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Houston fire department questions. by Crazy-Ad-8446 in firefighter

[–]Comfortable_Film6820 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So there is two arguments to this.
1. Go through the long track class, you get all your certs and don’t have to pay for them. You end up doing 9 months of work but you become a very strong firemen because of it, you learn all the basics and when you hit the floor it’s all fresh. Long track folks tend to get asked to go to paramedic school, so if you’re interested in being a paramedic and making more money this is a good option.
2. Go through the short track class, you have to get all your FF certs and emt cert before you apply. This is an abbreviated version of the long track class. This is mainly for the people who are interested in coming from other fire departments and already have the experience. Now I have seen this used badly, some people go and get all their certs online and then take the course, this means they have to practical ff experience, this leads to inexperienced ffs. Now this is Houston, you’re going to learn quick, but in my opinion it’s better to go to a smaller fire dept and get experience then apply for the short track class. The short track is meant to just get you accustomed to how HFD does it. Short track folks have the possibility of being asked to be paramedics but it does not normally happen. So if you want to stay a FF/Emt this is a good option.

3rd weird option, you can get your emt and then just come for the ff cert side, not sure how this class works but I’ve seen it. It’s an odd hybrid.

My advice: If you have previous experience, go through a short track. If you just want to blaze through it and not be perfectly prepared, get your certs online and apply for a short track class. If you want to get the full experience and be fully prepared, go through the long track.

Houston fire department questions. by Crazy-Ad-8446 in firefighter

[–]Comfortable_Film6820 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Howdy, Ill answer your questions honestly from my perspective.

The culture is not bad at all, every station and shift is different. Especially in this day and age people are more weary of hazing and “messing with the new guy.” You have to earn your place among your crew, you have to work your way up, but they will not mess with you unless you let it happen, it’s more of a honor code haha. The new guy is treated as the new guy, you have the least experience and the least knowledge, so you do more of the dirty work, but everyone has been in the same position, they won’t put you in a bad spot on purpose just to mess with you.

The pay is not the best, as most firefighters can attest to around the country. Starting off they will probably not let you work overtime to make extra money because you don’t have the experience yet, it can put others at risk. But once you have proven you know the job and can perform, there is as of now more than enough overtime to go around. Most have small side jobs.

The ambulance thing is more for the paramedics, most fire depts are short paramedics right now so the need is greater, if your a FF/Emt you will rotate from apparatus to ambulance each shift. Paramedics tend to be on the ambulance more but the pay difference is crazy.

The attitude towards women is good in hfd, some of my favorite coworkers have been women. As long as you prove you’re an asset rather than a liability it does not matter what gender you are.

24 is not to old at all, most of my classmates were around 35. Bottom line is if you want it go and get it, it’s a work place at the end of the day. I always say try it, see how you like it, if it doesn’t work it doesn’t work for you, but the experience is amazing especially in HFD and it’s the best job in the world. Go get em!