Firefighter

• $0 Cost Medical.
• RSA Retirement Benefits.

Responds to emergency calls to provide fire suppression, rescue, hazardous situation mitigation, and emergency medical assistance to the public. Provides emergency medical care to the level of licensure. Provides basic life safety education to target groups deemed to be at risk. Conducts fire prevention inspections, performs general maintenance on fire apparatus, equipment and facilities. Work involves training for and participating in duties of protecting life and property through the performance of fire fighting and rescue activities.

• Responds on an apparatus to an emergency scene.
• Operates as a member of a team to use appropriate fire fighting equipment to extinguish fires in buildings, terrain, automobiles or other situations which may involve oil, chemicals, electrical or other flammable or combustible materials or origins.
• Performs clean up of fire scene; salvages property, removes debris and cleans or restocks equipment and materials.
• Operates as a team member to provide basic and advanced life support emergency medical services. Includes as needed, providing patient care to a hospital by ambulance and associated duties.
• Performs as a team member in rescue and hazardous situation mitigation in an inestimable number of hazardous situations. Some examples would include confined space rescue, trench rescue, machine entrapment, and hazardous materials situations.
• Independently assesses victims for illness and injuries and initiates proper treatment in accordance with established protocols. Documents patient encounter.
• Operates as a member of a team to provide basic public education.
• Inspects, troubleshoots and performs general maintenance and minor repairs to department facilities, apparatus and equipment. Cleans and maintains the station, apparatus and station exterior grounds.
• Tests or troubleshoots problems with facility, equipment, apparatus and fire protection systems such as radios and paging equipment, recorders and alarm circuits.
• Safely drives a wide range of fire department vehicles.
• Participates in performing fire inspections of public and private buildings for pre-fire planning or to determine if they comply with fire codes.
• Participates in fire drills, department training programs and personal development programs to learn or upgrade skills in firefighting methods, equipment or services. Participates in training other less experienced personnel.
• Prepares and maintains reports and records of activities, incidents, inspections or other information.
• Models integrity, moral and ethical courage, and other characteristics of teamwork in all official contacts.
• Receives and transmits messages over department communications equipment.
• Performs duties as assigned by Madison Fire Officers.

Job Conditions:

• Must be able to work nonstandard hours and be available for work on weekends and holidays. Must be able to work overtime with little or no notice.
• May be required to be on-call during off-duty hours.
• Must be willing to rotate to any staff day assignment and/or schedule or any 24-hour shift, station, or vehicle.
• Must work at the scene of emergency incidents that include hazards from fumes, chemicals, toxic substances, obstacles, extreme heat, and adverse weather conditions. Perform prolonged and strenuous work in adverse conditions.
• Must be willing to continue education in order to meet changing job demands and must maintain certification and training requirements set by the department.
• May be required to travel and stay away from home for periods of 1-2weeks in order to attend educational programs.
• Strong background record required, due to accessibility to city property and interaction with public and children.
• Must maintain a valid driver’s license to drive independently. Must maintain a strong driving record for city insurance purposes and record may be periodically checked by the City.
• Must maintain physical ability to perform all duties, including driving all fire department apparatus to incidents.
• Must maintain physical conditioning to meet physical requirements of firefighting and to meet the NFPA standards and must participate in an annual exam and evaluation upon absence from duty for a condition that could affect performance.

• High School graduate or equivalent.
• Must complete and obtain a Basic EMT license through the Alabama Department of Public Health within one (1) year of hire date; EMT Basic and Paramedic is desirable.
• Must complete Alabama Fire College and Personnel Standards Commission certification as a Firefighter II within one year; current certification is desirable.
• Must complete CPR Instructor within two (2) years of hire date.
• Must be 18 years of age to apply.

• The ability to meet all skills outlined in NFPA 1001, Firefighter Professional Qualifications (current edition).
• The ability to use fire department communications equipment to receive and transmit messages.
• The ability to use SCBA during emergency conditions, to control breathing, replace SCBA air cylinders, use SCBA, exit through restricted passages, initiate and complete emergency procedures in the event of failure or air depletion.
• The ability to use each piece of safety equipment assigned and to be observant of surroundings to prevent accidents.
• The ability to operate as a team member in vision-obscured conditions.
• The ability to carry, raise, and extend ladders.
• The ability to determine support for ladders, judge extension ladder height requirements, and place a ladder to avoid hazards.
• The ability to safely attack fire while operating as a member of a team, to identify the classes of fire and to select the proper extinguishing agent, apply the proper extinguishing agent using hose lines or other equipment, evaluate for complete extinguishments, and identify patterns that indicate origin.
• The ability to assemble a team, choose attack techniques for various levels of a fire, evaluate and forecast a fire’s growth and development, select and use proper hand and power tools for forcible entry, incorporate search and rescue procedures and ventilation procedures in the attack team’s efforts, and to determine developing hazardous building or fire conditions.
• The ability to execute effective advances and retreats to control a flammable gas cylinder fire, apply various techniques for water application, assess cylinder integrity and changing cylinder conditions, operate control valves, and choose effective procedures when conditions change.
• The ability to operate hand and power tools in a safe manner to extricate a victim entrapped in a motor vehicle.
• The ability to identify components of a private fire protection and suppression system.
• The ability to use oral interview and department equipment to assess the condition of a victim of an accident or illness, to assimilate the assessment information and apply patient treatment protocols, to pass on patient information and describe treatment to other health care professionals, and to record patient assessment and treatment information on standard forms and reports.
• The ability to conduct station tours and to participate in the presentation of public education.
• The ability to clean and maintain department equipment, apparatus, and facilities.
• The ability to process the information required for standard department reports and to operate department computers and other equipment necessary to complete reports.
• Ability to maintain adequate level of physical fitness to perform the essential functions of the job.
• Interpersonal skills to deal with the general public and interpersonal and team skills to deal with coworkers for ultimate team effectiveness.
• Strong oral skills for communicating with patients in the course of patient assessment.
• Strong writing skills for the documentation of patient care and for preparation of incident reports.

Physical Capabilities:

• Must meet the medical requirements of National Fire Protection Standard (NFPA) 1582, Standard on Medical Requirements for Fire Fighters.
• Physical stamina and agility sufficient to perform physical activities such as climb up and down stairs, raise and climb ladders, crawl into confined spaces, wield axes, haul hose and to sustain this activity for the duration of an emergency.
• Must be able to push and pull fire hoses and ladders over rough surfaces, up and down inclines.
• Must be able to work in restricted or confined positions with physical hindrances requiring bending, stooping, kneeling, reaching, crawling and crouching for extended periods of time.
• Must be able to lift and carry objects over 75 pounds for short duration.
• Work requires repetitive reaching and physical dexterity in the frequent use of fingers and limbs for the operation of vehicles and equipment.
• Work requires ability to communicate, attend to tasks without distractions, reason effectively, use effective judgment, maintain alertness and awareness, perform multiple concurrent tasks, and exercise memory.
• Work requires the ability to perceive and discriminate colors, sounds, tastes, odor, depth and texture.
• All of the aforementioned firefighting activities must be performed while wearing protective clothing and SCBA weighing as much as 75 lbs., while breathing through SCBA.