bertusgeert 1 #1 June 21, 2011 How fit do firefighters have to be? Is it only entry requirements, or are there periodic "tests"? Are there more stringent requirements for wildfire firefighters as opposed to urban firefighters? Just curious. Thinking about maybe one day volunteering. --------------------------------------------- As jy dom is moet jy bloei! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gravitysurfer 0 #2 June 21, 2011 Here >>> Firefighter Fit aloha. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bertusgeert 1 #3 June 21, 2011 QuoteHere >>> Firefighter Fit Thanks, but doesn't answer my questions does it? Anyways, work is blocking it. I'll check it tonight. --------------------------------------------- As jy dom is moet jy bloei! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
futuredivot 0 #4 June 21, 2011 The requirements are one thing but you have to be pretty fit to do the job effectively. I would never go back playing in burning buildings in the shape I'm in now. I'd be a danger to myself and my teammates.You are only as strong as the prey you devour Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gravitysurfer 0 #5 June 21, 2011 Joking with you. I think there's a couple in here and maybe a couple of our LEOs would have helpful answers too. Or this forum http://www.firehouse.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=fef300a570dac93e1b0681e3ff130242&f=422 aloha. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bertusgeert 1 #6 June 21, 2011 Quote Joking with you. I think there's a couple in here and maybe a couple of our LEOs would have helpful answers too. Or this forum http://www.firehouse.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=fef300a570dac93e1b0681e3ff130242&f=422 Excellent, that's what I'm talking about. Thks. --------------------------------------------- As jy dom is moet jy bloei! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bertusgeert 1 #7 June 21, 2011 At the risk of taking over my own thread, I found this comical bit: YOU THINK YOU ARE TOUGH ENOUGH? Here's one way to find out whether you qualify for work as a wildland firefighter. Stuff what you think you need for a week into a backpack, making sure it weighs at least 50 pounds. If you don't need to carry that much food, add rocks to your pack till it weighs at least that much. Start hiking cross-country, and make sure you're going at a good clip for at least 10 hours per day on steep slopes -- and make sure you're awake for at least 20 hours per day. If you see big movable stuff, such as rocks and logs, pick them up and move them. The bigger they are and the farther and faster you move them, the more it counts. Fall down a lot, and bang yourself up on rocks and roots as often as possible. Thrash around in the brush, get good and scraped, and go without food and water as much as possible. Practice sleeping while standing up. This is critical. Practice it enough to where you sort of get to like it. Try to attract as many mosquitoes and yellowjackets and bees and flies and snakes as possible, and get bit by as many as you can in as many places as possible. Get as wet and muddy as possible, and get as hot and dusty and generally filthy as you possibly can. WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T BATHE. Keep this up for a week. If you're still alive, and if you think you're having a good time, you may just make it as a wildland firefighter. If you're genuinely having the time of your life and you want more of this, someone may want to hire you. --------------------------------------------- As jy dom is moet jy bloei! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
grimmie 173 #8 June 21, 2011 http://www.cffjac.org/go/jac/cpat/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydiver30960 0 #9 June 21, 2011 The answer, unfortunately, is "it depends." One metro fire department in my area is very "paramilitary." Their training program is probably eight weeks long, and you stay in barracks style arrangements, go to multiple PT sessions a day, and generally get your ass handed to you in a Perris-island-like haze-fest. I expect this type of experience is pretty common with most "big city" departments; I know of three big cities I've lived near that have this type of arrangement. For the more rural and small- to medium-sized cities, you will find less focus on physical ability. In the region I was most recently volunteering, PAID personnel had to complete a "physical agility test" prior to hire. It was designed to simulate the skills a firefighter would use on a fireground and included tasks like: 1.) Wearing a total of 75 pounds of weight vest, climb a stair climber at a set rate for 4 minutes. (This would simulate a long climb up stairs or long walk to the fire scene from your engine carrying a high-rise pack) (Candidates then doffed 25 pounds of vest, indicating they'd put down their high-rise pack. The remaining 50 pounds of vest stayed on the rest of the test, to simulate the weight of their gear and SCBA.) 2.) Dragging a hose line a certain distance; 3.) Carrying tools such as a ladder, gas can, and chainsaw (simulating getting tools ready to use) 4.) Using a sledge hammer on a "roof simulator" (to simulate breeching a roof) 5.) Navigating a "maze" of a short (30') tunnel with engineered pinch points (simulating searching for a victim) 6.) Dragging a (damn heavy) dummy a prescribed distance (simulating moving the victim you find after the above search) 7.) Using a pike pole to push and pull overhead steel rings and plates several times in fast succession (simulating pulling ceiling to check for extension and overhaul) ETA: Grimmie posted his link as I was typing. Almost the same thing we did. And it was all to be completed (other than the timed portion on the treadmill) withing a certain time. Actually, it wasn't that hard. If you could finish the treadmill part, you could pretty much coast through the rest. Most of us competed not to see if we could complete it but how much time we had left at the end of the exercise. Most of the agencies I've volunteered with or heard of stress fitness at hire or start of volunteering, and unfortunately don't require periodic re-tests. IMO this is unfortunate. An agency doesn't want to wash out a career officer with 15 years experience for any reason, but if he can't get himself safely up and down a ladder, well... Now, for VOLUNTEERING, you may find the requirements are little to none, especially in areas that are hurting for volunteers. Is this good or bad? Meh, I dunno. Having lower requirements for volunteers lets people get involved to the level they're interested, but also allows people to get used to being out of shape in the fire service. Somebody doesn't seem out of shape until you put them in highly insulating clothes, an SCBA, and make them really haul ass on a fire scene for a while. After a while of that, even the most fit of us is sucking air. My suggestion for a volunteer would be what I would recommend for everybody: keep your self in shape and always work to improve your physical condition. Work on getting your weight down if that's a problem for you, spend a little time in the gym just to be sure your muscles can handle the work, get some cardio under your belt, watch what you eat, and STAY HYDRATED. Many fire departments (paid and volunteer) will have exercise facilities of some kind right at the station to help you stay in shape. Something like 25% of firefighter line of duty deaths are due to heart attacks at or immediately following a fire scene. I take that both as an indicator that our firefighters are not as fit as they could be, and an indicator of just how stressful a real fire scene can be. SO, should you volunteer? DEFINITELY. It's a blast, something that I deeply enjoyed. I'm planning to get back into it as soon as I can figure out how to transfer my Virginia certs to Arizona, or get a new Arizona certification. It's a great way to get involved in the community, to make a difference, and to meet some really great guys and gals. How to get started: walk in and say hi. Things really do vary from area to area, so the best bet is to find out what the situation is where you live. Meet the guys at your local department and ask them about volunteering. They'll let you know everything you need to know about how to get started. Sorry to be so wordy. Please PM me if you if I confused you or you want more info. Elvisio "holy long post, batman" Rodriguez Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KevinMcGuire 0 #10 June 21, 2011 When I drug hoses, the motto seamed to be eat till your sleepy, sleep till your hungry. Of course that was practiced more by the old guys and less by the boots Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #11 June 22, 2011 QuoteHow fit do firefighters have to be? Is it only entry requirements, or are there periodic "tests"? Are there more stringent requirements for wildfire firefighters as opposed to urban firefighters? Just curious. Thinking about maybe one day volunteering. The firefighters I work with range from uber-fit triathlon types to "holy crap that guy could be on The Biggest Loser" with everything in between. Most of them fit into the "normal guy" range. Most departments have some sort of PT test. Top fire schools have some sort of fitness requirements and/or program.--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
