Military FF/Air Force

[cbarrett150]

Hello guys I've been searching around and can't seem to find any answers to my question. Thanks in advance!

I'm a 18y/o and I'm interested in Joining the AF as a FF. I currently have FF-1/FF-2/HazMat Ops/EMT-B. Now with that their all Pro-Board Certs. except HazMat Ops thats just local non Pro-Board. Would there be any reciprocity in the certs if I were to join would the recruiter be able to help me out at all. Also all certs are out of PA. Any answer would be greatly appreciated!

[kferrara2002]

Are your certs from the PA state Fire Academy or Bucks County? Bucks county certs are able to be transfered over to DoD certs.

As for getting any leeway coming into the AF, forget it. Your recruiter has no power over getting you any type of waiver in tech school based on your previous training. What most of the posts have stated from other forums and I being in the AF myself recommend, is to enter the AF and put all your previous training to the back of your mind (but do not forget it). Go to tech school, receive the training there (you'll actually learn something), and once you get to your first assignment, you can begin to recall some of your previous training and put it to use. However, do not come into your first assignment thinking just because you have certs already that you don't need to hone your skills. Being from PA as well, I have a substantial amount of certs that I have successfully transfered into DoD certs.

You'll receive Haz-Mat awareness and ops at tech school, so don't worry about that. Once you get to your first assignment, you'll have some time to get Haz-Mat Technician.

Just a word of caution, don't let the recruiter talk you into anything you are not comfortable with and if you want firefighter, get it in writing, not open general. Once it's in writing, you have a contract between yourself and the Air Force. If you want more info, shoot me an email and I'll give you some guidance.

[bluebus]

Good job getting those certs. You should do well in the Air Force.
This is reliable info directly from the Academy:

They will NOT take your Pro-board. They WILL take IFSAC.
If you convert your certs to IFSAC, you'll advance directly to Airport Firefighter.

To do this, contact your recruiter and explain to him that you need your certs transferred from Pro-board to IFSAC through "AFCESA". Any CE squadron training manager that has a Fire Dept. should know how to do this. You might have to take the initiative and make these phone calls for your recruiter. If that's the route you want to take you'll have to do it before you ship to basic, so the recruiter will be resistant to the idea. Remind him/her how much taxpayer money and time it will take to duplicate your FF1/FF2/HAZMAT OPS training at the academy.

That being said, I'd recommend you just go through the whole academy. I watched the younger guys like yourself benefit greatly from the DOD academy as far as personal confidence and maturity. They are not just teaching you to be a firefighter. They are teaching you to transition from the compartmented environment of Basic Military Training to the real operational military. This takes more time than the few weeks it will take you to complete ARFF. It is a rewarding experience.

If all else fails, google Para-Rescue.

[cbarrett]

Yes my certs are from Bucks. My FF1 and FF2 are PA State Fire Academy and NPSQB. My Haz-Mat Ops(472) is from Bucks also. Would any of these be transferable? I was looking at curriculum for the different blocks at Goodfellow and having my EMT all I would have to do is take the National Registry Exam for NREMT. With all this being said I'd would only have to take the ARFF block is this correct if I was able to test out of the other blocks or would it be in my best interest to just walk-in like I know nothing about firefighting?

Thanks, Colton

[rescue48]

I recently completed my tour as an instructor at the academy and I can tell you that up until I left in '05 we would take your certs into account, but that you would still have to go through the academy. We would allow students with valid certs; to include pro board, to challenge the block test and be advanced into the next block. You'll just have to wait and see. But do like the other guy said, make sure you get your job guaranteed before signing the enlistment contract. I thought they had done away with guaranteed jobs. When I came in 19 years ago I had a guaranteed job as a firefighter, and that's the only reason I signed up. Just double, triple, whatever check that you have a guaranteed job. The recruiter is not there for you, he's there to get his quota, remember that!