London Shifts

[Jurassic]

Doublehelix, do you know if ALL the stations follow the 24 hr shifts? And do you know how many stations there are? Just curious what life would be like there...I think it might be a pretty attainable dept. The OS will filter out tonnes and from the past they like hiring NFPA grads, although that might change now with the pre-service and the new requirements. Regardless, you won't see people there with just their 1st aid/cpr and no dz...which is the way ALL depts should hire now in my opinion.

I think those shifts would be incredible...that's alot of time off, but I disagree it's like being a part time FF, you still put in your 42 hrs/week right.

[DoubleHelix]

I went on the site a couple months ago because my fitness teacher at humber is a firefighter there but I don't remember how many stations. I'm pretty sure the whole department is 24 hour unlike Toronto's little experiemnt thing.

[colin911]

If you are really interested in getting hired, a very good idea would be to research as much as possible on the city you're applying to. The city fire department websites that are featured on this website (Departments), are a valuable tool to further educate yourself on not only the fire department, but also the city itself.
Furthermore, if it's feasible to do so, go to the actual city, and go to a firehall and ask LOTS of questions of the firefighters that work and live there. That way when you do get an interview you will be able to answer questions like: Who's the mayor? How many firehalls? What trucks respond to a house fire? And so on.
Learn as much as you can and that way you might be able to stand out from the hundreds of other candidates.

Colin

PS. One word of advice ... don't go to the hall with questions during lunch or dinner hours you might not get the time you would normally, and especially not Sunday mornings from 9 - 11. Breakfast. Tradition.

[ThFyrWthn]

London is my hometown...

Yes, the whole department is 24 hour and the guys like it that way from what I hear.

Stations http://www.fire.london.ca/StationsListing.htm

Firefighters 344

New Chief John Kobarda

Looks like they are a go for January

http://www.london.ca/cityhall/corpservices/HumanResources/Firefighter_Dec_2004.htm


Damn, makes my stomach churn just looking at that. That was the call I was waiting for before I decided to get out of the race.

Go for it, this is the first recruitment with the new Chief so who knows what they'll be looking for, except you know you need the bare minimums in thier ad which includes FF school or full time FF experience.

Good luck.

[DoubleHelix]

Sweet thanks for the link. Looks like im good to go on their minimums. I guess thats another benefit of going through pre service because you get stuff like your DZ which alot of people don't worry about because you can get it within 6 months after youre hired.

[JohnS]

Everybody has the Mins. Make sure you have the extras.

[DoubleHelix]

So everybody has their DZ, Pre-Service or NFPA and York? Wow

[ThFyrWthn]

No problem DH, I agree with John. The mins are just that...mins. Yes alot of guys have them.

DZ is a non issue in my opinion. I was at one of the T.O. info sessions and the guy who sat next to me was asking me how you get your DZ. I immediately wrote the guy off in my mind as competition. Of course I told him to look up his local college for a cheap way to get it. If you can't figure out how to get the bare minimums...geez... just never mind.

Alot of people have pre-service or NFPA, some both.

York is a given... you have to have it or don't bother.

So you have to have extras. Some extras are a waste of time so you have to look into them before you waste your time and money.

I think the written and interview are the make or break parts.

DH, do you subscribe to Recruitfirefighter mag? You might want to consider it. Alot of up to date info on who's hiring etc etc.

[DoubleHelix]

Yeah I do. What I meant by my post was that I don't have t get anything extra to apply. Not as in oh I can be hired because I have everything. I meant more like I don't have to do the cpat test and spend like another 300 bucks for it or stuff like that. I have alot of extras but I didn't mean my post in the way it came across i guess.

[ThFyrWthn]

OH, ok... good luck to you. You'll like London if you get on. Great city.

[Jurassic]

Re: RFM- does anyone have any idea why there is such a lack in service/emails over the last month or more? I mean i'm sure there are lots of people sending "post to lists" and i'm lucky to get an email every week now. It used to be many emails every week or everyday.

Re: London- sounds like it would be a cool city to work in. I can't get over how awesome 24 hr shifts are...i mean that's alot of time not working! And I know those guys are filling lots of OT now since they are short many.

Paula, what's the cost of living like in London? Is there alot of new construction mainly some low rise condo apartment style housing? What is rent like for decent 1 bedrooms?

If you can pass the OS...I think it will just come down to the interview...and I think there will be ALOT filtered by that point. Kudos to LFD for making the mins what they SHOULD be. Hopefully more dept's will follow suit soon.

Also, other than the online course, does anyone know where i can take a Food Safety Handling course?

[Jurassic]

Paula, if you don't mind me asking...why did you jump outta the race? What are you doing now?

[colin911]

Jurassic ... I hope you're kidding about the Food Safety Handling Course ... please tell me you're kidding.

[Jurassic]

colin911, why would i be kidding? I know some dept's like this course (vancouver in particular). I guess they don't want everyone getting sick from cooking. it's a short cheap course...why would it hurt? I mean even something like a cooking course shows "well roundedness" i suppose.

[Red_Devil]

A safe food handling course, what the F***, that is just plain ridiculous , Jurasic I hate to say it bud, but someone is pulling your leg if they suggested you enroll in such a course. If this is one course that they look at now, which i think not, then this whole thing of how many courses you can put on your resume is just gotten damn pathetic. Im sorry but I can think of a hell of a lot better courses to enroll in instead of wasting money on that one

[Jurassic]

hey simmer down, it's just a $25 12 hour course! I was just asking a question man. i didn't say it was the best course in the world to take or anything.

[scoop422]

That is too much. I guess you could use it for humour in your interview. I don't think this is the course that puts you over the top!

[DoubleHelix]

I'm pretty sure ive seen that course listed as a good course to take from recruit firefighter. It can't hurt but its probaly the most dumb thing ive ever seen to take.

[Jurassic]

Yeah I think I saw it in the Vancouver issue of RFM. And I think Wendy talked about it in her newsletters. I think I also heard a reference to it on Firestation ;) And as dumb as you think it is, why would any "extra" hobby or courses, even such as cooking, whatever hurt? I mean i'm not saying put this under your "fire qualifications" heading, but maybe near the end under "activities and interests" or hobbies or whatever.

By the way, the only thing that will put you "over the top" is your interview.

[ThFyrWthn]

Originally posted by Jurassic
Re: RFM- does anyone have any idea why there is such a lack in service/emails over the last month or more? I mean i'm sure there are lots of people sending "post to lists" and i'm lucky to get an email every week now. It used to be many emails every week or everyday.

Re: London- sounds like it would be a cool city to work in. I can't get over how awesome 24 hr shifts are...i mean that's alot of time not working! And I know those guys are filling lots of OT now since they are short many.

Paula, what's the cost of living like in London? Is there alot of new construction mainly some low rise condo apartment style housing? What is rent like for decent 1 bedrooms?

If you can pass the OS...I think it will just come down to the interview...and I think there will be ALOT filtered by that point. Kudos to LFD for making the mins what they SHOULD be. Hopefully more dept's will follow suit soon.

Also, other than the online course, does anyone know where i can take a Food Safety Handling course?

Jurassic, I haven’t been getting the RFM emails much lately either. My only guess is that she’s busy. She seems to get that way sometimes and then you get hit with a few in one day. I think she has a fulltime gig besides RFM, never mind it being holiday season. Too bad because there’s lots going on for you guys lately. I’d keep an eye on the city websites myself if I were you. She’s not always the first to know. This site has all the department’s sites listed very conveniently… thanks boss!

London is a cool city, and that comes from someone who grew up here. Usually people head for the hills when they leave Mom and Pop’s place but I decided to stay.

No doubt the 24 hr shifts are great! I was thinking you could run a whole other business on the side, make some moola. Some of the guys do various neat things with their off time I hear.

For a one bedroom I’d have to guess from $700 to $900 inclusive. Mind you that’s a guess. Last time I rented one it was the upstairs of a house and it was 1 ½ bedrooms with a sunroom for $595 inclusive. Of course you can pay upwards if you would like, they are building some pretty nice highrises lately that go for around 1300 for 2 beds. There is a fair amount of new construction around the perimeter. Mostly single family and condos. I think they are mostly owned but I could check around for you if you let me know what your looking for.

[ThFyrWthn]

Originally posted by Jurassic
Paula, if you don't mind me asking...why did you jump outta the race? What are you doing now?
I don’t mind, sorry, I was pulled away from the computer for a bit. Jumping outta the race wasn’t an easy decision as I’m sure you could imagine. It was a combination of reasons. I met my now business partner and friend at the London Red Cross doing the First Responder/AED. That led to him offering to mentor me in the field of Industrial Hygiene/ Health and Safety. He has over 32 yrs of exceptional experience in these fields plus. He convinced the company he was then working for to hire me on contract to go along on jobs. It’s an awesome, awesome field to be in. I haven’t worked the same type of job twice yet. We then decided that we wanted to start our own company, he left and we did. We both now work contract for this company plus being busy as anything with our own business. We’re having a blast.

I’m a single mother of 4. One reason I couldn’t pass this opportunity up was the income potential. I have 4 upcoming university bills in my future nevermind all the other expenses that come with raising children. This job has an amazing potential and we are seeing it already, 8 weeks old. On that note, I had to consider the risk of being a firefighter. It wasn’t so much my own fear, I believe if you are properly trained, have a good head on your shoulders and are in shape the risk is low. It was more my family. They were very supportive while I was pursuing my dream even babysitting while I want on courses. When I told them that I was switching streams they seemed to take a big sigh of relief. I know a lot of firefighters are parents and any Dad’s life is just as important as mine, I strongly believe that. It’s just; I am the stabilizing factor in these four boys’ lives. It would be pretty messy if I went.

There are so many up sides to this new endeavor as well. I find it fascinating, my partner is brilliant and I learn a ton every day.

Obviously I’m having a hard time getting completely over the FF thing though, hence me still hanging around here. I really enjoyed being on courses with other FF recruits; the positive atmosphere is very much my thing. Everyone being excited about their future, going for a dream. The hired guys(I haven’t met any females personally) seem just as positive. I wanted to be part of a team like that. Fortunately, my partner is just as psyched about life as I am. We have a lot of fun in our company. I guess we’re a team, just a smaller one. We both have this need to do something worthwhile with our time not just make money, like you guys do. In our field it’s more on the prevention side of things but we do feel good about the lives we help save. We are also starting up our own non-profit.

The one thing I need to replace is the need to be in wicked shape. I’m one that is very affected by not working out. Ever since I dropped the pursuit it has gone on the back burner because I’ve been so busy. Screw that, I’m jumping back in 2005. I was thinking a marathon or looking into firefighter challenges. I wonder if they let civies compete? Anybody know?

And hey Jurassic... guys who cook are hot, so nevermind them :)

I rememeber that RFM email as well. I think the idea is to be continually bettering yourself. Can't go stale.

[stickerboy33]

hey just wondering if anyone out their

[stickerboy33]

hey just wondering if anyone out their no's weir too or how too get a hold of this mag. thanks
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