Hiring practices of fire/ems departments

[Adam Swartz]

Ok so this really irks me. I talked to the chief of Waukee Fire and he said that they are only hiring if you have both fire and ems certifications and they don't and won't pay for fire certs. I am getting my Paramedic and don't want to do fire but want to get on with waukee because that is where I live. Do you think that this is a good practice and should I complain to the city? Thanks in advance as always.

[spenac]

Requiring healthcare professionals to be FF's is wrong. Requiring FF's to become involved in healthcare is wrong. They are to very different monsters that should be separate. Sadly complaining will not get you a job. It might get some shocked expressions from city officials when they learn not all want to be hero FF's.

[Adam Swartz]

Requiring healthcare professionals to be FF's is wrong. Requiring FF's to become involved in healthcare is wrong. They are to very different monsters that should be separate. Sadly complaining will not get you a job. It might get some shocked expressions from city officials when they learn not all want to be hero FF's.

So what should I do? This chief is the first to require it. As they don't have any paramedics i figured he would love a full time one. But no. He wants me to pay to get fire....uhh noooooo I don't do fire I do ems. They are running ads in the paper like crazy to get people on because people have quit due to that. They won't pay for current employees to get there fire stuff. I am just not going to support the practices. I will go somewhere else that will accept me as ems only. Thanks Spenac. Stay safe out there.

[spenac]

So what should I do? This chief is the first to require it. As they don't have any paramedics i figured he would love a full time one. But no. He wants me to pay to get fire....uhh noooooo I don't do fire I do ems. They are running ads in the paper like crazy to get people on because people have quit due to that. They won't pay for current employees to get there fire stuff. I am just not going to support the practices. I will go somewhere else that will accept me as ems only. Thanks Spenac. Stay safe out there.

If this is a new policy then now is the time to challenge it. You will probably never get hired after challenging it or if you do they will make you miserable, even though that is illegal it is hard to prove they treated you badly. If you can get get others to go the city public meeting with you, you will have a greater chance of success. I hope you the best.

[Adam Swartz]

If this is a new policy then now is the time to challenge it. You will probably never get hired after challenging it or if you do they will make you miserable, even though that is illegal it is hard to prove they treated you badly. If you can get get others to go the city public meeting with you, you will have a greater chance of success. I hope you the best.

Thank you very much for the help.

[FFPS77]

Adam,

What you are saying is a valid point. However the City of Waukee is currently full and the only applications they are taking is ones with both fire and EMS certifications. Should you complain to the city? How dare you! We are entitled to ask for any minimum requirements we want. You currently don't even have your EMT-Basic. There are people line up with certifications we want wanting employment who cant be offered a job simply because we are full. I am sorry you have not had an opportunity to gain employment but you just don't meet the requirements we desire at this time. Its truly unfortunate that a simple google search turned up your post here on this board. I wish you well in your search.

[CTXMEDIC]

youre a victim of the budget crunch dude. it costs money to put on a fire school and governments cant afford it.

after visiting their website it apears they only want a basic cert anyways, in addition to FF1 and hazmat.

I also see this on their website:

Recruitment

The Waukee FD accepts applications from certified fire fighters and EMT's, as well as those with no prior experience.

If selected for employment, the Waukee Fire Department will provide the minimum required training and certifications through a recruit academy to a candidate without prior certifications.

http://www.waukee.org/a_home/a7_fire/recruitment.asp

Is this the right department?

seems to me that if this website is any indication of how they run their department, why would you want to work there anyways? they cant seem to decide if they will or wont train you and they obviously have poor attention to detail. not sure if id want my life in the hands of a chief that cant make a decision.

[CTXMEDIC]

By the way. If you used your real name, 'Adam', id forget about getting hired anytime soon.

[CTXMEDIC]

wow. they serve a whopping population of 8,132 as of the 2004 census. do you guys even have a wal-mart?? lmao!

[spenac]

By the way. If you used your real name, 'Adam', id forget about getting hired anytime soon.

LOL. Looks like he may have pissed off someone in the know. You know how dare someone think they should get to be only a health care provider, its cheaper for the city to combine the two and patient care be darned.