Firefighting jobs: the skills and attributes recruiters look for
Firefighter recruitment drives always attract a lot of interest but after last summer’s bushfires, the competition for jobs is expected to be even more fierce. See which skills and personality traits recruiters want most.
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AUTHORITIES are bracing for an onslaught of firefighter applications, as Australians horrified by last summer’s devastation put their hands up to help.
Recruiters encourage people from all backgrounds to apply for paid firefighter roles but, with thousands of applications for just a handful of positions, say good physical strength and fitness are a must.
Depending on the role, skills in machinery operation and horticulture can also be advantageous.
South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service principal employment officer Anthony McCann says successful applicants receive extensive firefighter training so a commitment to learning is essential.
“We don’t recruit firefighters as such,” McCann says.
“We recruit people who have got the most potential and are the most suited to becoming a successful firefighter.
“We’re looking for people with the personality traits and behaviours and values that suit our industry.
“That passion for the job will show up.’’
The coronavirus pandemic has forced the MFS to delay its recruitment drive until early next year.
Last year, the fire service received 1500 applications for 18 positions.
Learning and development Commander David Juniper says applicants must pass two physical aptitude tests and complete a personality profiling assessment before they are recruited.
“Firefighting is an opportunity to engage in the community and to make a difference in your job,” he says.
“It’s not just putting out fires.
“It’s also what we do after that – it’s the recovery work we can be involved in that can be just as rewarding.”
Emergency services are not the only ones to be inundated by firefighter job applications.
The SA Department for Environment and Water, which hires project firefighters to undertake backburning and other prevention activities in national parks, received three times the applications it needed when it advertised for positions mid-year.
DEW fire management (operations) officer Darren Crawford expects a further recruitment drive this summer will be similarly oversubscribed.
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He says applicants with a range of skills are needed.
“The (prescribed) burn is almost the smallest component of what we do,” Crawford says.
“We do all the planning and a lot of the work to make sure everything is safe around the area … things like track and trail maintenance to ensure fire vehicles can access tracks.
“There’s some great skills that we look for that aren’t necessarily related to fires – we are happy to take on tradespeople, we’ve had a lot of people from the landscaping and garden areas coming on board and machinery operators are very highly sought.”
Former Army helicopter pilot and mother-of-two Genevieve Rueger, 39, was recruited to the MFS last year and has already seen the benefits of working within a team with diverse skillsets.
“We rocked up to a solar panel fire and we were lucky enough to have a sparky on our team – he was all over what needed to be isolated to make things safe,” she says.
“Social workers are a wealth of knowledge because you don’t know the mental health state of the people you are rocking up to and, in a number of circumstances, their input has been invaluable as well.”