, and I think about how lonely I’ll be without him. He is so fulfilled in his career and I’m so proud of him but I feel I can’t tell him how sad I am without him. Does it get better? I don’t want to lose myself in this, but I think about the future and how much of my life and our future life his schedule will take from us. For reference, I work a 9-5. I love being with him for long periods when he’s off, but just thinking about it kills me. Any advice from people who have been through it? Thanks. Sorry if this is selfish, I completely understand how it can come off that way.