WESTFIELD- The Westfield Fire Department will host a career information night for people who may be interested in a career in firefighting on Sunday, May 12 at 4 p.m. at the Little River Fire Station.
The information session, which will be led by Fire Captain Chris King, is being done for the first time because the Westfield Fire Department is beginning the process of having everyone who becomes a firefighter with them to be a paramedic. King said that they want to start getting that information out there as soon as possible to as many people as possible.
“We will probably go through a brief transitional period where we will begin to hire people as firefighter EMTs,” said King, “But then they will be required to become a paramedic within a certain amount of time of getting the job.”
He added that getting that fact to high school and college students who may be interested could encourage them to begin the process earlier. King said that there appears to be a decline in the number of people seeking jobs in the civil service. He does not just mean fire departments, but also police and other civil service jobs in general.
“I’m just trying to generate some interest,” said King, “I think there are a lot of people who do not understand what it is we do.”
The information night will consist of King telling attendees about the fire service in general, the specifics of the Westfield Fire Department, and the requirements to take such a job. King noted that the fire department currently has three high school interns from Westfield and Southwick’s high schools. King said that having the interns has been a good experience for them as well as the department, because it allows them to see the potential candidates for the future.
“We’re trying to be a little proactive in getting people here,” said King.
He cited the Police Department’s Explorers Program — known as The Police Youth Cadet Program — that gives students the opportunity to see what it may be like to be an officer down the road. He believes the fire department should try to do something along those lines.
“One of the things that I want to talk about is that you can come here and have a good job with good people and do a service to your community,” said King, “If you’re not a super college-bound person, you can turn around pretty quickly, within 24 months, and be a candidate.”
Although the session will be open to everyone, especially high school and college students, there are many requirements that one must meet in order to be eligible to join the fire service. A person can take the civil service test for the first time when they are 19, however, they cannot become a firefighter until at least the age of 21. The fire department will also only call for eligible candidates from the test if they are also registered emergency medical technicians (EMTs). This is compounded with the fire department’s new requirement of being, or soon becoming, a paramedic.
“Those are the bare bones requirements to take the test,” said King, “It doesn’t mean you’re going to get a job, obviously, because we are looking for more than bare bones.”
