In selecting a Fire Service occupation, you will become a member of a distinguished and honorable profession that dates back to Roman times. Firefighters have always been looked upon by their neighbors, friends, and peers as true public servants. They are among an elite group of men and women who have dedicated their lives to helping those in need. The Fire Services is not just about fighting fires.

A career in firefighting can be a fulfilling experience offering you many advantages:

• Be a community leader and role model;
• The opportunity to save and change lives;
• The satisfaction of succeeding at a challenging and rewarding career;
• The pride in serving the people of your community; and
• Being a part of the emergency services family.

The process of becoming a firefighter is lengthy, competitive, and complex. Desire alone will not land you the job. You must invest your time and effort if you want to be a career firefighter. One of the first things you need to do is to understand what a full-time firefighter does daily. Once you have done that, you will be able to prepare yourself for the position.

Day in the Life of a Firefighter

The typical day as a firefighter is far from typical, but some tasks remain constant. Whether maintaining physical fitness, training, cleaning or performing various other duties, we remain ready to respond. Responding to almost 4,000 calls for service each year requires flexibility and preparation, including while eating and sleeping.

Morning

Shift change/check equipment
Morning shift meeting
Training activities (can either be in station, at Fire Headquarters or in the community) such as:

• Classroom/lecture/interactive discussion
• Manipulative skills
• District familiarization
• Department-level training

Afternoon

Lunch
Administrative and other duties:

• Public education deliveries
• E-mails
• Special projects
• EMS continued education
• Computer-based training

Physical fitness (with or without trainer)
Daily station maintenance

Evening 

Dinner/Family time
Self-study/down time

The number and complexity of the incident responses will impact the typical schedule provided above.

What Firefighters Must Be Able To Do

Now that we have identified a Firefighter’s typical day, Let’s review the things that a Firefighter must be able to do:

• Comprehend and follow complex commands and orders
• Safely drive emergency vehicles in response mode
• Have situational awareness at emergency scenes
• Assess the medical conditions of patients or injuries of trauma victims, and then provide the appropriate level of prehospital care
• Working as a team, rescue or extricate victims
• Perform administrative duties such as answering emails and completing written or electronic reports
• Perform station duties, including exercising and/or preventative maintenance on power tools
• Actively participate in training
• Conduct station tours and other basic public fire education duties
• Present a professional and positive image of themselves and a representative of their department while out in public

Your First Year As A Firefighter

After satisfying the the requirements of your conditional job offer, being fitted for uniforms and turnout gear and being sworn in as a member of the department, you will likely receive a few days of orientation. After that, you will be sent to the Connecticut Fire Academy to complete the 15 week Recruit Firefighter Training Program (See Section 6 for more information).

After successfully completing the Recruit Program, you will likely have another week of orientation, followed by your assignment to one of our four platoons of Firefighters. You will work 24 hour shifts with the members of that platoon for the coming years. Your shift will work 24 hours, have 96 hours (4 days) off, work another 24 hours and then have 48 hours (2 days) off. If you agree to work overtime (when offered), you will have the opportunity to work on other platoons.

Once you are assigned to a shift, your formal probationary period will begin. During that 1 year period, you will be issued a binder of tasks that you will need to become competent at, you will be closely supervised and receive extensive training. During that time period, you will be challenged, and tested. BY learning your craft and proving yourself at being competent and dependable, you will earn the trust of your officers and other members of your platoon. They will be interested to see if you are willing to pitch in to do work without being asked, have a sense of humor, have a positive outlook on life, etc.

A probationary Firefighter should always be the first one to wake up in the morning and the last to go to bed. Start the day by making coffee, hoisting the flags, emptying the dishwasher, maybe making breakfast and then cleaning the kitchen. These and many others are the responsibilities of the probationary Firefighter. They should not be thought of as unpleasant chores that no one else wants to do. If you’re going off shift, you should ask your officer is there’s anything else they want you to do before leaving. Rather, you should think of them as ways of displaying that you have a sense of responsibility, service and professionalism to do whatever it takes to be a good Firefighter. Every task you are assigned is to be considered important. Performing it well will show others your commitment. Remember, if they can’t depend on you to do a simple task like emptying the garbage, how can you be trusted with important tasks on the incident scene.

The Importance of EMS in the Fire Service

 

 

Many of the incidents the modern fire service responds to are medical emergencies. With the enhancements and advancement of fire prevention standards, building construction fire codes, and the requirements for fire protection systems, fires are not as frequent as they were in the past.

An integral part of the outstanding services the Westport Fire Department provides is its emergency medical services (EMS). The Westport Fire Department standards provide that every apparatus is staffed with Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) who provide Basic Life Support (BLS). Emergency
transport of the sick and injured is done by Westport Volunteer EMS. 

This arrangement allows the Westport Fire Department to provide high-quality emergency medical care for each patient that we treat. Strategically placed fire stations and apparatus allow us to respond within minutes to emergencies and provide the highest quality service to our citizens and visitors when needed. 

The Westport Fire Department maintains high standards and expectations for its members across all disciplines and EMS is no exception. Many hours each year are dedicated to EMS training in subjects.