<p>A CAREER IN FIREFIGHTING: THE ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME</p> <p>The Chesapeake Fire Department is a "family" promoting teamwork, innovation and compassion. We are committed to fairness, honesty, and respect. We are motivated by an environment of trust and driven by the desire to help others. Our mission is to protect and improve the quality of life by providing responsive and caring service to the citizens of and visitors to the City of Chesapeake. Our services include, but are not limited to:</p> <ul> <li>Providing emergency medical care and transportation </li><li>Extinguishing fires </li><li>Providing code enforcement inspections </li><li>Providing public education programs </li><li>Providing assistance in other hazardous situations </li><li>Protection of the City's environments through code enforcement </li></ul> <p>WHO IS A FIREFIGHTER?</p> <p>A person interested in a career as a firefighter should possess the following qualities:</p> <ul> <li>A desire to help others </li><li>Physical stamina </li><li>The ability to work well under pressure </li><li>The capacity to function as a cooperative and effective team member </li></ul> <p>TRAINING:</p> <p>All successful applicants, upon employment, must attend a 9 month recruit school. Some of the many skills taught during this training program include driving and operation of a fire engine, search and rescue techniques, use of ladders, structural fire fighting, handling hazardous material incidents, and basic investigation of fire and arson. Each recruit must qualify as a state certified emergency medical technician. During the recruit school, instruction in emergency medical procedures is also provided.</p> <p>THE WORK SCHEDULE:</p> <p>Each firefighter works an average of ten, 24-hour shifts each month. The shift begins at 7 a.m. and ends at 7 a.m. the following day. During a typical 21-day work cycle, a firefighter will be on-duty for seven shifts and off-duty for fourteen with one, two, three or five days off between shifts.</p> <p>A FIREFIGHTER'S DUTIES:</p> <p>The firefighter reports for duty at the assigned station at 7 a.m. Each station is equipped with all the necessities of home as well as some of the luxuries of home.</p> <p>The day typically begins with an inspection of equipment and fire apparatus to ensure that all equipment is ready to perform its function or task.</p> <p>Remaining hours of the shift are devoted to a combination of tasks: training, inspections, public education, pre-fire planning, emergency response to fire, medical and emergencies as well as the routine chores associated with life at the fire station.</p> <p>OPPORTUNITIES TO ADVANCE:</p> <p>Several levels of responsibility create the rank structure of the Chesapeake Fire Department. As training and required in-service time is acquired, the firefighter can advance by either of two paths:</p> <p>the Command Ranks (Firefighter, Lieutenant, Captain, Battalion Chief) or Career Path (Senior Firefighter or Master Firefighter).</p> <p>The City of Chesapeake offers an exceptional range of benefits. Please browse our Benefits Brochure, for a full list of benefits and employee perks.</p> <p>Required Qualifications</p> <p>VOCATIONAL/EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENT: Requires high school diploma or GED and any combination of education and experience equivalent to satisfactory completion of one year of college education.</p> <p>SPECIAL CERTIFICATIONS AND LICENSES: Requires a valid driver's license and a driving record in compliance with City Driving Standards. Special skills or equipment certification such as Firefighter, CPR and EMT will be required.</p> <p>EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT: None Required</p> <p>SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS: Employees may be expected to work hours in excess of their normally scheduled hours in response to short-term department needs and/or City-wide emergencies. Emergency operations support work and work locations may be outside of normal job duties.</p> <p>AUTOMATIC DISQUALIFYING FACTORS: Disqualification factors from the date of the application include, but are not limited to, the following:</p> <ul> <li>Convicted of, plead guilty to, or no contest to any felony. </li><li>Convicted of, plead guilty to, or no contest to a misdemeanor involving acts of moral turpitude (lying, cheating, and stealing). </li><li>Convicted of, plead guilty to, or no contest to a misdemeanor sex offense. </li><li>Convicted of, plead guilty to, or no contest to domestic assault. </li><li>Conviction of possession, manufacture, and/or distribution of illegal drugs, excluding possession of marijuana or any cannabis derivative. </li><li>Use of Cocaine, LSD, PCP, or any type of hallucinogenic drug in the last five years. (Subject to ADA guidelines). </li><li>Dishonorable discharge, Bad conduct/Misconduct discharge, and Other than Honorable discharges from military service. General and Uncharacterized discharges from military service will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. </li><li>Untruthfulness or the withholding of pertinent information during any phase of the application process (e.g. application, interview, paperwork). </li><li>Cheating on any examination or testing associated with the process. </li></ul> <p>If you have any questions regarding the disqualification factors, please contact the Chesapeake Fire Department at 757-382-6287 for clarification.</p> <p>Medical marijuana:</p> <p>In accordance with City policy, this position is deemed safety-sensitive. As such, applicants for this position are subject to pre-employment drug/alcohol testing after receiving a conditional offer of employment and may also be subject to random testing. This drug test includes testing for marijuana. Possession of a medical marijuana card will not excuse an applicant from the testing process; however, a test will not be considered positive for marijuana if a valid medical marijuana certification is presented unless the position requires a commercial driver's license (CDL) or is a sworn law-enforcement officer/deputy.</p> <p>Preferred Qualifications</p> <p>Virginia Certified Firefighter or Virginia Certified EMT-B or higher is preferred but not required.</p>