Each project arrives with its purpose, milestones and first tasks written out. Here is how the first three read.
Fire station visit and honest fit check
Television shows the fires, but most watches are spent on drills, equipment checks, medical calls, road crashes, community visits and cleaning. Visiting a station and asking firefighters what a normal shift looks like, before spending money on courses or fitness coaching, tells you whether the real job is the one you want. It also gives you names to call later when the recruitment round opens.
First tasks
- Call the fire service's public relations office to ask about station visits
- Write ten questions about shifts, call types, training and promotion
- Visit the station and note the answers the same evening
- Write down your decision and the reasons for it
Entry requirements for the fire services near you
Every fire service sets its own rules: minimum and sometimes maximum age, school passes, height or eyesight standards, citizenship or residency, a driving licence and a clean record. In Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados or Jamaica the rules sit in the recruitment notice from the service or the public service commission; in the UK, US and Canada each brigade or department publishes its own.
First tasks
- Find the latest recruitment notice for the fire service in your country
- List every requirement in a table with a met or not yet column
- Write a plan and a date beside each requirement you do not yet meet
- Email the service to confirm any rule that is unclear
School subjects and passes for fire service entry
Students who decide early can choose subjects that help twice: once on the application and again in recruit school, where hydraulics, pressures and reports all appear. Most services ask for passes in English and Mathematics, such as CSEC English A and Mathematics, GCSEs or a high school diploma, and many value a science such as Physics, Integrated Science or Human and Social Biology.
First tasks
- Note the school passes listed in your target service's recruitment notice
- Compare them with the subjects you take or hold now
- Talk the subject choice through with a parent or form teacher
- Book any resit or evening class you need to close a gap
