Firefighter Trainee

Overview

Are you ready to start a rewarding and impactful career? The City of Asheville invites you to apply for the position of an entry-level firefighter. This role offers the opportunity to serve your community as a crucial member of a dedicated team, responding to fire emergencies, natural disasters, and medical crises.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Fire Control and Extinguishment: Apply advanced techniques to manage and extinguish fires.
• Medical Assistance: Deliver critical emergency medical care to the sick and injured.
• Station Maintenance: Participate in the upkeep of equipment and station quarters to ensure readiness.
• Public Interaction: Exhibit tact and courtesy when dealing with the public and those in distress, maintaining a professional demeanor at all times.
• Emergency Response: Act swiftly and effectively to fire calls, disaster situations, and medical emergencies.
• Technical Training: Learn and master firefighting techniques, hazardous materials handling, and emergency medical care through rigorous study and training.
• Life-Saving Work: Perform responsible and technical tasks to protect Asheville residents from fires, environmental hazards, and disasters, providing emergency medical treatment and conducting rescue operations.
• Disaster Response: Handle environmental and other disasters involving hazardous materials, such as gas leaks, fuel spills, and chemical emergencies, by taking proper steps to mitigate hazardous situations.
• Non-Emergency Assistance: Respond to non-emergency calls, such as assisting other emergency medical care providers in moving patients into transportation vehicles and helping disabled persons in their homes when other assistance is inadequate.
• Continuous Training: Participate in a continuous training program to improve competence in all areas related to firefighting functions and meet Federal, State, and Local standards.
• Equipment Maintenance: Assist in the inspection and maintenance of assigned apparatus and equipment, and perform station maintenance.
• Public Education: Actively participate in public fire and life safety education activities, hydrant maintenance, professional development reviews, and any other assigned duties.
• Rescue Operations: Use specialized hand and power tools to rescue victims of fire, disaster, and other emergencies.
• Medical Procedures: Perform CPR or defibrillation as necessary.
• Physical Fitness: Maintain an appropriate level of physical fitness for duty.
• Pre-Fire Planning: Participate as a member of a company in pre-fire planning.
• Data Management: Utilize computerized data entry equipment and various word processing, spreadsheet, file maintenance, and/or database programs to enter, store, and retrieve information.
• Traffic Control: Assist with traffic control duties as required.
• Off-Duty Response: Respond on an off-duty basis in the event of a major fire, rescue, hazardous materials, or other emergencies.

What You Bring: We know your time is valuable. Applicants who meet the following minimum requirements or have comparable experience and/or education will be considered:

• Graduation from high school (or equivalent) by the start of the Fire Academy.
• Verbal and written communication skills, and reading comprehension skills necessary to successfully complete basic firefighter training and certification.
• Any equivalent combination of training and experience required to perform the essential position functions.

Special Requirements:

• Possession of a valid driver's license.
• Must be at least 18 years of age by the starting date of the academy.
• Obtain the following certifications issued by the State of North Carolina within one (1) year of the date of hire (all courses and tests required will be offered during the academy):
• Firefighter II
• Hazardous Materials Operations
• EMT-B
• Technical Rescuer

Fire Academy Training

All successful candidates will attend the City of Asheville Fire Department's Fire Academy as paid Firefighter Trainees for approximately 3-5 months. The training schedule is generally Monday to Friday, typically varying between 7:30 AM and 6:00 PM, though hours may vary due to instructional needs. Upon successful completion of the academy, firefighters will begin 24-hour shift rotations. The example schedule is as follows: W=Work, O=Off - W|O|W|O|O|W|O|W|O|O|O|O, representing a 12-day work cycle.

Incentives:

Education Incentive:
Available for candidates with an Associate’s Degree or higher.

Language Incentive:
Offered to candidates proficient in more than one language who can successfully pass a foreign language competency test.

All applications must be submitted by 5:00 PM on Friday, March 27th. This position is non-exempt.

What You Bring (cont.):

We know your time is valuable. Applicants who meet the following minimum requirements or have comparable experience and/or education will be considered:

• Graduation from high school (or equivalent) by the start of the Fire Academy.
• Verbal and written communication skills, and reading comprehension…