How To Become A Firefighter - Step by Step

The first thing that needs to be done is obtaining a cardiopulmonary resuscitation certification. A CPR certification, also known as a CPR card, is a certification received after taking a CPR class from an American Heart Association certified program. CPR programs are usually a four hour class with all the updated information about CPR, a written exam, and a practical test using mannequins made specifically for CPR. Once you pass the class a CPR card will be issued and will last for 2 years.

Second task in the road to catching fires for life is attending a class to become a certified First Responder. The first responder class is meant for students to learn the basic skill for medical emergencies that need pre-hospital care. The class is a 40 hour course that is knocked out over a couple 8 hour days.

The third and most important step is receiving the Fire 1 and Fire 2 certificates. These certificates will be obtained by attending the fire academy. Different states and fire departments put these academy's on in different ways. They'll either be an academy that you attend, graduate, and then apply for open positions at different departments or get hired by a specific department and they put there hires through an academy in which students will graduate in to jobs with that department. The academy can either be every day Monday through Friday 8am-5pm for 3 months or 3 days a week for 6 months. The 6 month schedule would be something like Tuesday and Thursday 5pm-9pm and Saturday 8am-5pm. Both class schedules have their pros and cons. The 3 month class is good obviously because it's half the time but not everyone has the availability to attend class everyday. Which is why the 6 month class is usually ideal. It allows students the option to not quit their day job while attending the academy. Fire 1 will be the first half and Fire 2 being the second, with classroom days as well as drill days. Classrooms day will involve covering different chapters from the course book with tests at the end of each week. Drill take will consist of learning hands on skills and techniques needed to become a firefighter. Towards the end of the academy the instructors will begin to focus on the final written exam and final practical. Each state has their own written exam as well as a practical exam to test the skills that were learned. A passing score on the final exam and the final practical are required to receive the Fire 1 and Fire 2 certificates.

That's it, now all there is left to do is to apply for the department you wish to work for!

Source : articlesbase.com