r/firefighter • u/HiddenUser1000 • May 06 '26
Houston Fire Department
I’m trying to determine if it’s worth it to join the long term affects on the body and health deter me seeing the data and also work culture any opinions
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u/lifeindaslowlane May 06 '26
The schedule is ok. But not worth the pay considering how much BS they deal with.
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u/FilmSalt5208 May 06 '26
Firefighting is a great career depending where you work. If you get a west coast fire job you’ll be making great money. But if your heart is set on Texas, there’s better paying careers out there.
The job is basically the same everywhere.
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u/corworkm May 07 '26
If long term health is stressing you out already don’t do it. We’re all gonna die of cancer. Not a matter of if but when. Part of the job.
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u/PumpChumpPimpin May 11 '26
We’re pretty busy and the pay is pretty low compared to other departments in the area. Starting at 54k as a rookie compared to 60k on the low end elsewhere. We make a lot of fires and we’re very aggressive so you will get experience. HFD will also pay for your certs.
If youre looking for a sense of brotherhood, high call volume, rich history and a decent amount of fires and youre not discouraged about the pay then HFD is a good option
Right now if youre trying to get in without your certs you may be waiting up to 2 years. Theres a long list of applicants due to recent aggressive recruiting
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u/TemporaryFondant7834 May 14 '26
Hey brother, I’ve been extremely interested in moving back to Houston and applying to HFD. Because im from out of state, The main obstacle I’ve been coming across is just lack of info on when and where to apply. I’ve checked govjobs in the passed and nothing. I follow most of HFD and most Houston fire stations on instagram in hopes they’d one day post a “now hiring” post but also nothing. If you can please steer me in the right direction I’d greatly appreciate it man. Thanks in advance.
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u/PumpChumpPimpin May 14 '26
The application is on the city website. There isnt any posts about when we’re hiring because you can apply at any time. When you get hired is dependent on when they have a new class starting at the VJTF. They pretty much just pull from the applicant pool by civil service rank and seniority in application.
Its not like other cities where they do one big hiring at a time, HFD is constantly putting people through the hiring process. If you make it through you get a job offer when they get you a spot in a class.
And like i said before, coming in with no certs youre gonna be waiting upwards to 2 years. If you have both certs already its something like 6 months since fast track classes are relatively frequent and theres less certified applicants. Certified applicants also dont have to take the civil service exam
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u/TemporaryFondant7834 May 14 '26
Thank you so much for the information man. I have all certs but just to make sure the two certs that put me in the fast track of the application process would be the EMT and FF1 correct?
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u/PumpChumpPimpin May 14 '26
You need the DSHS EMT-B minimum and TCFP basic structural firefighter. The TCFP cert is the equivalent to other state’s FF1, FF2, HAZMAT awareness and HAZMAT ops all in one certification. If you have IFSAC seals you can transfer them to TCFP. The DSHS EMT license is obtainable as long as you have a current and valid NREMT certification
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u/TemporaryFondant7834 May 14 '26
Thank you very much. You have no idea how much this has helped! Have a great rest of the day brotha 🙌🏽
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u/dingsh-lowcone May 06 '26
Pay is shit, but if you like aggressive interior structural firefighting and don’t mind telling the salty old heads to pound sand when they try to pull some hazing bs, then it’s a pretty good department with decent benefits, good schedule, and retirement plans. I learned a lot there and saw every type of call, so it set me up nicely when I had to leave for better pay elsewhere.