City of Philadelphia- 2010 Firefighter Exam

[FWDbuff]

http://www.phila.gov/personnel/annou.../jol_open.html

You do not have to live in the City to take the test, however you must establish residency in the city within 6 months of getting hired.

[MG3610]

Residency must be maintained for length of employment?

[charlie82]

Yes you must remain a resident for the duration of employment.

[FWDbuff]

Residency must be maintained for length of employment?

Yes, Philadelphia has a Home Charter Rule, you must live in the City to work there......It has been challenged numerous times. You must live in the city to work there. Period.

[FireMedicFndz]

do u know if my florida min. standards and medic be accepted over there?

[backsteprescue123]

To the previous poster, as far as I know, you are going to have to go through their academy anyways so I wouldnt worry about your firefighting certifications transferring. Medic might help you get the job though.


I plan on applying tomorrow.

[FWDbuff]

do u know if my florida min. standards and medic be accepted over there?

Absolutely, Positively NO. You must go through their Fire Academy. They could care less if you come from the busiest company in the South Bronx. You are NOT a Philadelphia Firefighter until you go through their Academy. And unless you want to be riding a gut bucket for the rest of your life, don't tell them you are a medic. (Don't know anything about Florida/Pennsylvania reciprocity or if there even is any.....)

[BLSboy]

NREMT-P cant hurt ya.

I am kinda considering this.....
If it wasnt for the whole having to live in that cesspool of a city, I would jump all over it.

[ncoliva1200]

I assume they avoided budget cuts? The department created this site to promote awareness of the Mayor's plan to close stations, etc... http://www.savepfd.com/index.cfm?section=1

[marbuckle]

the app doesn't take into account any work experience or anything, odd, but ok, requirements for just applying are very minimal. I'm in... actually, on their website it says you must be a resident of Philadelphia 12months prior to appointment

[irish2522]

I noticed that too on the website that the residency requirement is different, but the announcement states as below that it's only after you get hired. It could be that the PFD website has not been updated in awhile.

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT: Philadelphia residency is not required at the time of application. Once hired, employees have six (6) months to establish bona fide residence in the City of Philadelphia.

They might not want your work history and other info at this point but after and if you pass the exam they could have you fill out another form. At least that's how Allentown did it early this year.

[FWDbuff]

the app doesn't take into account any work experience or anything, odd, but ok, requirements for just applying are very minimal.

Thats because this is NOT an employment application. This is an application to apply to take the written civil service exam. Once you take the test, pass, and then "get called" when they get to your number in line, THEN you start filling out the actual job applications.

[PhillyTip]

For anyone interested in this test, I'll try to answer some of your questions:

1. Residency requirement: This was changed a year or two ago at the request of the Police Commissioner. City Council then extended it to all city jobs. Previously, you had to live in the city 12 months prior to appointment. Now, you can be hired and move in within 6 months. You will then have to maintain residency for the duration of your employment. Yes, parts of Philly are *****holes. Yes, other parts are fine. If you make it through the process and are called to an academy class, I would move in ASAP. You do not want to be making any sort of long commute while in academy.

2. Hiring Process: (At least how I remember it). Right now, the city is just establishing a list of people who want to take the test. Given that the residency requirement has been relaxed and there is no longer a filing fee, I would expect this list to be huge. Remember, this is just people who say they want to take the test, and you see how easy the process is. How many actually show up to sit for the exam is still to be seen.

Once the closing date passes, the city will send out an exam booklet to everyone on the list. It's about 30 pages long. If you memorize it cover to cover, you will score 100%, because EVERY question on the exam is copied verbatim from the booklet. Study the booklet, and you will score well.

Once all the exams are scored and additional points (veteran and LODD legacy) are added, a hiring list will be established by score. As they need to hire, they will continue with the hiring process by moving down the list. This is where the actual employment application comes into play. You'll fill out the app, have a medical exam by the fine city doctors, interview with several chiefs, get fitted for your gear and - barring any issues during this process - be hired into an academy class.

Academy: It doesn't matter if you have certs - no matter where they are from. You will still have to attend to the full academy, which is now about 5 months long. Previous experience may help you on the tests, and it may expose you to some ball busting. Nevertheless, even if you are ProBoard/IFSAC certed up the wazoo and an all star Paramedic, you will still have to learn the basics and sit through EMT-B class again. Being an EMT or Paramedic will not hurt you in the FF hiring process either. The city has a habit of not allowing medics to cross the floor, but anyone coming in on the fire side initially 'should' have no issues.

Hiring: Yes, we did lose 5 engine companies and 2 ladder companies earlier this year. Yes, the city continues to threaten us with layoffs/position eliminations. The outcome of our current arbitration hearing will likely effect the city's position on these issues. However, since the company closings, which were supposed to eliminate vacancies, we already have somewhere in the ballpark of 60-80 spots open department wide. While you may not see as much hiring as there was off the last list (5 classes of around 80 FFs each), with the DROP (retirement plan) still in place, it's entirely possible.

Hope this helped - let me know if you have any more questions or concerns!

[marbuckle]

Thats because this is NOT an employment application. This is an application to apply to take the written civil service exam. Once you take the test, pass, and then "get called" when they get to your number in line, THEN you start filling out the actual job applications.

I see.. thanks. on the website, it says you must be a resident for 12 months prior to appointment, however the job announcement says that you must become a resident within 6 months of being hired.. I will try to get this clarified.

[FWDbuff]

I see.. thanks. on the website, it says you must be a resident for 12 months prior to appointment, however the job announcement says that you must become a resident within 6 months of being hired.. I will try to get this clarified.

The residency requirement for 12 months prior to appointment has been waived for firefighter candidates. Once hired, you must move into the City within 6 months.

[irish2522]

Good info Philly, thanks for posting all that. Just applied online so we'll see how it goes.

[FWDbuff]

Irish- Did you get some kind of printable receipt for your online application? If not, I would seriously think about getting a paper app, filling it out, and hand-delivering it to the MSB (unless you are from out of town, then I would send through the mail regsitered with a return receipt.)

That way you know they got it, and you have a receipt to prove it. Additionally, in the event of a tie score on the test, one of the ways of deciding a winner is who had their app in first.

When it comes to that online app and the City of Philadelphia, dont trust it as far as you can throw it.

[PhillyTip]

i believe that only online applications are being accepted.

[irish2522]

FWD- Got a confirmation email and just talked to HR so I'm good to go up till the test.

[tonsoffun1101]

correct me if im wrong but didn't philly fire just lay brothers off or something like that??

are they just setting up a list because the old one is up or are they actually planing on hiring??

good luck to all