fairfax county

[edpmedic]

I just got accepted into the recruit school for march 3rd. Physical fitness wise I am currently training like I did for the CPAT; weighted vest, lots of compound leg exercises: squats, lunges, high jumps, stairs, and the usual upper body. My friend who is in the mclean station said to do as much cardio as possible to get prepped to run Mt. "Trashmore" and Hellweek portion of recruit school. To my understanding, you start off with the EMS portion(even if you are NREMT) to get familiar with their protocols/standing orders. Then end with fire suppression, so they build up on the daily exercises. Kobersteen can give a more definite answer.

When I was preparing for the CPAT, in addition to standard equipment, my gym had a stepmill, a 35 lb vest, kettlebells, and an olympic weightlifting platform with bumper plates. I would wear the vest, hold 35lb plates, set the mill at 70/min, then hold for time. When I would fail, I would ditch the plates ,and continue. At the end, I did six mins. at 70, then four more with vest only. I also did some olympic weightlifting, some crossfit workouts (fran, linda, grace, the bear). "Roadwork" also works really well: go to a track, run 1/4 lap, do burpees, pushups, or squat cleans with dumbbells do another 1/4 lap, repeat as desired. For people who don't have access to gyms or fancy equipment, I advise buying some kettlebells. Lifeline USA has excellent prices. Do burpees, which are squat thrusts with a pushup at the bottom, and a explosive jump at the top. Begin with five sets, five reps, one minute rest between sets. Increase to ten sets of five, progress to ten of ten, then work on decreasing the rest periods to 30 seconds. Tabata thrusters work well. I use 30lb bells, do max reps for 20 seconds, rest for ten, then repeat for total eight cycles. Additionally, breathing ladders work great. Originally designed for MMA, this has tremendous carryover for the SCBA. Pick an exercise. I use hang squat cleans with 95lbs. Do one rep, take one breath, do two reps, take two breaths, do three reps, take three breaths, four/four, five/five, etc. This is a continuous set. You can breathe as you wish while you do the reps, but you cannot pause with the weight until you finish the last rep. This teaches you to control your breathing, and not to hyperventilate. If you breathe too quickly, you decrease your rest, making the following sets more difficult. I like wind sprints. I also bought a 28kg kettlebell, which I like to use for circuits mixed with sprints. I hope this benefits someone.

[Kobersteen]

As a paramedic I am curious as to how many medics they are hiring for the April start date? Thanks for your participation and help. It's a good thing the Psych test is over this waiting is driving me crazy, LOL.

Well, I think much depends on the number of ALS applicants they have ready to go at the time. Also it is no secret that Fairfax County attempts to make their rookie classes as diverse as possible, so a minority or female ALS provider may well have to beat Fairfax County off with a stick!

My class had about 10, but I believe that the prehires in right now equal 4 or 5.

[edpmedic]

jdmedic, when you get an official job offer, I recommend calling the recruiting office, and request to speak with someone who can forward an application for the magnet housing program. I was told that this program is for police, fire, nurses, and I think, teachers. Availability is limited, so apply as soon as you get the offer. If not, plan to travel. If your commute is about 10 miles each way, and your car gets about 20 mpg, your fuel costs driving five days/wk will be about $60. For every five miles further away that you live, your fuel costs will increase $30/month. So, if you choose to live fifty miles away, you'll pay approx. $300/month. Keep this in mind, as it may not necessarily be beneficial to live one hour away to save a few hundred on rent. If you plan to buy, that is a different story. My calculations are based on regular gas price of $3.00/gal.

[jdmedic]

Well, I think much depends on the number of ALS applicants they have ready to go at the time. Also it is no secret that Fairfax County attempts to make their rookie classes as diverse as possible, so a minority or female ALS provider may well have to beat Fairfax County off with a stick!

My class has about 10, but I believe that the prehires in right now equal 4 or 5.

Thanks for the reply's Kobersteen and edpmedic

I am in contact with recruiting (A.D.- she is awesome btw) as often as I can without being a pain in the butt. Should I be calling the Capt. occasionally as well? My friend and I are both white male medics who have made it through the process and we are really hoping for offers. (Our completed files should be done this week- takes a while for all reports to come in) Being ALS we were just both hoping to be included in this hiring round and wondered if all the ALS slots would fill up before we were done.

As far as being diverse- everyone should respect and expect it from any department that hires equally competent people from those who apply. Male female, brown, black, white who cares we are all brothers.(Sorry-Former Civil Rights Chair)

edpmedic- As far as areas to live in I have looked an hour away in winchester and mananas but am not counting my chickens before they hatch. But it would be a great problem to have if I did get an offer. :-)

Thanks again to you guys for taking the time to be in these forums, for guys like myself and other hopefuls it's pretty great.

[edpmedic]

jdmedic, congratulations for completing the process! My wife spoke to Kobersteen, he was extremely helpful in giving us advice in regards to housing. I'm from NYC, so I'm the wrong person to ask about housing. My advice would be to drive through the apts. and surrounding area, if possible, at various times, such as 1900, 2300, 0200, etc. Things may look quiet and picturesque during the day, but it may be a totally different scene at night.

[DennisTheMenace]

Things are indeed slowing down on the rookie-school side. They used to put through concurrent schools (more than one school at the FTA at a time), but now Fairfax has started a 'one class at a time' thing.

Did I leave anything out?

The Homeland Security Funds are running out across the region. Let's turn back one or two of the Ambulance Buses and hire a few more guys.

[Marshall7]

Well, I think much depends on the number of ALS applicants they have ready to go at the time. Also it is no secret that Fairfax County attempts to make their rookie classes as diverse as possible, so a minority or female ALS provider may well have to beat Fairfax County off with a stick!

My class has about 10, but I believe that the prehires in right now equal 4 or 5.

About how many medics would you say are in the recruitment file at any given time?

[Kobersteen]

Should I be calling the Capt. occasionally as well?

Calling the recruitment Captain is not necessary right now, but call A.D. about every 3 weeks and just say you are just checking on progress. Given that you are ALS and your file is done, there isn't much to do.[/QUOTE]

My wife spoke to Kobersteen

Now I'm starting to make the connection! Congrats!

Let's turn back one or two of the Ambulance Buses and hire a few more guys.

I think those were bought with grant money specifically for the purpose. Can't argue with your intent though!

About how many medics would you say are in the recruitment file at any given time?

That I don't know. I don't think there are many in the 'completed' section, though.

[Marshall7]

Calling the recruitment Captain is not necessary right now, but call A.D. about every 3 weeks and just say you are just checking on progress. Given that you are ALS and your file is done, there isn't much to do.

Now I'm starting to make the connection! Congrats!




I think those were bought with grant money specifically for the purpose. Can't argue with your intent though!




That I don't know. I don't think there are many in the 'completed' section, though.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for all your help in this thread. I'm ready to get things moving and hope to be hired on within the next year and a half.

[MikeWard]

The Homeland Security Funds are running out across the region.

The Fairfax County Fire Chief was prohibited by the county executive to apply for federal SAFER funding to establish additional firefighter positions.

The slowdown in the hiring process is due to (a) slowdown in the rate of old farts retiring and (b) shortfall in the estimated county income from real estate taxes.

A note from the president of the Fairfax County Professional Fire and Rescue Officer's Association:

On January 3, 2008, the Presidents of all the employee groups met with Chief Mastin, Assistant Chief Louder, and Ms. Pat Devlin and Ms. Kim Panzer from Fiscal Services to discuss the budget. In a nutshell, it is a bleak budget picture for the remainder of FY08, all of FY09, and most likely FY10, as well. The Fire Chief continues to support a 4th riding position for Truck companies, a second shift Safety Officer, and staffed Technician positions for the Tanker at FS42 (deferred, but scheduled for construction in FY10). A $3 million shortfall existed for Fire & Rescue in Fall 2007, and it is projected to reach $8.5 million by the end of FY08. The County Executive is asking the Fire Chief for ways to trim the budget without reducing services. The Fire Chief has thus reached out to the employee groups for input. http://www.fxcofireofficers.com/

A past practice is to delay the start of new positions until the end of a budget year, in April or May. That provides a buffer for the county as it goes through the mid-year (January) and third quarter (March) budget reviews.

[eaglesrule1024]

Well Im Starting my journey for Fairfax and iam just about to take the written on the 19th and I was taken a bit surprised by it since I just submitted my application a day under 2 weeks without hearing anything. I have read this whole thing from start to finish and it seems to have A LOT of great information one thing I think i cannot find is the time table from written exam to cpat and If I pass to move on to the next stage ? And with that said What is the time line IF ANY is with the academy start dates because I have thought about finding a Paramedic school starting it and then thought about well hey what happens if I get a call and im still in paramedic school what happens then ?

Rob

[edpmedic]

When I completed the entrance exam back in Oct. '06, the cpat was scheduled for mid March '07. Where I work, there is a female who completed the process as an emt, then began medic school. My understanding is that women, minorities, and emt-P/I are preferred. She received several invitations for the academy, but deferred pending completion of medic class. Once selected, I don't know if they let anyone postpone, or if it is a case by case basis. When I received the letter advising successful completion of the selection process, it advised that the completion status was valid for two years. I don't know if this will apply if you attempt to postpone the job offer. In my case, I was unable to begin in Jan '08, but I will be starting Apr. 28. My advice would to be to call recruiting, run your scenario by them, and see what they say. I wish you the best of luck, but realize that anything could happen during the selection process. If you complete the medic program, you can always reapply to fairfax, or any other dept. for that matter. You will be preferred as an als provider, and this will increase your chances in the future, should this process prove unsuccessful. As far as the cpat, emphasize leg, torso, and grip training. If you cannot access a stepmill, try this quick fix: Grab a pair of dumbbells/kettlebells, do 16-20 steps of walking lunges, immediately do 10 reps of front squats, then do box jumps with a 24" box until failure. Repeat as necessary. Good luck!

[edpmedic]

My mistake, the cpat was in Jan '07, about three months after the written. Plenty of time to train. If you need training advice, just ask, I can talk about training ad nauseum.

[jdmedic]

Hi All ,
It's good to see action in here again!! My progress is that I am still hoping for a call soon. If you need help eaglesrule, feel free to email me and I will do what I can to help you. The written test is not bad at all and you should do fine. Good luck and let me know if I can help.

edpmedic. I was just wondering how you were notified you got the job? telephone call, letter, etc? Also if the academy joins up with the others in Aug., does that mean the ALS pre class is 3 months long? Anything you know is helpful and I appreciate it! Hopefully you have found a place to live and it's going smooth for you.

Thanks Again!

[localva]

Hi All ,
It's good to see action in here again!! My progress is that I am still hoping for a call soon. If you need help eaglesrule, feel free to email me and I will do what I can to help you. The written test is not bad at all and you should do fine. Good luck and let me know if I can help.

edpmedic. I was just wondering how you were notified you got the job? telephone call, letter, etc? Also if the academy joins up with the others in Aug., does that mean the ALS pre class is 3 months long? Anything you know is helpful and I appreciate it! Hopefully you have found a place to live and it's going smooth for you.

Thanks Again!

1. A recruit class of 40 started last week. The next class will be 40 recruits starting in the fall. There will only be two recruit classes this year.

2. If you are offered the job they call you.

3. The first month of the academy is EMS. You either get four weeks of EMT or four weeks of ALS/Medic. You have to be a Medic already to go through the ALS/Medic class. During the four weeks all the Medics go to a difference class. After the four weeks suppression starts and everyone is back in the same room.

With the next class starting in the fall you will hear something late summer if you got in.

[edpmedic]

jdmedic, I was notified by phone. I am told that my packet will arrive by mail in the next 1-2 weeks. Other than my start date, I don't know much else. localva probably knows much more than I do, at this point. I have several offers to assist in my housing search. I will be looking either the last week of March, or the first week in April. I was disqualified for the magnet program due to salary. Let us know when you get the call, and if you need any help moving.

[Kobersteen]

3. The first month of the academy is EMS. You either get four weeks of EMT or four weeks of ALS/Medic. You have to be a Medic already to go through the ALS/Medic class. During the four weeks all the Medics go to a difference class. After the four weeks suppression starts and everyone is back in the same room.

Actually, the newest concept is to start the ALS rookies about 4 months (?) before their non-ALS classmates. The ALS rookies go through ACLS, BTLS, PALS recerts and then go through their internship. They fully join their non-ALS classmates just before suppression school starts. After they get out of rookie school, they are then the probationary firefighter and the engine medic.

I am very anxious to see how it works... I see some glaring holes in the logic.

[localva]

Actually, the newest concept is to start the ALS rookies about 4 months (?) before their non-ALS classmates. The ALS rookies go through ACLS, BTLS, PALS recerts and then go through their internship. They fully join their non-ALS classmates just before suppression school starts. After they get out of rookie school, they are then the probationary firefighter and the engine medic.

I am very anxious to see how it works... I see some glaring holes in the logic.

I stand corrected. I forgot about the new ALS process at the academy. I agree with Korbesteen, there are issues with the new process. A probie should not be allowed to fill the left bucket of an Engine right out of rookie school.

[jklm128]

Well Im Starting my journey for Fairfax and iam just about to take the written on the 19th and I was taken a bit surprised by it since I just submitted my application a day under 2 weeks without hearing anything. I have read this whole thing from start to finish and it seems to have A LOT of great information one thing I think i cannot find is the time table from written exam to cpat and If I pass to move on to the next stage ? And with that said What is the time line IF ANY is with the academy start dates because I have thought about finding a Paramedic school starting it and then thought about well hey what happens if I get a call and im still in paramedic school what happens then ?

Rob

Hey Eaglesrule, I was on a similar path that you are about to do. I was about finished with my cardiac semester and would be taking the NREMTP's this summer but I got called down before. The problem is that you would have to give up on your courses at that time if you do accept appointment, but if the program is an associates degree, you can transfer those over to the nova community colleges here. You would still have to retake the core medic courses again I think, but if you go through the fairfax fire emt-I course there is a bridge course from I to P. But thats after recruit school. You can defer your appointment and wait after you get your paramedic license too. Hope that helps. Before you do get your medic though, get a good foundation with EMT first. (2years exp preferably)

[jdmedic]

I reposted this question on another page! Thanks