arlington texas

[fire49]

appears they will hire and certify for both firefighter and emt


"""" The department is accepting applications through Aug. 31 and will consider the first 2,000 """"




The city will now pay for firefighters to get their required EMT-Intermediate certification, which is just below paramedic status, as well as their firefighter certification, Crowson said.




http://www.tcfp.state.tx.us/pdf_posts/arlington.pdf



http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/08...equisites.html

[schwanee]

I was a bit confused by there hiring process... If you do not already have Fire/EMT certs, you test for EMT. Is this with the intent of becoming a firefighter? Or are you solely testing for an EMT position?

[fire49]

yea it is a little confusing

in the past they wanted minimum EMT -I and they would put you through the academy

if I read it right, they are still looking for EMT-I or better and will put you thorugh the academy


OR

if you have no certs, they will hire you and put you through both EMT and firefighter training

[schmidthouse7]

No certs or EMT-B will be trained to EMT-I level. Then everyone hired will come together for the actual Arlington fire academy. So the uncertified guys will have like 7 months of training total with four months being fire academy.

[schwanee]

So anyone here taking the test next week? looks like it is the same company that did the Fort Worth test...

They are only accepting the first 2000 applicants, so did anyone get rejected that tried to sign up? I'm just curious if there will actually be that many that are taking the written.

[DanTheMan_01]

So anyone here taking the test next week? looks like it is the same company that did the Fort Worth test...

They are only accepting the first 2000 applicants, so did anyone get rejected that tried to sign up? I'm just curious if there will actually be that many that are taking the written.

I guess I missed this one. How long was it posted on their website? Today is the last day to sign up and I am in Houston. I guess I need to keep a better eye on the DFW area.

[schwanee]

Sorry to hear that Dan. It really wasnt on their site for too long. One to two months maybe? Plano is testing later this month, so if you are looking at the DFW area, you might check it out.

[fire49]

check it weekly:

http://www.tcfp.state.tx.us/employment.asp

[DanTheMan_01]

I am testing for the Plano FD on the 27th. I hope that goes well, but it is my first Civil Service exam. Houston Community College offers a FF basic certification and an EMT basic class. I see a lot of the North Texas FD require you to have these certifications, but some don't. I would hate to spend all that time and money and then have to do it all over again, but I'm sure it is good experience and would not be a waste. What do you guys think about the programs offered here in Texas? Do you think it would be worth it to go ahead and get the FF basic and the EMT basic?

[schmidthouse7]

Most of the department that require certs wont put you through there own classes. Thre big ones lke Dallas, Fort Worth, and Arlington will but experience will surely help you through there schooling. Also anything that shows you really want the job will definately enhance your chances at a job. I think a lot of guys get caught up thinking that they have to work for the "biggest/best" department right away. Honestly though it may be more advantageous to be certified and get work (even volunteer, part time) with a smaller department and work your way up if you so desire. You may end up like\ing the smaller department and honestly there is way less competition for such departments. I know lots of guys you have worked for 2, 3, or 4 departments to find the right fit. It is a job and your life so you have to do what's right for you based on your situation (age, desire, lifestyle, finances, expectations). Good luck.

[fire49]

If you want to work in texas you have to have a fiddle in the band, i mean certification in most cities, just check the tx web site and look at the requirements

[Duck Roast]

Hello I’d like to introduce myself (new to the forum). My name is Ken and I will be taking the NFSI in Arlington on 9-8-2010. I feel pretty good about it as I’ve taken Houston's exam before. I almost made it to the interview with Houston but since I only scored a 94 most of the military guys made it through the next steps due to their +5 bonus points. During my sophomore year in college was when I decided I wanted to become a fireman, and have been finding out recently that there is some pretty stiff completion out there.
They are only going to be taking the top 250 highest scoring applicants to the 1.5 mile run. I’ve been taking practice NFSI tests so I’m just going to go there and do my best. The 1.5 mile will be easy for me; I’ve been running 10-15 miles a week since last summer.

It’s nice to meet you all and look forward to discussing fire topics in the future.

[pewter98]

Most of the department that require certs wont put you through there own classes. Thre big ones lke Dallas, Fort Worth, and Arlington will but experience will surely help you through there schooling. Also anything that shows you really want the job will definately enhance your chances at a job. I think a lot of guys get caught up thinking that they have to work for the "biggest/best" department right away. Honestly though it may be more advantageous to be certified and get work (even volunteer, part time) with a smaller department and work your way up if you so desire. You may end up like\ing the smaller department and honestly there is way less competition for such departments. I know lots of guys you have worked for 2, 3, or 4 departments to find the right fit. It is a job and your life so you have to do what's right for you based on your situation (age, desire, lifestyle, finances, expectations). Good luck.

Could not agree more!! The difference is night and day when you compare the amount, attitude, and "type" of most applicants at an open/no-cert. test to a cert.-required test. Even in the mid to larger departments that you would think everyone would try to apply for, the requirement of having already obtained your certifications seems to cause the number of applicants to be far lower. But then again, those size departments usually only have 1-5 open positions when they are looking to hire. So either way you look at it, the competition is still fierce to get the greatest job in the world!!!

[schmidthouse7]

From the guys I'm taking with it seems like there are going to be mostly uncertified guys at the test. A lot of people that have certs seem to think that its wrong that Arlington is charging. Anyone else getting that or is it just me.

[schwanee]

Hey I wish they weren't charging but I am will to commit an extra $50 for a possible lifetime career. Although i am one of those non cert guys.

[johnsocool]

im a probationary firefighter that got hired in arlington last test, just wanted to come in here and wish all of you guys the best of luck! im at a station where both of the medics are testing out and they are sharp! be sure to know your stuff!

if you guys got any questions i will be more then happy to try and answer them!

[JPLeverett]

Well the test was tonight, how do you guys who took it feel it went? I feel pretty positive, the math threw me a little but I still feel good. Not looking forward to waiting until monday to find out results, the wait is the worst!!!!

[schmidthouse7]

I think it's great we only have to wait till Monday 4 results not like a few weeks. More people at the test than I expected. Hopefully all you need is low 90's to move on I don't feel too great about the test overall.

[JPLeverett]

I agree that waiting until Monday isn't as bad as say, Monday two weeks from now but, I always find myself second guessing the longer I wait. Last night I left feeling very good about my test but the further the night went on the more I started to think about some of the questions. In reality I'm probably just psyching myself out but I always do it while I wait. As far as there being a lot of people there, that's the truth!
I looked around some while we were waiting and there was a little bit of everything there, test veterans, first timers, old, young, male, female . All in all though, it was a good turn out and I look forward to knowing the top 250 sometime Monday.

[fantan4]

Im excited about Monday as well. I pretty much aced that sucker but with the NFSI test i heard that doesnt matter in you answer the personality inventory part 2 wrong. I went with agree disagree pretty much the whole way except for about 5 or 6 strongly's. That section is there to screw us all!! I had a friend that took this test recently and answered strongly all the way and it seemed to drop him to the 80's and he's a brilliant guy.
We will need probably at least 94/95 to get in the 250.