job description

Well, I'm a Firefighter Engineer, which is the person who drives the engine and is responsible for the engine. We have a company that comes in and does repairs so I don't have to worry about that, but I make sure that the engine we're using that day is ready in all respects - the pump is working, the systems are working, there's gas in the tank. I also am responsible for all other vehicles in the station. At the station where I work, there's a pick-up truck that we use if we have to go off road, a backup engine, and another truck. I feel one of my biggest responsibilities within the job is actually driving the engine, especially when we're going to a call. It's a 3,000-5,000 pound vehicle, and just because you have lights and a siren doesn't mean people are paying attention, so you really have to be careful. In regard to other coworkers, at the department where I work there are around 30 staff total, and around four people at the station. On calls, there are typically three people on the engine - the Captain, the Engineer, and usually a Firefighter Medic, since 80% of our calls are medical. We work as a team, and everybody is involved, whether the call concerns a heart attack or a fire. If I'm not doing something that my specific title calls for, I will assist someone else.

This is really something I think is unique to the job, because you really have to know your coworkers. I work on a schedule where I work a continuous 48-hour shift, and then we get four days off, so it's like a second home. We really have to learn to live with each other. We not only work together, but we eat dinner together and clean together. I've been working with this guy who's really a great cook and I've learned a lot from him during dinner preparation, and it makes things fun. There's a lot of pressure to participate and pull your load in all activities. When you're dealing with situations that are a little bit crazy, it at least tends to make you a little wild, and I've had a lot of coworkers who have that streak in them. In the work aspect, since we really work as a team, many situations require a leader that makes decisions. Someone who uses his authority to belittle people would not make a good leader. When you're working 24 or 48 hours with a guy who abuses his power, it's really taxing. You have to deal with people like that, but if you're working with people you like, you get really close to each other.

Well, our station is an all-male environment. I'm sure that will eventually change and won't be a problem when it does, but right now it certainly plays a part in our work atmosphere. I would say as far as a positive aspect of the job, I probably laugh more at work than I do at home. There's a lot of light-heartedness, a lot of humor that goes on that's fun. In the time after the workday, we might watch sports together, cook, and joke around. The fire department has certainly changed, because in the old days it used to have a more military environment, and that doesn't exist today. In some departments, becoming a firefighter was very exclusive and was considered a "good ol' boys club," but that's not an issue any more.

education & career path

Actually, I'm certainly not typical of what it's like now. I didn't start off wanting to be firefighter, and it wasn't my first choice. I went to UC Santa Barbara and got a bachelor's in History and Anthropology, and then got a teaching credential from San Francisco State University. I wanted the experience of learning a second language, and I joined the Peace Corps in El Salvador for three years. When I came back, I got a job as a bilingual counselor and then I went back to get my Master's degree in teaching English as a second language. As I went through that, I was working as an ESL teacher for a vocational program, which was a good experience because I really got to help people. Unfortunately, I got discouraged from teaching, because there were limited hours and I didn't see much future in it. My brother and my best friend were both firefighters, and they suggested that I get a job as a firefighter and teach English in addition to that, because I needed a full time job. I think because I had the Master's degree I made a good candidate; I had also taken some first aid classes and some elementary paramedic courses. When I was interviewing I got a call from Pacifica (where I still work now), and I got hired. I liked the schedule and the adventure aspect of it, and I ended up sticking with it.

Yes, to some degree. I'm the only person in our department who speaks Spanish, so when we get a call where someone speaks Spanish, I act as a translator. It doesn't happen every day, but it happens pretty frequently, especially as the Spanish speaking population in California grows. We've had visitors from Mexico visit the department, and I'm somewhat of an ambassador to them too. We gave one of our old engines to a fire department in Mexico, and when the volunteer group came to pick it up, I acted as their translator and had a great time talking to them.

my day

We start our day at eight in the morning and the vehicle inspection takes about an hour. Then we go into training for about two hours, and we have a schedule of different trainings on different days. Our training covers all the things that we do, and because of the types of emergencies we respond to, it's really varied. We had a training recently with a building that was going to be gutted, and we did a search and rescue where they filled the building with smoke and there were dummies placed in certain locations, to simulate what might happen in a fire. There's something different every day, like maybe a cliff-side rescue or a medical training. In the afternoon, we go out and inspect the businesses in the city to make sure there aren't any fire hazards, and we do that until our day ends at four. At four, we have an hour where we can work out, and there's an area where we have equipment for that. Then we make dinner, eat, clean up and then we have the ability to do what we want, like watch TV or read. Of course, woven within all of this is the fact that when we get an emergency call, we have to drop whatever we're doing and respond to the call, regardless of whether it is during training or right before dinner.

You never know what kind of a call you're going to go on, and each one is different. The job, as far as the calls, is never boring. There's either an interesting aspect to it or an element of danger and there's a sense of being part of the action. Sometimes the training can be kind of monotonous, but I don't really ever find myself bored at work. When there is that down time in the evenings, I find that is when I get to catch up on a book I've been meaning to read, or if I need to research something on the computer, I can.

salary & lifestyle

I believe it starts at about 60,000 and can go to $80-95,000. It depends on positions too; paramedics make about ten percent more than firefighters, and captains make about the same as the paramedics. With fire departments, we're always open and don't close. When you have staffing problems, some people have to work overtime. I typically have chosen to work very little overtime because of my family, but I still earned about $15,000 in overtime every year. If you can work more hours, you can make quite a bit extra.

Right now, we work 48 hours, and then have four days off, which is good, because you only really come to work about five times a month. We used to have a residency requirement, meaning you had to live in the community, but the union fought that, and now we have guys that live like 150 miles away because they can't afford to live in the San Francisco Bay Area. With our schedule, they can still work. We used to have a schedule where we would work a day, be off a day, work a day, then be off four days, meaning we would come in about ten times a month, and I think this works better. The positive aspect about our current schedule, especially in comparison to other occupations, is that people get really creative with their time. You can have a cabin in the mountains or take time to travel. We have people that get hired as paramedics and are working overtime who make around $100,000 and have an apartment, no kids, and a lot of money. They go to Australia for vacation, or take four days in Colorado to go skiing. Another aspect that's nice is that you can trade with people to get more time off. It's easy to have someone work your two days so you can get a total of ten days off to do what you will. Of course there's the camaraderie that eventually you'll cover their shift too.

When I talk to other people in other occupations and they hear about our retirement plan, they're impressed with it. I plan to retire soon, and when I do I'll be retiring at 90% (of current salary). My older brother will be getting 99%. One of the reasons that firefighters used to get such good retirement plans is because they weren't expected to live long, but I would like to think that that's changed. We don't have very many fires and we use a breathing apparatus to go into those situations, so I hope to live pretty long!

It's certainly difficult if your spouse works, as mine does, because it created some problems as with childcare. Being gone for 48 hours is difficult, especially if you have young kids, because you're out of the picture for that period of time. What's always amazed me is when fire departments go to large fires in another area to help out, we have to send people to staff the engines, and they can be there for a week or more. For the guys that are single, it's an opportunity to go down and have that aspect of adventure, and get paid overtime. Because I've had kids, I've never volunteered to go, and have actually never been on one of those runs. I could never justify it because I would be leaving the family for an extended period of time. There's also a lot of stability within the job because the city always needs firefighters, and generally people stay for a long time. My wife worked at a company for over 30 years and was fired, and that wouldn't happen to me.

pros, cons & trends

One of the basic premises of the fire department that I have always liked is that we're here to help people. We do a variety of things, and all of them are related to helping people. It's nice to have the report we have within the community, and the fire department is supported by the community. We can be called at 3 a.m. to help someone back into bed, help with water leaks or get a cat out of a fence - in all aspects we're helping people.

I think one of the negative aspects is when you're working with someone who is a jerk. I mean, that happens in any occupation, but because of the close quarters, or when you're working with them for 48 hours, it can make it worse. Also, sometimes fire departments have to get involved in politics to some degree, and the city and the government control a lot of what happens to the department. It can be hard to negotiate with the city because we don't have to right to strike, but as departments become unified, there is more that can be done. However, I do have a stability that not a lot of other occupations have.

I definitely think it's changing since there is better fire protection and there are fewer fires, and the "fire department" is somewhat of a misnomer. It's actually more of an "emergency department" and the service provided for medical calls has improved greatly. Because the engines get to medical emergencies faster than ambulances, people get advanced life support immediately and have a much better chance medically. I think that's an area that will continue to improve, and there will be more that will get involved in the field. My feeling is that I encourage people who are thinking about becoming fire fighters to see if they have a real calling for the medical aspect, because it's such an important part. The best route is to become an EMT and work on an ambulance to see what the work entails, because as the field changes, fire fighters will be working with all those aspects.

advice

It's become really competitive. The people we see now are dedicating themselves to the job even before they get into it, and many people we see now have decided at an early age that they want to be firefighters. After high school they go to junior college to get an Associate's degree in firefighting, which didn't used to be available. Then they become EMTs and go to paramedic school, so they're really well qualified for the job. It's been a really positive change, and people are getting a lot better service because firefighters are more prepared. We used to have volunteers in our department, and they would go through 50 interviews all over the state for a position in a department.

If you're looking for a job, they're not just interested in paramedics; they're interested in paramedics with a lot of previous experience that can just start working in the job. They're looking for those who have worked as volunteers and particularly, because of the living situation, departments like to get to know people through cadet and volunteer programs. Someone can be good at the job but they may have bizarre eating habits, or are extremely messy.

Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, and I've worked with a variety of people. Some people can be great firefighters but aren't very good students, and are really smart as far as figuring out of how to get a person out of a tight place but may have a reading problem. They are able to quite successful here. I think that there are all kinds of personalities that I've seen within the department, but I would say there are common traits of people that do well. You need the ability to work as a member of a team - people that want to do things always on their own I think aren't good team members. A good leader is part of the team, and you have to work with anyone. You have people from all different backgrounds, and everyone brings a different piece of the puzzle. There's this idea that you're presented with a problem you've never seen before, and you have to find a solution together. People that are able to work within a team do very well. People that are tolerant and reasonable as far as the living aspect goes are good, too. Flexibility is important, too - if you're set on eating a meal and we get a call, you can't be too pissed about it. You have to be able to get up in the middle of the night and deal with the emergency, no matter how small it might be. That's part of the reason we're here. I think it requires a certain amount of compassion, too. You have to like people because you deal with them, and sometimes that takes an overall understanding.

Having the Associate's degree or a Bachelor's degree is great, as is being an EMT. I think having experience is probably the most important thing, either as a volunteer or at another department. Right now, the selection process has a certain pressure aspect to it; they'll give a scenario that you have to deal with, and you have to be prepared. They are also doing background checks to get to know the person from the point of view of neighbors or previous employers.