Traditional Flashcards
How do you think the career of a firefighter will change in the next five years?
More roles as a continuation of what we see today
Prevention, Inspection, Public Education
Terrorism, Active Shooter (as Toronto is implementing) due to Mental Health, Geopolitical Issues, HazMat/CBRNE due to an increase in shipping, manufacturing
More technological implementation
Vehicles and tools becoming electric
More reliance on computer systems, communications
We will need to be more technologically proficient - a more well-rounded job, as opposed to just hands on skills
More legislation, training and accountability
It is a very well compensated profession and therefore this high level of performance in many blue and white collar aspects is important
Further education at high levels
What are the biggest risks that firefighters face? How to mitigate?
Mental Health
Some figures: 30% higher suicide rates
Generally 1 in 5 Canadians diagnosed with a mental health issue, therefore without even factoring in the job there will be issues that need to be supported
Needs to be accessible help - ex peer support, professional help. Stigma needs to be eliminated ex PTSD vs PTSI. Mental health sick days (always checked in when on shift) help community, coworkers
Build resiliency ex Road to Mental Readiness
Routine checkups even if you think you’re fine
Cancer
53% vs 44% of Canadians
85% of occupational deaths
Mitigate: clean cab concepts, decon, particulate hoods, bunker gear cleaning. Document and research exposure to give better idea of what the cause is
Modern/Varying construction techniques: fully understand building construction, know exactly what we’re walking into and know the risks. Tactics to mitigate these risks.
High Rise: response time, resident reactions, staffing requirements. Winds, glass falling
Subway/Tunnel
Terrorism, Varying Threats
Active shooter incidents
CBRNE
Evolving threats that we can’t prepare fore
Learn from other incidents, keep up to date with other agencies and understand the threat level, the methods used, etc.
A lot of what we face is what the general population faces but it is concentrated/exasperated
Technological Failure
What do you think the day to day activities/responsibilities of a firefighter are?
Broken into emergency and non-emergency duties
Emergencies come at random and could include many different response types, such as fire suppression, medical response, vehicle collisions, technical rescues, hazardous materials incidents and other calls for public service
Performing search and rescue, fire extinguishment, ventilation, salvage and overhaul
Performing scene stabilization, egress, rescue and first aid in rescue situations
Administrative duties such as record keeping and documenting incidents and equipment
Station duties such as cleaning, maintaining and inspecting the station, apparatus and equipment
Public relations and education, including outreach and fire safety presentations
Keys to Preventing Fires
The first two lines of defence against fire
Beginning with public education and fire code standards
Fire code has been developed out of past tragedies to prevent future repetition
Routine inspection ensures that these standards are being met
Public education demonstrates the impact of fire prevention, educates citizens on ways that they can be more fire safe
Essential qualities/attributes/traits of a firefighter
Team player, gets along well with others, puts others before themselves
Compassionate and community minded - cares for strangers, cares about helping others
Calm and cool. A strong critical thinker, great communication skills but also able to follow directions and chain of command
Trustworthiness, integrity - a representation of the city, department and career as a whole. They must be an outstanding example and someone that can be trusted and respected
Desire to learn, perform at a high level, eagerness to develop skills and knowledge
Mentally strong, resilient, tools to deal with difficult situations
How do you deal with stress from work?
Preventing stress is the first step. Building mental resiliency, having mental health check ups, having people to confide in, exercising, eating right and being confident in one’s abilities will help to prevent stress to begin with in many cases
Coping skills
The first step to dealing with stress is realizing it. It can often creep up unnoticed
After identifying the stress it is important to think logically and determine if something is even worth stressing over, if it is within my own control
Having hobbies to decompress, relaxation techniques, exercise, yoga
Why should we hire you?
Community involvement - I care about the community, like making a difference
Proven quick thinking, working under pressure, communicating effectively (radios, in person)
Wide background of skills and competencies
Formal education
Job. Related
Courses
Fast learner, multiple ways
Life experience
Leadership
Proven ability to follow chain of command
Proven ability to react well under pressure - fire, pt transfer, football, life experience
What do you bring to the table?
Proven to be a reliable teammate, always putting the team first and doing everything I can for the group to succeed and accomplish the task - Wildfire, Varsity Athlete
Patient care and interaction - wide variety of patients
Excellent knowledge of buildings - pt transfer (layout), maintenance
Knowledge of roads/city layout
Critical thinking skills, both in theory and hands on (small engine trouble shooting, repairs, etc) - will to get anything done because often life depends on it
Proven quick thinking, working under pressure, communicating effectively (radios, in person)
Leadership
Community involvement - I care about the community
Tell us about yourself.
Well-rounded person with a variety of skills and qualities
Spent the first 22 years of my life dedicated to becoming a variety athlete, ended up going to university and completing a degree on an athletic and academic scholarship
Learned a lot in the classroom from a variety of topics - good traditional learner
Worked very hard physically and overcame adversity, developed a lot of hard-working traits, perseverance and performing under pressure
Matured very quickly
Took a shot in the dark and got a job as a Wildland firefighter, developed tons of small engine skills, problem solving skills, teamwork, communication, chain of command, etc
Lived with teammates/workmates my last 10 years
Enjoy sports, physical activity, biking, coaching, volunteering
Passionate about firefighting, been a major part of my life forever. Father, grandpa involved. I enjoy learning as much as I can about the fire service
Tell us about your friends.
Multiple groups of friends from various periods and associations
Very close with a few groups
Bonding through hard times
Wildfire friends - taught me a ton over the last few years, showed me all the opportunities in life available to me, spent dangerous and difficult situations together
Football friends - pushed me to be the best I could
Would do anything for any of them and vice versa
All are teammates that I have lived, worked and spent all my time with
What is the primary goal of the fire department?
All hazards emergency response organization
To protect residents, visitors and businesses (customers) from the loss of life, property and environment from the effects of fire, illness, accidents and all other hazards
Accomplished through preparedness, prevention, public education and emergency response (3 lines of defence)
Emphasis on quality, efficiency, effectiveness and safety
Do you feel you are qualified to be a firefighter with this department?
Very proficient in Firefighter I/II skills, both hands on and written
Same for HazMat, First Responder
Real life experience in high pressure scenarios, communicating under pressure, working in a team, following chain of command
Vast experience in providing customer service, dealing with difficult individuals, difficult decisions/situations
Excellent knowledge of the fire service
Fellow FF eats your food/steals something
Talk to them in private, ask why they’re doing that (help me understand)
Make sure they’re not hurting financially
Maybe everything is shared?
Say I’m willing to share whatever you want.. just please let me know
Do they do that to all rookies? Ethical issue?
Tell them you’ll have to go to the captain, so it would be better if they dealt with it.
Or we could go to captain together
If it continues to become a problem, talk to captain about it - if they steal your things, what are they going to do on the job?
Always done in a nice and respectful way, put anger and upset aside
Must gather the facts
Must be willing to continue to elevate issue if it is systemic
Cannot condone unethical behaviour
Would like to follow up later
Two words to describe you personally and professionally.
Motivated
I don’t settle for the minimum, I strive to be the best that I can be at anything I do
Wether that was athletics, earning both an academic and athletic scholarship, or in work, striving to be the best firefighter that I can be in all aspects of the job
Currently strive to be the best at my current job as possible, in terms of physical fitness, technical knowledge and job-related skills. I spend as much time both on work hours and off attempting to improve myself in these aspects
There is a lot of carry-over in these aspects to structural firefighting but I also set time aside to broaden my knowledge in the field, wether that is taking courses, studying material or practicing skills
I set goals for myself and do anything in my power to achieve them.
Passionate:
Anything that I care about or enjoy I become deeply invested in. I can’t get enough of it.
I like to fully immerse myself in my career or my focus at the time
For example, I enjoy learning as much as I can about various fire departments, their operations, tactics and equipment
Reading fire magazines and talking to firefighters are enjoyable ways for me to spend time
When there is something that I’m passionate about, I become motivated to fully immerse myself in it
How will your family deal with rotating shifts?
I’m currently single so there is no one relying on me to be home at certain times
I believe that the current shift pattern provides a great work-life balance and allows firefighters to be fully immersed and engaged in their work for 24 hours at a time, while providing down-time when off shift to decompress and take care of themselves personally
It offers a lot of time to expand skillsets and knowledge into areas that we may not have enough time to focus on during the job
I believe that decompression, distressing and downtime are very important to mandating a healthy workforce
Where do you see yourself down the road?
5 Years: competent, well-rounded first class firefighter that is able to be relied upon by my peers and someone that can be looked up to by new firefighters, as well as the general public. I see myself continuing to be involved in the community through organizations outside of firefighting. I’d also like to be involved in department groups such as peer support, firefit, auto ex, etc. At this point I’d like to begin to expand my skillset into further areas such as technical rescue or hazardous materials responses and start to become very proficient in certain specialized areas 10 Years: I’d like to continue my progression of development, becoming a very competent senior firefighter that is seen as a mentor for new firefighters. If the timing is right and I truly feel that myself and the department would be best served by seeking promotion to officer than I would pursue this avenue, although I think that it is very important to have a mix of senior firefighters that stay firefighters instead of everyone seeking promotion. Having a background of university education provides me with a solid base for further learning, as I have developed the skills and competencies to effectively learn in a classroom environment I also have a variety of credits available to transfer into other degrees, allowing me to develop my firefighting leadership career with further education such as emergency management, leadership, business, MBA, etc I see my career in 20 years as either a continuation of my 10 year plan or potentially seeking out promotion to the upper ranks.
Tell us an example of leadership/mentor
University football coach making hundreds of thousands per year
Always respected everyone equally, from players, admin, professors, cleaners, opponents
Large snow storm causing a buildup of snow and ice on the turf, making it unsafe to practice until it was clear and the specialized plow wasn’t available for a few hours
We were sent to watch extra film, receive physical therapy, and eat dinner
Looking out the window, we see our head coach, by himself, shovelling the field by hand in a blizzard, when he could easily delegate to others, instead letting them enjoy the warmth inside
His leadership by example resulted with the whole team and coaching staff joining in and quickly clearing the field, without him even having to say a word.
How do you get along/work well/fit in with others?
Spent a lot of time as a younger person trying to impress others and fit in
Took a lot of realization that it was a waste of time and I was much better off being myself, it builds better relationships and results in overall more happiness
But I feel that these traits that allowed me to mould myself to fit in have remained, providing me with the ability to get along well with anyone
Am able to suit my words to the audience, allowing me to gain the respect of peers and be a solid teammate and leader
Ex a wide vocabulary and technical terms for classmates and professors in university presentations vs simplifying my knowledge and explaining it to a layperson or beginner
Have lived, worked, played sports with a variety of people from different backgrounds and developed teamwork and conflict resolution skills
People I traditionally wouldn’t have much interaction with
Able to take advantage of this in jobs where interaction with co-workers is just as important as with customers, especially in diverse populations
Have you ever committed an illegal act?
The only thing is drinking underage
Surrounded by it, influenced by others, desire to have a good time, small town, what people do
Drank socially for years but actually really cut back during the pandemic; realized I was a very social drinker and didn’t do so alone
Realized the health benefits of drinking rarely and responsibly and continued with this post pandemic
I was always goal oriented, wether football or career wise, and knew the importance of staying clean and on the right side of the law
Luckily I never faced serious consequences and was able to learn from my actions from a point of maturity and looking back became a better person because of it
Could you risk your life to save another?
Risk a little to save a little and risk a lot to save a lot
Life, Property, Environment
I’ve put myself at a calculated but considerable risk before in order to help/save others and I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again
Obviously risk management and safety are key and a firefighter should not be risking their life for anything other than a saveable life
With proper training and experience, the risks to ourselves can be mitigated
Have you ever smoked marijuana?
Smoked approximately 5 times and consumed edibles twice
All after legalization
Honestly just not a fan of the feeling and I believe that inhaling any sort of smoke or vapour is hazardous to your lungs, therefore it’s not necessarily a health risk I’m willing to take
Have you been in a threatening situation at work?
Extinguishing a fire on the edge of a forest, with a semi-concious woman found in the smoke
Removed here, provided initial medical assessment and treatment before med-evacing
Met ambulance and RCMP on a nearby highway, who informed us that the woman was being chased by an armed individual who is at large and that we must evacuate the area
I immediately relayed the information to my crew leader so they could take precautions and begin to demobilize
I flew back to assist
Important to have situational awareness, remain vigilant and communicate clearly, both within crew and with other agencies
