Incipient – This first stage begins when heat, oxygen and a fuel source combine and have a chemical reaction resulting in fire.  This is also known as “ignition” and is usually represented by a very small fire which often (and hopefully) goes out on its own, before the following stages are reached.  Recognizing a fire in this stage provides your best chance at suppression or escape.

Growth – The growth stage is where the structures fire load and oxygen are used as fuel for the fire. There are numerous factors affecting the growth stage including where the fire started, what combustibles are near it, ceiling height and the potential for “thermal layering”.  It is during this shortest of the 4 stages when a deadly “flashover” can occur; potentially trapping, injuring or killing firefighters.

Fully Developed – When the growth stage has reached its max and all combustible materials have been ignited, a fire is considered fully developed.  This is the hottest phase of a fire and the most dangerous for anybody trapped within.

Decay – Usually the longest stage of a fire, the decay stage is characterized a significant decrease in oxygen or fuel, putting an end to the fire.  Two common dangers during this stage are first – the existence of non-flaming combustibles, which can potentially start a new fire if not fully extinguished.  Second, there is the danger of a backdraft when oxygen is reintroduced to a volatile, confined space.

Diabetes is a disease which affects a person’s ability to produce or use insulin.  This typically results in either a shortage or overabundance of glucose within a persons blood stream.  These situations are known respectively as hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia.  Both of these conditions can be fatal if left untreated; or can cause of a number of other problems including blindness, heart disease, nerve damage, and kidney problems. Fortunately, if symptoms are recognized early, both can be effectively managed.

Insulin is a hormone produced in the pancreas and has many purposes, the most significant of which may be the utilization of glucose for metabolism and body functions.  When the body produces normal amounts of insulin, sugars are utilized and the body functions normally.  If insulin levels in the body become low, glucose continues to build to abnormally high levels (hyperglycemia).  Conversely, when the pancreas produces too much insulin, or a person does not consume enough (and the right kinds of) food to supply adequate blood-sugar levels, hypoglycemia occurs.

Most people have a properly functioning pancreas which produces proper amounts of insulin based on the bodies needs.  Still, a number of factors including health, genetics, diet, age and simple luck, result in so many American’s becoming the victims of this incurable disease.  Most people develop it later in life, though some very unfortunate people are born with it.

Type 2 Diabetes is far more common than type 1

Type II diabetes, also known as “adult onset diabetes” is the most common form and is usually the result of aging, obesity, poor diet, and lack of exercise.  African Americans and Hispanics, among other nationalities tend to be at higher risk.  While we have no control over many of these factors, there are some we do have control over.  Diet and exercise (or lack of) may be two of the biggest factors contributing to the soaring numbers of new cases of diabetes each year.  Eating right and exercising regularly will cut a person’s chances of getting type II diabetes down hugely.  Bottom line: Healthy eating and regular exercise can be a cure for type 2 diabetes.

Type 1 Diabetes

Type I diabetes is not preventable as Type II is, but it affects a much smaller portion of the population as well.  Type I or “Juvenile diabetes” occurs when the bodies own immune system attacks the pancreas destroying its ability to produce insulin.   In these cases, the diabetic must rely on supplemental insulin, usually in the form of injections, to manage their blood-glucose levels.

Recognizing diabetes can be tricky as its symptoms often mimic those of other problems.  Diabetics are often mistaken for drunks, drug users or crazy people because of their sudden strange and bizarre behavior, which is often aggressive in nature.  Both types share many of the same signs and symptoms such as an altered mental status, frequent urination, hunger, impaired vision and drowsiness or dizziness.

Telling hyper and hypoglycemia apart isn’t always easy, but there are a few signs which can often help differentiate the two.  In hyperglycemia, the patient will need to urinate often as his body works to eliminate the abundance of sugar in their system.  This excessive sugar may be noted as sweet or fruity smelling breath. As a result of their frequent urination, the patient may become dehydrated which may lead to dry skin.  Be alert for dry skin, sweet breath, and frequent urination.

Hypoglycemia tends to be more common and is recognizable by the patients shaky disposition and pale, cool and diaphoretic skin.  They will likely have a rapid pulse and normal to low blood pressure and respiratory rate.  The patient will also appear dizzy or unstable and complain of headaches.

As an firefighter/EMT, treating diabetic patients usually involves administering some form of sugar (preferably medical grade oral glucose) orally.  Oral glucose is usually the easiest and most appropriate solution for hypoglycemia, though it can only be done if the patient is still conscious enough to follow simple directions.  If the patient is not capable of feeding themselves oral glucose or some other sugary food or drink, they will need glucose by means of IV.  At this point, rapid transport to a hospital is necessary.  In hospital treatment for hypoglycemia includes glucose replacement and monitoring.

Treating a diabetic with hyperglycemia would mean getting him to take his insulin if capable.  Being that EMT’s are not authorized to administer shots, rapid transport to the hospital would be required where the patient would be treated with the appropriate dose of insulin.

In both cases, test the patients’ blood glucose levels if their glucometer is available (and if local protocol allows), check for insulin, medications and medical alert tags on or around the patient, and always provide high flow oxygen.  Continuously monitor the patients LOC and check vital signs regularly (every 5 minutes during the diabetic episode and following interventions).

Firefighting

Monte Stonewall presents How Dalmatians Became Fire Department Dogs and  Different Jobs in a Fire Department posted at Fire Science Colleges.

Emergency Management

It’s a shame because firefighting and EMS are taxing jobs which require that you not only be at the top of your game physically, but mentally too. While there’s nothing wrong with a cup o’ joe, it’s not going to provide you the calories and nutrients you need to get you through the day.

Below is a list of foods and their corresponding ANDI scores. ANDI scores are based on the nutritional density of foods. Nutritional density can be a tricky thing because a foods score is heavily influenced by it’s calorie count. For example, we know that almonds are one of the healthier nuts out there, and that they’re loaded with healthy fats and protein. Nonetheless, those same benefits make them a very calorie rich snack. On the other hand, strawberries which have no fat or protein, are very high in vitamins (especially Vitamin C) and have far fewer calories per serving.

This is not a bad thing, but is something you should be aware of when looking through the list of ANDI scored foods below. I feel it is also worth noting that while it’s most important to have a well balanced and varied diet, leaning toward the higher scoring foods is in general a good thing.

** The below table was taken as is from Eat Right America and is the intellectual property of ANDI creator Dr. Joel Fuhrman.

Back at the station, where the beginning of my “first” was just getting started, we had finished dinner and was finally taking a load off after a day of pack tests, station cleaning, equipment maintenance and other typical station duties. The radio started blaring and station after station was getting called to a fire on Cordelia Road. I couldn’t believe we hadn’t been called to it! Cordelia is not a big city and we’re one of the CFD’s two stations.

Finally, just when I was starting to wonder if we’d be a part of it, we became a part of it.  I’m still fairly new to the Cordelia FD, but I’m not the official “new guy” now that Jimmy Alvarez came on board three weeks ago.  He and I were pretty excited as it was both of our first fires.  We were led by company officer, Engineer Billy Untalan and more experienced firefighter, Anthony Capella.

What amazed me the most was that as Alvarez and I stood there with our Polaski and McCloud, expecting to begin digging and shoveling every hotspot we saw, Engineer Untalan turned to us as we stood at the edge of a burning and smoking creek looking down at the flaming grass and litter, and told us to take the nozzle. I was thrilled, and took it before Jimmy got a chance.

There weren’t any gigantic, blazing, out of control fires to put out, but there were a good number of smaller ones and plenty of glowing embers everywhere.  Some of the trees even had branches of burning leaves and these were of course a lot of fun to shoot down.  I sprayed water at everything I could adjusting my nozzle at times for better reach or for a wider, wetter spray for soaking closer fires.

The interesting thing was the obvious odor of man-made items burning.  The ravine that this fire happened in was two things among other: 1) A home to the homeless as there were a number of chairs, tents and sleeping bags set up in particular area, and 2) an unofficial junkyard.   The local homeless who inhabited this brushland, probably had no hesitation about using it as a trashcan as well as sleeping quarters.   Also, I imagine that even members of the general public used this conveniently inconspicuous area as an easy way to throw out large unneeded items.  It was night so it was hard to see exactly what was down there, but there seemed to be plenty of old bottles, a bicycle, some old crates, plywood and possibly some old carpet.  One of the lessons I learned on this fire, was ALWAYS have a working flashlight on hand, and preferably attached to your helmet or turnouts.

Inhaling the smoke from this burning litter was horrible.  It smells like poison.  All I could think of was my Capt. McCumber who taught my Fire 101 class and how he frequently told us that most firefighters die within a few years of retirement from cancers usually brought on by the gases of burning chemicals.  Suddenly his words were so true.  I tried to not breath it in, but when you’re working hard and the smoke is everywhere, there’s just no escaping it.

If you’re wondering why I wasn’t wearing breathing apparatus, it’s because you don’t wear your SCBA on wildland fires.

Getting back to the story, I was spraying everything glowing or burning that I could see when suddenly there was an explosion just down the slope where I was standing. It was bright, white and violent, and I knew immediately that it was probably magnesium or a similar flammable metal. I wasn’t sure if there was a specific protocol to be followed, like using a class D extinguishing agent, so I focused the stream on other hot spots while Alvarez notified Engineer Untulan.

Billy came over, took the nozzle shot a bit of water on it, and sure enough it popped with white light.  He then surprised me by completely dousing it, obviously causing some serious chemical reactions, and eventually leading to a brilliant explosion of white light.  After that, it fizzled out pretty quickly.  It is worth noting that there was nobody else around and the metal itself (I still don’t know exactly what it was) was a pretty safe distance down this slope and ahead of us.

At this point Jimmy took over the nozzle and I began….

The quick answer is that I’ve been busy doing all sorts of things, most of them fire related in one way or another. I’ll get into the details later, but this quick post is to talk about the future of this blog and my intentions. I intend to be a better blogger, and here is what that means: I will post much more regularly, though they will not alway be the long, heavily detailed posts I’ve written in the past. Those are the reason I fell off the radar recently.

My posts going forward will be more like this; fast, to-the-point quips on what’s happening and what I’ve been doing to keep my journey on path. I also intend on changing the homepage of the site to reflect my new approach, but that’s coming soon.

Before I conclude, I should tell you that I have completed my own fire academy at this point and am now working as a resident firefighter with the Cordelia Fire Protection District in Fairfield, CA. This is a volunteer position, but it is a major stepping stone and accomplishment for me. I am a firefighter.

Plenty more on that soon, but for now I’ve got to run. Stay tuned….

There aren’t too many careers out there that are quite as hard to break into as firefighting, and so I pose the question: How bad do you want it, and is it worth it? Let’s consider…

The statement about 5 years being the average time to get hired doesn’t apply to everybody – it applies to those who get hired at all. Many never do! Of course, some lucky folks will get jobs in their first year. Others get hired right out of the academy. …and some people win the lottery. In the year and a half that I’ve been on the fire-career road, I’ve spoken to many, many firefighters of varying ranks and the one consistent thing they all tell me is “If you really want it, don’t give up – you’ll get there.” They follow this advice with a story of someone just like me who got hired after years and years of trying.

I have no doubt that every story I’ve heard is true, and that each one was referring to a completely different person, but (and I confess, I am a born skeptic) what decent firefighter or captain or chief is going to tell an aspiring hopeful a story of failure. Nobody is going to tell you to quit while you’re ahead, because the odds are against you and for each person who makes it, there are ten others who did not.

With that said, don’t let me dissuade you. There’s plenty you can do to increase your odds of being that one guy. Let’s start with the ones I’ve done and continue with additional options:

I have…..

• Earned my bachelors degree (prior to becoming interested in fire)
• 10+ years of post college experience (throw me a bone and let’s call this maturity)
• Earned my EMT license and worked as an EMT (I just left)
• Went back to school and got an Associates degree in Fire Technology
• Graduated from a state accredited Fire Academy
• Am on the verge of beginning as a resident firefighter with a local fire dept.
• Volunteer – I currently give my time at a local hospital, a small business academy, and will start, as mentioned above with a local fire dept. soon.

I have yet to….

• Consider jobs outside my own state
• Earn my paramedic license
• Work as a paramedic
• Work for the Dept. of Forestry (here in California it’s CalFire)
• Work for a fire department in a non-firefighter role (get your foot in the door)
• **Military experience is usually a big plus, but don’t join for the purpose of putting this on your resume.

* I’m sure there are items I’ve missed or forgotten. If you have thoughts or suggestions, please email me and I’ll add them to the list.

You are different than every other person out there trying to become a firefighter. It is my belief that for some it is, and for others it may not be, worth pursuing firefighting. Major factors you need to consider include:

Your Age – Youth will allow you the time to get things like school, your paramedic training and experience as a volunteer in. If you’re older these things may not always be possible, but you have life experience, maturity and possibly some directly applicable experience behind you.
Time – Becoming a firefighter can be a very time consuming challenge. If you’re working full time to support a family, you may find yourself burning the candle at both ends if you try and accomplish some of the points listed above into your busy schedule.
Education – If you have a college degree, awesome. If it’s in Fire Sciences, even better. If you have other formal training related to the fire service, you’re already a step ahead, but if you have none… well, you’re behind the ball. These days, the fire service can pick from the best of the best. If you’re not the student type, maybe consider becoming one… or ditching fire.
Family – This may possibly be the biggest factor of all, but it generally will apply to those who are married with kids. Your spouse may be hugely supportive at first, but after you’re in, and away from home for days at a time, frustration and problems can build. For some couples the schedule couldn’t be better – it allows you to spend many full days with your family at a time. Still, for others those nights alone, build up. Make sure your family knows what’s coming if you get hired.
Expenses – Becoming a firefighter isn’t cheap. Between the costs of school(s), equipment, academies, books, uniforms, and more, you can spend a pretty penny just trying to get the job. Next month, I’ll go into more detail regarding the finances of firefighting, covering both, the cost of getting in and income potentials once you’re there.
Life Risk – As obvious as this is, it’s the last thing many people consider. You could die. It’s a real possibility. These days, fire departments work smart and usually provide tons of great training to fully prepare their crews for everything they can, but you can never account for all possibilities. Firefighters do die and we all like to think it could only happen to the other guy. …but we know that’s not true. It can happen to you. If you’re just thinking about firefighting as a career, take a day to consider this. It probably wouldn’t happen in nursing.

At the end of the day, despite my skepticism, I agree with all of those optimistic firefighters who have told me not to quit and to keep my eye on the prize. I’m not sitting on my ass hoping to get hired. I’m out there, actively doing what I can to make myself a better and more realistic candidate everyday. The fact that you’re on this site, and reading this blog, means you probably are too. Keep your head up, and good luck!

If you go into an interview with answers to every question here, and pay heed to the tips which follow the questions, you will do good.  You may not get the job, but you will have done well, and that counts for a lot.

Fire Department Interview Questions

Standard Fire Interview Questions:

1. Tell us about yourself.
2. Why do you want to be a firefighter?  When did you decide on this career?
3. What is the job of a firefighter?  Are you qualified?
4. What have you done to prepare for this position?
5. What are you bringing to the job?
6. Why do you want to work for this city or agency?
7. What do you know about this city or agency?
8. What do you like to do?  What are your hobbies?
9. What are your strengths? Weaknesses?
10. What would your employer say about you?
11. What are the attributes of a firefighter?  What is the most important one to you?

How would you handle the following scenarios?

1. Drinking or drugs on the job?
2. Stealing on the job?
3. Conflict with another employee?
4. Irate citizen?
5. An employee crisis at an emergency?
6. Sexual harassment?
7. Racial situation?
8. Conflicting orders at an emergency?
9. An order that could place you in great danger or be morally wrong?
10. What do you say when you don’t know an answer to a question?
11. Are you on any other hiring lists?  What would you do if another city called you?
12. When can you start if we offered you the job?
13. How far do you want to go in the fire service?  Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
14. What are the quality traits of a firefighter?  Which one is the most important to you?
15. Have you ever been in an emergency situation?  Tell us what you did.
16. What word would best describe you in a positive way? A negative way?
17. How do you handle conflict?
18. Why would we select you over the other candidates?
19. Do you have anything to add?
20. Define commonsense.
21. Define diversity.
22. What is the Mission Statement of our Fire Department?
23. What is the Vision Statement of our Fire Department?
24. Who is the Fire Chief?
25. Who makes up the Command staff of this Fire Department?
26. What type of City Government is this city?
27. What class department are we? (ISO Rating)
28. Tell us about the job announcement.
29. What are you short, mid-range and long term goals?
30. The Star of Life represents what?
31. The Maltese cross represents what?
32. What is insubordination?
33. Define Teamwork and why is Teamwork important in the fire service?
34. What is your strongest communication skill?
35. Define Character.
36. Define ethics.
37. Can you explain the Fire Tetrahedron?
38. Describe a typical day of a firefighter.
39. Define Customer Service, and how does it relate to the fire service?

Ways to strike out on an oral board interview

1. Poor personal appearance.
2. Lack of interest and enthusiasm, appear lazy.
3. Passiveness or indifference.
4. Overemphasis on wages.
5. Condemnation of past employers.
6. Failure to look at board members during interview.
7. Limp, fishy handshake.
8. Overbearing, overaggressive, conceited with superiority or “know-it-all” attitude.
9. Inability to express self clearly:  poor voice, diction and/or grammar.
10. Lack of confidence and pose:  nervous, ill at ease.
11. Make excuses:  evasive, hedges on unfavorable factors in work records, etc.
12. Lack of tact, courtesy; ill-mannered.
13. Lack of maturity and/or vitality.
14. Indecision.
15. Sloppy application.
16. Merely “shopping” for the position.
17. Want position for only a short time.
18. Lack of interest in jurisdiction.
19. Domination of interview, high pressure type.
20. Low moral standards.
21. Intolerant, strong prejudices.
22. Narrow interest.
23. Inability to listen and/or take criticism.

What to bring to your Interview

1. Enough resumes, and color copies of your certificates for the interviewers and at least 2 extra just in case.
2. Money for parking garages, or parking meters.

♦       ♦        ♦        ♦        ♦        ♦        ♦        ♦        ♦        ♦        ♦        ♦        ♦        ♦        ♦        ♦        ♦        ♦        ♦        ♦        ♦

Reminders about the hiring process:

1) Everything you have done since the age of 18 is made available to background investigators and fire depts.

a)    Past employment
b)    Credit scores
c)    All financial information
d)    Rental history, evictions, late payments etc….
e)    School grades
f)     Background investigators will check with friends, family, wives, girlfriends, work associates, bosses/managers/supervisors etc….
g)    Ex-wives, ex-husbands
h)   Neighbors
i)     DMV drivers license info, criminal background, Live Scan

2) Myspace, facebook, and any other online networking sites you have can and will be looked at, so watch what you say and post on them.

3) To get hired you need to separate yourself from other candidates.

a)    College degree AS, BS, BA, Master’s degree
b)    Paramedic school
c)    Life experience
d)    Outside training, check the websites list
e)   VOLUNTEER lots of places look for volunteers, do something you have an interest in, (church groups, community groups, MADD, Big Brothers, Red Cross etc…..)
f)    Don’t limit yourself to one geographical area (ie…Contra Costa Co, or Alameda Co)
g)    Take as many fire tests as possible.
h)    Take the CPAT test, keep card up to date
i)     Learn to interview

i) Eye contact
ii) Firm handshake
iii) Address interviewers by name, rank etc….
iv) If your asked “do you have any questions for us?” Instead of asking questions, Thank them for their time to interview you etc….
v) Bring your resume, color copies, application to the interview in duplicates (usually one for each interviewer + 1 extra)

j)     I suggest when you send in your application type it as a pdf document for neatness.
k)    If you’re asked to provide certificates, COLOR photocopy them NO black and whites.

Q:

Josh,

Great blog, first off. I am 28 and live in SF. I am taking the San Francisco Paramedic Association EMT-1 [Basic] class this spring. I understand that the first step into the SFFD is the written test. However, how does one best prepare for this test (when it does happen…which is in a few years, I imagine)? [Should I] take fire tech classes at a local college?

Can you go to the fire academy before gaining an appointment? What really strengthens an application and also what is a good step-by-step process?

Thanks again – and good luck!

Brian

A:

Brian,

Thanks for writing. If I understand correctly, you’ll be taking your EMT-Basic class during the coming spring semester and and then considering fire tech classes in the ultimate hope of joining the SFFD. Is that correct?

I may be misunderstanding your questions, but here are the answers to what I think you’re wondering:

1. Getting your EMT is definitely an excellent way to start. It’s what I did too, but I will tell you this – make sure to take a CPR/First aid class first. These are the two that are likely required before you can take the EMT class, though the SFPA may include it in their curriculum.
- CPR for the Professional Rescuer (American Red Cross)
- CPR Healthcare Provider (American Heart Association)

2. The SFFD is currently hiring and interviewing, but if you didn’t apply during the last application process you’ll have to wait until they do it again, which probably will be a few years from now (but who really knows). I just tested for SFFD two weeks ago, along with thousands of others. Competition is big for a department like SF.

Preparing for any fire fighter exam and interview process is the same for almost every department, big or small. You’ll want to do a couple things: Review any material they provide you, know the names of all major chiefs and fire officers in the department, know the history and as much as you can about that particular department, and the city/community which it protects. You’ll also want to practice interviewing with anybody who can help you. Practice in the mirror and learn what you can from the many online fire resources out there. You do not need to pay for interview coaching – just read, research, learn and practice.

3. Taking Fire Science classes and attending a fire academy are huge steps toward getting a job. Departments will see this and know you’re serious. You do not need to have any appointments or jobs lined up to go to an academy. For my academy, we had to have taken 3 fire technology classes, our EMT certification and have passed the CPAT.

4. To strengthen your application and enhance your image to hiring departments there are many things you can do. Here are a few good ones.
Volunteer somewhere (anywhere you would enjoy)
Get fire experience (work for CDF one summer or get involved in a reserve or volunteer fire department)
Become involved in the community (again, whatever you enjoy, but show that you’re a real part of the community you live in)
Work in a related field (the least money I’ve made in the past 10 years is right now working as an EMT. I’m not doing it for the money; I’m doing it for the experience)
Take classes, get your Firefighter 1 certificate and/or your Fire Technology degree (this shows longer term commitment to your goal)

5. You asked about a step-by-step process to go about this. That will vary for everybody, but ultimately you have to do what will work best for you. My approach was to do as much as I could at once. To illustrate this, I took my EMT, 4 fire science classes and a basic dysrythmias class in one semester. It was brutal and I lived in my books. It has been a real challenge and I’ve sacrificed a lot to do it, but I’m glad I did. I went farther faster. That won’t work for everybody. Again, do what’s good for you.

I hope this helps. Let me know what you decide to do, and if I fully answered your questions.

p.s. You may want to read this post I wrote on getting an education for the fire service.

- Josh

Q:

Q:Josh,

Thanks for the great information and also best of luck with the SFFD process!

In terms of the EMT, I see that CCSF (City College of SF) offers this course at around $280 and the SF Paramedics Association is 5x that. Is the SFPA regarded as more prestigious? What is the benefit of going there versus CCSF?

Also, what have you heard about the CCSF Fire Academy. It would be more convenient for me to go there as opposed to somewhere in the East Bay – what are your thoughts?

I understand that the application process for the SFFD is simply a written exam, and then you are sorted based on your score. With that being said, why does building your resume strengthen your chances (per your blog postings)? Theoretically, can’t someone off the street score 100% and then someone who has done 5 years of EMT, the First Academy, etc. score less and the individual with the better score advances?

How difficult is it to get into the Reserves here in the City, from what you have discovered?

Thanks, you’ve been helpful, and good luck again!

Brian

A:

Brian,

I’m glad to hear I’ve been helpful. That really means a lot to me!

When it comes to getting your EMT, forget about prestige. Most schools that offer the program are good; and employers, whether they be a fire department or an ambulance company just aren’t all that concerned with where you got certified. The fact that you are certified is what counts. The ultimate key is that you study hard and learn what they’re teaching. On that note, I’m personally not a fan of the very fast, and very expensive 1 month or 1 week programs. Having been through a full semester EMT program, I just don’t believe a person is going to truly soak up everything you’re supposed to learn in such a short time.

That’s not to eliminate those “quickie” options entirely…. If you have the money (they’re very costly) for such a fast-paced program, you will learn all the essential basics. Plus, what happens on the job is often different from what you learned in class, so if you can pass the national registry exam and get a job quickly, you might want to sharpen your skills on the job.
Like with most things, the best way to learn something is to do it for real.

I say go to city college where you save money and the location is convenient. CCSF has a good reputation anyway.

Your question regarding resumes is an excellent one, and you are right about the exam sorting candidates by score. They (and very many fire depts.) don’t want anything to do with resumes until you’ve passed a significant chunk of the hiring process. Nonetheless, if you make it to the oral interview they’re going to want to see a resume, and having a good one ready is going to be a great benefit.

The last thing you want to do when you should be practicing your interviewing, is struggling to write a decent resume. Your resume will be looked at, and having it decked out with volunteer experience, applicable jobs and community involvement is going to set you apart from competing candidates at this very significant stage in the hiring process. Don’t let your resume be your weak link; have it be the extra mile that puts you ahead of the competition.

You asked: “Theoretically, can’t someone off the street score 100% and then someone who has done 5 years of EMT, the First Academy, etc. score less, and the individual with the better score advances?” The answer of course is yes… theoretically. Realistically, no. I can go on and on about this, but I’ll spare the details and leave it at this: I believe anything is possible (You or I might win the lottery), but million to one chances aside, we have to work hard for what we want.

Getting into the San Francisco reserves is tough. There are long lines, but it’s definitely possible. Unfortunately, I don’t know quite enough about it to make any truly definitive statements on the topic, but I’ll learn what I can and let you know.

Keep in touch!

- Josh