CT Department Hiring Practices

[Sgnl50]

Should Connecticut Fire Department hiring tests be run by a civil service commission. Basically a civil service exam will be given state wide. Candidates will take a written as well as a physical (CPAT). Creating a elegibility list from which departments can interview for positions. This is how Mass does their FD hirings

[DeputyMarshal]

When you see a weather report that says it's snowing in Hell, that will be the time to look for agreement in hiring practices among the state's 169 towns and 200+ fire departments...

In my opinion, the state isn't paying them, the state shouldn't have any say in the local hiring process. Insuring that hiring practices are legal and consistent within a jurisdiction is one thing; forcing all jurisdictions to use the same process is another.

(BTW, the format of the poll questions is about as useful as asking, "have you stopped beating your wife?" You probably should have stuck with "Yes" or "No". )

[Sgnl50]

Deputy Marshal, thanks for your input

Cheers
Matt

[KeithA8]

Deputymarshal is right. It will never happen in this state. BUT, I do think it would be a better way to establish a hiring list. This would be very beneficial to smaller depts. Look at CPAT - this is the first step in "state wide testing". The oral board however should stay with the individual dept.

[Dalmatian190]

Civil Service isn't universal in Massachusetts.

It's something individual communities opt into. I think it tends to be more common in the metro-Boston area and other "older" cities that had career departments 40 years ago. It's less common in the suburbs that have gone from mostly call to significantly/all career over the last 20 years or so.

Along the lines of KeithA8's comment, most of the Police Departments in the "far east" of Connecticut participate in a regional recruitment & testing program: http://www.lawenforcementcouncil.org/About%20Us.htm .

The regional group handles the written & physical test parts. The individual department once they've chosen a candidate does the orals, background checks, pyschs, etc.

That would provide a model for a similiar program for FDs.