Osceola Hiring

[e10pvmt]

Just an FYI...posted today

http://webkiosk.osceola.org/index.cf...JobID=PS101221

[SVTxDUDE]

Just an FYI...posted today

http://webkiosk.osceola.org/index.cf...JobID=PS101221

Anyone have any info on this department?

[BLSboy]

yea, WFTV was running stories as late as THIS MONTH about them getting ready to lay off. Yea, I will test, but won't be holding my breath.

[SVTxDUDE]

yea, WFTV was running stories as late as THIS MONTH about them getting ready to lay off.

lol, sounds reassuring.

[flashpo1nt]

I know they have probably the coolest looking rescues in all of Florida, and all the paramedics over there that I know are EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY smart, and the call volume is either busy (urban/suburban) or like 2 calls a shift (rural). Lots of natural vegitation, I imagine there are lots of brush fires. Lots of high speed roads and highways, I imagine they get fantastic wrecks. Lots of commercial structures.

[Ocean_Medic]

how many do they plan on hiring?

[e10pvmt]

we have been told between 14-17.....our OT is outrageous and they are lookin to cut it back.....we had positions open through early retirement and a few people leaving for various reasons/other employment......

Its a 15 station dept covering 1500 sq miles sharing some of that with city of Kissimmee and city of St Cloud....east battalion is rural and sees a lot of brush fires and high speed accidents as they cover rural roads and the largest section of the turnpike in FL....central is spit with the city of Kissimmee and is a mix of residential and commercial....west side (where i am) is mostly tourism and residential with commercial high rises and several hotels.....county covers from four corners to brevard county and orange county to just south of Yee Haw junction.....its a diverse dept when comparing call volumes per battalion....we are growing but the economy has taken a toll on the county....we have one of the highest foreclosure rates in the state.....we are finishing our 4th in house medic program and are running fairly heavy on medics....i do see several shifts on a squad, ladder, or engine in a 3 week cycle so i am not entirely confined to a box....although i actually enjoy the box/engine rotation..... Pay is comparable to surrounding dept and we have a 3 week kelly day which i only know of 2 dept in central FL that even have them.....we burn failry regularly and every engine has extrication equipment due to # of entrapments and distance of second due units....if i can provide any other info lemme know

[SVTxDUDE]

Thanks e10pvmt, much appreciated. Would you know how the hiring process is going to be? Written, physical, interview?

[e10pvmt]

no idea...i was hired over 4 years ago and when i went through it was written, EMS, Physical, Interview.....i think the candidate has to pay for the physical now....thats how it was the last time....its a test at the academy thats good for several depts.......we havent been given any info and i am not sure we will until the standby assignments come out for orientation

[BLSboy]

What is staffing like, and the pay listed was hourly (14 something/hr). Is there a medic bonus/incentive paid on top of that?

[BLSboy]

Thanks, Fuss. Anyone know about Special Operations, and if they participate in FL-TF4? That is a big reason I wanna go to OCFRD, but if I don't get hired, it's kinda hard to do that.

[charlie40720007]

e10pvmt, any truth to osceola putting their new hires to special ops classes during their orientation?

[e10pvmt]

Minimums are 3 on Engine/Squads/ladders/tower and 2 on rescue....Medics get 7500 xtra a yr and it is paid hourly...works out to about $3 hour and is included in any OT...standby pay is $35 an hour and is non-pensionable....with this class we will be at minimums without OT with occasionally having a 4th man depending on kelly days and vacation

Ranks are Firefighter (EMT & Medic), Engineer, Lt., Battalion

We do have 2 squads staffed with special ops personnel...we still call Orlando or Orange County for large incidents. I am on the backup team and am assigned at one of the special ops stations. Our squads have some of the specialized equipment on them with a utility truck and trailer carrying the trench, confined, and structural equipment. The teams are for the most part full however there are spots on one shift that are unfilled. My shift is fully staffed almost everyday with qualified personnel. Aerials require (when staffing allows) personnel to have ropes, aerial ops, and truck ops and special ops is all 5 classes at ops level at least. As for TF-4 not yet..i believe our training capt is working on that now and i would love to do it as with several guys i am stationed with.

We heard the other day of one of the chiefs wanting the class to be taught the special ops courses. I for one don't feel this should go on. Your first year is packed with learning your job, protocols, and things that go along with being a new firefighter. Special ops should be a choice but the county has been offering classes for free taught by our training dept. FO-1s and Special ops classes. So to answer that questions it was brought up but i have no clue the final outcome

[e10pvmt]

Squads are run as engines/squads...they are a primary unit....only station that has a secondary unit is Station 72 in celebration and it has the tower.....the ladders are all first due units...we dont have the staffing or budget to operate them as trucks right now....when things turn around i see a different outlook for aerials and squads all being second run units and actually having a dedicated heavy....the squad stations are very bus stations and some people are lookin to get out asap regardless if the squads move or not...they want out of those stations so you may be able to squeeze in there at some point down the road....like i said they are offering the classes in house with structural finishing the 2nd round later this year....not sure if they will make a 3rd run next year but we lost our tuition reimbursement a couple years ago so this way it benefits everyone involved.... i would hope they keep doing classes as long as they have volunteers to take them....we dont have many special ops calls....we had one rope rescue i can think of in the last 6 months....the only time i have seen the trialer used was on the big hotel fire when we used the shoring equipment for the SFM.....but the potential is always there...especially when the economy comes back and construction ramps back up

Just an FYI to those who havent applied...apparently process is closing @ 5pm today

[PPH]

Just an FYI to those who havent applied...apparently process is closing @ 5pm today

Thanks for the heads up on that! I was putting off writing the essay at the end of the app. It looks like it closes at midnight tonite though. It was the 14th wasnt it? They probably got a ton of applicants.

[e10pvmt]

The email we recieved today states closing @ 1700 hours....they got a ton of apps....good luck to those that were able to apply.....let me know if there is any more info i can provide

[VESmedic]

On Tuesday they said they were at around 235 apps....

[Marc the Shark]

So I checked my status online today and it said I was not selected... I reviewed my app and I'm pretty sure I didn't miss anything. I'm just curious who did get selected and your background.... I know the app said they preferred medics and a buddy of mine said that they would most likely just go straight for medics, not EMTs... Anyone know how they make their initial decision?

[SVTxDUDE]

Not selected as well. I love the "after careful consideration" line, lol.

[Marc the Shark]

Ya I do too! haha
Are you medic or Emt?