CAL Fire 2013

[FF14]

Hi!

I have just applied for CAL Fire this year. I have applied to 5 units in the Northern region. I'm wondering if anyone else has applied to the Northern region this year? I'm looking to network with any one else who has applied in the Northern region. Pm me or just leave a comment.

Also, if anyone has any advice/tips to give that would be much appreciated.

Thank you!

[49erfaithful]

Get your EMT, Cal Fire 67hr, and Hazmat Awareness to start with- you usually need these three to get an interview. I would also get my firefighter 1 cert and volunteer at a station, this will hopefully get you in the interview process, lastly I would drop by the Cal Fire stations so they can put a face to your application/resume.

[ionz]

Does the 67 hour refer to:

S130
S110
S190
B /c I have those and chainsaws as well as s290?
And finishing emt.

[Here and there]

Does the 67 hour refer to:

S130
S110
S190
B /c I have those and chainsaws as well as s290?
And finishing emt.

Maybe...

Both the Feds and Calfire include those classes, but ultimately if it was a Calfire 67 hour, you should have a cert that says so.

If it was the Feds you should have one or more certs (often combined onto one cert) for S130, S190, L180 and I100. Sometime will also include S133, S134.

If you got these through a private contractor or a community college then who knows, sometimes they do not include all the classes that are supposed to be included.

[49erfaithful]

Cal Fire 67hr Academy is different than the above mentioned certs. The 67 hr is often times hard to find, and is normally only given by Cal Fire. I took mine in 2006 and it consisted of 6 days and a total of around 55 hours, the class also cost around $350 at the time.
I have been told other agencies now offer the cert, although Cal Fire doesn't necessarily recognize the cert as a direct equivalent to their own. I have been told Cal Fire's 67 hr is now closer to 150 hours and costs around $500.

[Here and there]

I'm just going off of one of the seasonals I hired last year. He took a 67 hour from a CDF captain, through a community college. He showed up with a cert that said something about Calfire 67 hour, and then individually listed S130, S190, and I100. This may have been a case where the school is trying to recognize the requirements of both agencies, although he was still missing L180.

Calfires curiculum is based on the same NWCG S130/190 and I100 as the Feds, but they make changes adding or subtracting as they feel suits their particular needs.

Also as I said earlier, be careful about community colleges. Most strongly cater to the structure fire side of things and may not get you the proper certification for a wildland agency. Others work closely with one or both agencies.

[Galatia]

I just got my letter from shasta-trinity. Only certs they want to see at the interview are "wildland, medical and hazardous materials certificates". ie 67, emt, fro.

Any advice on the interviews or what type of questions are asked? They also mention that they are only offering interviews one day.

[Here and there]

Take this with a grain of salt as the last time I interviewed for a CDF seasonal position was 1997.

The interview questions were the standard what have you done to prepare yourself, why should we hire you type questions and basic situational questions -

You smell what appears to be alcohol on another firefighters breath, what would you do?

You feel like you are always doing more work than another firefighter. The two of you are told to wash the engine. After the captain leaves, the other firefighter tells you he has something else he needs to do leaving you all alone to wash the engine, how would you handle this?

A captain you have never worked for before is filling in for the day. He tells you to clean and sharpen the chainsaw, but you have not been through chainsaw training yet, what would you do.

It is your turn to cook and your captain tells you he wants Lasagna. You have never cooked lasagna before, what would you do.

Etc etc

Other than that basic interview stuff, wear a suit, get there early, be polite, try to stay calm.

Good luck

[Galatia]

Thanks for the info.

Anyone hear back from other units besides STU and El Dorado?

[Gino_Galli]

I have gotten letters from Tehama-Glen, Siskiyou, Amador El Dorado, and Shasta Trinity. The rest nobody I know has received any from other units. I know the one I volunteer for ( NEU- Nevada/Yuba/Placer) hasn't sent an out yet as of right now. Mendocino has just sent to rehires so far but they will be hiring new hires from what i was told from one of the hiring captains.

[SCCF_LPFR]

I have received letters from Shasta-Trininty, El Dorado, Siskiyou, and Red Bluff I am also wondering what units have sent out letters. I interview with Shasta Trinity tomorrow morning. I am wondering if anyone wants to share what questions they have been asked and how the interview experience went?

[Galatia]

bastards ill be ****ed if i dont get one with TGU! I just got one for meu but probably wont go to it. ST interview was a joke. graded part lasted <5 min but talked to the capts for over 30

[Gino_Galli]

it was pretty ridiculous. But all of the people I know who interview for ST had the same questions, all interviewed under 10 mins or less and got 7 and up on scores. From what I can tell the Captains were grading good scores but the engineer's were screwing over a lot of people I guess. I got rank 1. I didn't receive MEU yet but a family friend is one of the captains who interviews up there and I heard I am getting one just don't know when. I was up at NEU headquarters last night talking with my captain and he said NEU interviews are the same week as MEU so keep an eye out for those. They are only hiring a couple maybe 5-10 at the most. And there are 4 residents who work in that unit and 3 volunteers as well that applied. So its going to be tough for a lot in that unit.

[Galatia]

Meu or neu will only be hiring 10?

Also does anyone know when Shasta trinity has their first round of hires?

[Gino_Galli]

From what I was told by a couple of training Captains and Chiefs, NEU ( Nevada/ Yuba/ Placer) will only hire a few. They are not certain how many yet, but interviews will be the week of March 11th. Letters were just mailed out. So if you are getting one, expect something in the mail next week or so.

As for Shasta- Trinity, and most other units they don't start hiring until early April. Fire season starts late May but might get bumped up sooner due to weather conditions.

[49erfaithful]

I took Shasta's interview last week, and have Red Bluff, El Dorado County, and Mendocino coming up.I didn't do very well in Shasta- actually think I got my worst grade ever (i've taken around 15 with Cal Fire over the years). Hopefully that doesn't continue.

[Gino_Galli]

From what i heard Tehama Glenn ( Red Bluff) might have the same questions as Shasta because they are so close to each other. But not 100% positive on that.

What was the score you got?

And just think of Shasta as a practice interview for the next ones to bring up your scores.

[49erfaithful]

I got a 2 (7.6). I usually score in the mid to high 8's. Ive tried changing my answers (more in-depth) to try and achieve a 9+.

Ya, I'm definitelyly going to use this past interview as practice and hope to improve over the next few. Fortunately the unit I want the most happens to be at the end (El Dorado/Amador).

[Gino_Galli]

Amador / El Dorado is a tough one to get into. Where do you currently live? Id say politic as much as possible. Some people said bring ice cream, donuts etc. But every Captain I have spoke with hate when people bring stuff. So that's up to you.

Your last interview was to shake the rust off then. Sell yourself but not too much. Dont go into too much detail. And a quote Ive heard numerous times is:

" What you say in 15 words, you can also say in 5 words."

The state uses 20 different questions. So the 5 from Shasta plus 15 others. Never Lie, cheat, steal, or rat out another firefighter without approaching that firefighter first.

This is what everyone has told me at my stations and many others. Plus online as well.

[SCCF_LPFR]

I also ranked a 2 at STU. I got a 6.8 it was my first interview so Im pretty happy! I have 5 more interviews coming up so that will deff be my practice interview. I was wondering what the score to rank numbers are? How do you rank higher? Is it based on qualifications and certs with interview or strictly interview?!