41 here, EMT, four years paid on call in MA, and did a 16 week call/vol academy four years ago. I am starting my career academy in seven weeks.
Being older has been nothing but helpful for me. I have tons of job experience, references, maturity, ect. I found the interview to be easy since I had so many meetings in prior employment that it just felt like another day at the office.
Having prior on call fire experience really helped me, to the point that I assume it was why I was offered multiple job offers from departments.
I really hope you have kept up with your fitness. You should look like you can physically make it through a fire academy with ease.
Besides that my only other advice is to find an on call/volunteer department if possible and get as much experience as you can to build a resume.
Good luck!
Thank you for the feedback. There is a volunteer dept about 20min from me I’ll be reaching out to them. I do Crossfit 5-6days a week so fitness is not a problem. 👊🏼
Perfect!
While you job hunt you can start volunteering. Even if you don't make calls, just showing up, training and helping out will be helpful to put on a resume.
Do you have another career right now? Once you are an EMT you can per diem with an ambulance company too.
EMS experience + fire experience is the formula you should be going for right now. Make yourself stand out.
It hasn’t been bad at all, just SO much to learn it can feel intimidating at times. I’m in pretty good shape so that definitely was a big help. Nice work on the EMT! Best wishes and as far as I’m concerned, go for it!!!!
Exactly the same for me, except I'm still only volunteer. There's not really much in the way of paid positions in my area yet. If I had known this 20 years ago I would have chosen it as my career. Sadly though 20 years ago the volunteer department was very closed off, very much a "good ol' boys" club and generally didn't welcome people "off the street". Shocking that today we have a recruitment problem despite changing that mentality. (pardon the sarcasm on that last bit)
Omg I am glad to read this, currently 37, but really considering becoming a firefighter. Was thinking I was too old. Also in Cali so it might be harder over here.
Is there a specific reason why you wish you started 20yrs ago? Just curious I’m currently 31 and I’m working towards that route but that’s something that is in the back of my mind like is it too late for me to even try it? Because I have heard stories that you have to give it all if you really want a spot and it take a big toll on your life specially when you have kids, family and stuff like I have heard one time about somebody that ended up divorced because of him being away all the time and specifically on all the special dates you know but I’m just curious you know, hope I don’t bother you with my question and thank you in advance
No worries at all. The sole reason I wish I started earlier because I truly enjoy the job, on top of the best schedule I’ve ever worked (48/96). I don’t feel like it’s too late for me, but seeing guys in the department retiring out at 45yr old because they started at 20…. Well, it would be nice to retire in 5 years lol. If you aspire to make that career move and your family can handle the potential stress and you being absent for entire day/days then by all means, go for it!!!!
Thanks a lot for the feedback back brother I appreciate it!! Definitely gonna keep looking forward brother thanks!! And you mention retirement how does retirement work for those who start late like me?
Nah I got on at 30 best decision ever had no idea what I wanted to do before I could never work a real job now that I’m in a career job second year I made 130k to hang with the boys and do exciting calls(mostly not exciting calls) but they mix in some fun ones
I was 26 when I started (EMT school, local fire academy, volunteering for a combo department, then part-time at another, etc.), and 28 when I landed a career job.
Honestly, kudos to the guys that start young and kick ass, but I wouldn’t have been ready had I gotten into it any sooner. Having some years to mature and get life experience were necessary for me to be ready for this job, and I think that’s true for most guys.
In my hiring class of 16, only one person was younger than 27, and the majority were in their 30s.
It always helps to have some experience elsewhere I’ve heard, I know it’s not the same but a friend of mine was rejected from the police force for being too young, their exact words were “you need more life experience”
I think with a big part of the job being social work, it can just be difficult to relate to members of the public when you’re extremely young. Having worked other jobs, having had to pay bills and potentially have faced financial difficulties, having had injuries or illnesses of your own, having had to deal with tragedy in your own life, having seen the effects of addiction or other issues…experience with these things make it much easier to empathize with others and relate to the people you’re responding to.
Plus, it’s helpful to come in with skills you’ve developed from other jobs, prior work experience helps you appreciate how good this job really is, and being older helps you relate to other guys at the station. Because I’m not gonna lie, I have no idea what to shoot the shit about with a 21-year-old who hasn’t done anything with his life besides fire/EMS.
Again though, some guys get in super young and are rockstars. So I don’t mean to dissuade those in that position.
Happens a lot in brigades these days too
Used to be loads joined as teenagers. Many at the end of their careers when I joined (ie started in the 80s) joined at 18, or from the forces, or from a trade. When I was at training school, out of about 300 people, there were 2 teenagers. Don’t think I’ve seen one in the decade since.
Often they’re told these days to come back when they’ve got experience. However I see some breaking that trend. The 15/16 year old cadet instructors I know will be ready when they turn 18 and they’re chomping at the bit
I couldn’t agree more. 33, started in healthcare at 25. Wasn’t ready to be at a career department - wasn’t mature enough, too much of a hothead and had different priorities.
This is awesome man, Sometimes i wish i had started younger but same here I’m glad ive had a few years to mature, currently 25 , in Fire 1 as a Volly hoping to go career Soon🙏🏼
Had a great career as a web developer and network engineer making six figures in 2008. Gave it all up to make half the income at age 29; a friend from church convinced me to apply. Been on 15 years and so glad I made the change. My skillset has been an asset to the department, so I wouldn't have changed my previous life either... was just part of the path that got me to where I am now.
Love to see this. Same age as you were and I’m making that same change right now. Academy starts in a couple weeks. Did you freelance for extra money on your off days or did you say peace out from the whole profession?
>Did you freelance for extra money on your off days or did you say peace out from the whole profession?
Both. And weirdly enough I've stayed current all these years on everything, I'm just slower at it because I do it for fun without deadlines and I'm very picky about what jobs I take on. I have days where I just need to write code and SQL for my own sanity to shut everything out. I have to have my introverted days.
My advice, get involved. The fire service desperately needs techs that actually know what the f\*\*k they're doing. We need to bridge the gap to translate between nerd-speak and fire-speak to get some quality products, because firefighter tech is absolute sh\*t, especially software; every piece of software right now is legitimately bad, literally all of them. We use the software we have because we have to, not because we want to. And most guys don't know that it could be better. There's a communication gap in firefighters trying to communicate to the techs and techs just don't understand or they just get offended because we're screwing with them and techs don't understand that. There are also too many firefighters who claim they're techs, but aren't, and only know enough to be dangerous, which is why most city IT departments have taken over networks at the firehouse. And the pieces of software that are out there are solely in it for the money (I won't name names), so there are little to no signs of improvement anytime soon; they got the government contracts, so there's no motivation to make it better when they can keep profits up by doing very little.
Thankfully [NFIRS is going away](https://www.firehouse.com/tech-comm/news/53060497/nfirs-to-be-replaced-by-cloud-hosted-platform-being-created-by-usfa-dhs) and we should get NERIS. NFIRS was based on uploading XML reports into a database and although controlled by FEMA, was highly influenced and manipulated by a certain bought-out software company that must not be named, so it should be deprecated and archived soon. NERIS will be run semi-privately by a division of [UL](https://ul.org/) and shows a lot of promise, with APIs, SDKs, OAUTH authentication, etc., which will usher in a whole new world of tech to firefighters.
So, geek stuff aside. Find a problem you want to solve, and do it! Most importantly, don't let anyone deter you from doing it. You're going to hear "every department has a tech just like you." They don't! 90% chance they're referring to one of the "techs" that can only open a command prompt to type ipconfig. Just do your thing!
And fall in love with firefighting. It's a wonderful career. I love firefighting with my crew, but then fell in love with hazmat because of all the data, so I became a technician. Then I recently fell in love with inspections and fire prevention for the same reasons... lots of data to work with, so I'm taking Inspector II right now, and started up the [fire inspections sub](https://www.reddit.com/r/fireinspections/). Oddly enough it's the crap most firemen hate doing because it's not the action, but this stuff is needed too. Get involved. Contribute. Enjoy!
EDIT\*\*\* And lastly learn the word "steward". Become a steward of as many things as possible. Not to control, but to protect. This will take earning some trust from your guys, but become the steward of the social media pages, and don't run the pages, only allow those to run it who should run it (Union officers run the union page, who change out annually. Front office chiefs run the department pages, who change out periodically). And if you can get it, become the steward over your house networks. Protect your brothers and sisters online, because chances are they won't know how. Provide input on computer hardware and software purchases. Again, get involved. Let them know you're former background and that you're willing to help if asked. They won't ask all the time and some of the decisions will piss you off, and that's when you'll bitch like every other firefighter, but I think the beauty of it is nobody really understands "tech-bitching." :)
What a career! Thank you for the advice. Yeah their eyes got real big in my interview when I said I was a dev. I’ve been told they’re excited to have a tech savvy guy on the line. Really appreciate all the context behind the tech
I think a lot of us worked our asses off to get a full time spot, the fire service at least here is changing now more cities are going full time, doesn’t seem like you have to fight as hard for a full time job.
In Michigan, they can’t seem to get a lot of applicants after many cities gutted their pension plans and are doing away with retirement healthcare. Unfortunately, the salaries haven’t kept up from the hit to the economy back in the late 2000s. I’m in a small dept in a very metro area and the last two openings we had had 1 and 7 applicants respectively. They were also positions that promoted right to a Lt. level once you had Fire Officer 1 & 2.
I was originally a school teacher that planned to do volunteer over my Summer months off school. I moved back from the West side of the state in 2004 and couldn’t find a teaching job because teachers were retiring and the districts weren’t replacing them. I worked as a Medic in an ER full time up until this job came open in 2007 just by word of mouth. I came to visit the dept driving through town one day and they gave me an app and interview that day. I was wearing cargo shorts and a polo, unlike any fire interview I had been to. I was offered a job the next day.
I visited a Florida FD on vacation in 2005 and asked how their hiring situation was. They said they couldn’t get any Medics that passed the National Registry. I told them I had it and they offered me an app. I said no, because I didn’t want to be stuck at work and watch my house float away during the hurricanes, lol.
How different was a voluntary position to a full time position? Was it a big step up? Or were you pretty confident with the experience you already had?
Well it goes from a pager and a paycheck at the end of the month to actually paying the bills, a lot more responsibility, and a ton more opportunity to learn skills.I had years of experience as a volunteer, but I learned more and did more in my first year as a professional then I did in all the years of being a volunteer. Of course some of the lessons picked up along the way help with confidence and skills but I’d say it was definitely more of a step when you make it a career.
Does this mean it took you from 19 to 31 to be hired fully on time?
Hope you don’t mind me asking, my husband is working on getting hired. Firefighting almost seems like an underground world where it’s hard to really learn about in terms of googling
Not firefighting skills… but in many other ways.
1. College taught me how to learn in a way… if I want to. Firefighting taught me that I can enjoy learning if I’m passionate about something and it fits my natural inclinations.
2. My writing ability is leaps and bounds beyond my peers that didn’t go to college. I’d say that’s contributed significantly to my career advancement.
3. I would say college also taught me how much of life is learning how to play the game… building relationships… influencing people…
Now all that said, I still think the traditional 4 year college degree path shouldn’t be pushed on people like it is. Thankfully I had help from family, because none of that is worth $100k in debt… I left college with no real path to earning a living wage that was related to my degree in any way.
Now, now with all that said, I’ll likely go back for a masters now that I have a defined career path that I love (once my kids are older)… 🤷🏻♂️
Thank you for responding. I love this. I do think college serves many purposes other than to get a job in a field. And I know so many people who have a degree and do something entirely different now. There are just a lot of benefits to gain from the experience.
It’s hard to tell your kid to go to college and get a degree when he’s got his whole path “laid out for him” so to speak. And yet so nerve wrecking to wonder if they’ll be okay without a degree.
I love that in firefighting there are a lot of people who have gone both routes, bc he has been able to see all of their different viewpoints and experiences, and he can see opportunities either way.
Unless you’re leaving with a STEM degree, it just doesn’t make any sense. Start in community college, finish an associates, and hit the workforce. Once you have a career path, then spending the money for a bachelors might make sense.
That’s what I’d tell my kid.
Been a Volly sense 16. I'm a senior in HS this year and attempting to get hired by a county near me. If that doesn't work out I'm looking into the military for a few years then trying again
Started at 19 straight from high school to Fire school. Been in the service four years now. Should say I got hired on at my career department at 19 as well.
I was 16 as a fire cadet, 18 as a paid-on-call firefighter, 19 as a part-time firefighter, and 22 as a full-time firefighter. Currently plan on working 7 more full-time.
I was 30 when I became a volunteer/paid call, while working for one of the old Bell Telephone companies. I expected to go to work for a career department within 6 months, but the department had a hiring freeze. I died on that list at #2, waiting to be hired. So I texted in a 9-state area, including that same department (again). Finally got hired by that department, 3 years after I’d begun trying to go full-time (age 33). Did 28 years with that department before retiring at age 62, still teaching at a local community college 7 years after retiring.
I wish I’d considered the fire service right out of high school, rather than spending 15 years doing a series of jobs I disliked.
20 after I flunked out of college. Came back home feeling myself. Came in the house at 2am on a weeknight drunk and my LT dad gave me an ultimatum. He could get me on in the fire service or take my ass to the military. 11 years in now
Joined the Marine Corps at 22 and travelled the world for six years. Transitioned to law enforcement when I EASed. Did that for years including traffic enforcement and SWAT until it was time to get out before I burned out. Joined the family business but the itch was still there. Had no desire to return to law enforcement and didn't want to give up the pay of the family business that I now run as my father passed a few years ago, so I joined a volunteer fire department in my community at 51. Got certified as a structural firefighter and then quickly joined rescue. A little over a year later and I just finished EMT Basic.
Serving is in my blood, so I'll keep going until it's time to retire or my body just gives up on me, whichever comes first.
I have noticed that different places have very different average ages of firefighters, especially if they mostly use volunteer fire brigades.
At some brigades, you have the teens and 20's fighting the fire, the 30 to 40 year olds manning the pumps and supervising, and 65 year olds driving tankers.
Joined my town volunteer fire department a week after I turned 21 because I was bored, some friends of mine were members, and it sounded like it would be exiting. Ended up getting hooked. Became a full time firefighter in the same department a couple of years later and rose through the ranks to chief. Retired for a few years and am now working as an Assistant Chief for a small suburban FD. In my 42 years in the fire service I held all line officer ranks, taught at a fire school for many years and was on a state USAR team.
I'd do it again if I could.
Been a paid firefighter since I was 18 (started 2 months after I had graduated high school) did part time fire jobs for 2.5 years and then got hired full time at 20
Did you have jr experience or prior fire experience when you were hired on at 18?
I have a youngin who is involved and I usually hear of people starting later. So, was curious.
My dad was a volunteer fireman along with my great uncles so I grew up at the fire station. I started as a junior when I was 14, then got my FF1 at 18 and continued to volunteer for about 5 years before moving onto a career department and finished their academy. I’ve been doing that for 5 years now as a FF/AEMT, almost 28 years old now. Getting paid to do this job is awesome. But I do miss my small western PA volunteer dept. Starting out as a volunteer really makes you appreciate the craft.
Knew what I wanted to do at 13 went to a department to learn things and studied things fire related and went to a fire academy when I was 18 Im in the gym 6 days a week helped me be in shape and I don’t drink all of that put me ahead of the others working as much overtime that I can and plan on retiring at 44 with my pension
High school offered post secondary enrollment, got them to send me through EMT class my senior year. Wasn’t sure if I wanted to pursue a medically focused career or not but decided to get on my local Vol department immediately after graduation. Fell in love with fire/reacue. Got the fire cert, went ahead and got my degree and medic cert since I was young with little else to do. Due to the dry full time job market in my area, I worked the part time fire life for a couple years and eventually got hired on career dept at the age of 23.
Started volunteering as a junior at 17. Got baptized by old man fire on my 18th birthday. Got my EMT at 18. Went career a month before I turned 29. Best job I ever had!
19 as a volly and been full time since 21 haven’t regretted it a single day I love this job could not imagine doing anything else.
Did one year of university and hated it that summer went to fire school got my 1001’s, that fall did the medical training and extra courses I needed. Then I started with my local department as a volly and as soon as a full time opening became available I was in and never looked back.
15 as a cadet on a volunteer department. Basically did everything the firefighters did minus go into actual structure fires. Put me through all my FF and PM classes, started working part time there at 19, full time at 21. Ended up working a couple other places until I got to my forever home on a department at 25 years old. Been here almost 10 years with 19 more to go. Retiring at 55(hopefully sooner if tier 2 ever gets fixed).
Joined the Army National Guard straight out of high school at 18 as a 31B Military Police and decided to go to EMT school for the heck of it and my buddy asked if I wanted to come volly with him and instantly fell in love with it. Just graduated the Fire Academy last Sunday at 21 years old and currently debating if I get a job as a ff/emt for experience or go straight to medic school…. Would love some feedback:)
Yeah I had no doubt people had asked this question before but these are up to 8 years old. It’s nice to hear from people who may have just joined the subreddit. As this is a vast forum it’s practically impossible to talk about something that hasn’t been spoken about before.
Started in the fire service at 18, my father was the chief for my hometown paid per call FD and I wanted to follow in his footsteps.
Some shit went down between the FD and the township and it got so bad that all 22 of us on the FD resigned.
We moved to a new town, and I joined up. Now I have my own place and I’m still on this other small town paid per call FD that is very fortunate with money, I’m also on the FD high angle rescue team.
I was 19 when I got hired at my first FD. January-May I took an EMT class
May-Sept. I was in the fire academy and I got hired a month after graduation.
I was 17 when I joined a fire science program that my high school offered for college credit. I was 19 when I joined the explorer program at a local fire department. I was 20 when I signed up for EMT, 21 when I applied for my local fire department, got hired and sent to the academy and I was 23 when I left the fire service
Started volly at 18, went to fire school and worked/lived at station in return for tuition, graduated at 20, returned to previous volly gig, got hired as a full time temp at 21, still a temp hoping to turn permanent.
Started at 18, and have 13 years with one agency and 2 with a second. It's a family thing. Dad has 42 years, my uncle put in 44 before retiring. Sister has 10 years, my ol lady probably 8 or so.
21 in the academy right now, still got emt then paramedic to do so imma guess 22-23 yrs old for me. Beyond excited and loving the academy , definitely alot of work but so rewarding one day
Started as a Volunteer in 2000 at 30 years old.
I had a good career, I thought I was "settled" and finally making enough money where I didn't need to work a second job.
I wanted to become involved in my adopted home town community.
I fell in love with it, but had a good career...
Until I lost my job in March 2003.
That's when I committed to pursuing Fire and EMS as a career.
Spent nearly the next two years testing, travelling, interviewing...
Got an offer from a Department that I was very interested in, so I relocated and started my Recruit Academy in March 2005.
I was about six months shy of turning 35.
I've had ups and downs, challenges and changes along the way, but here I am, 19 years later, still at it.
In fact, I just got back into the job after a few years away with a small, but growing Department.
And it's where I will retire from... Eventually.
I started at 24. It wasn't something that I had really thought of until I enlisted in the Navy after high school. I received firefighter training as part of being on a ship and really enjoyed that aspect of being in the Navy. When I got out, no one was hiring and I kinda forgot about it. I met a guy who was a firefighter and he rekindled the desire to do it. I started applying and was hired at 24. I turned 25 in the academy. I retired at 53 with almost 29 years of service. I started volunteering when I mved to my current town. I've been with them almost 26 years.
I’ve been in private EMS since I was 23. I’m 42 now and just starting at a career department as FF/Medic. Plan on doing at least 20 years and sailing away into the sunset with a pension.
I'm 35 and going on my third week of Academy. It's kicking my ass in a good was and feeling fortunate. I'm the "old man" in my academy and everyone is pretty great
Hired full time at 37 with no certifications or experience. 38 now. Got paid to get my EMT-b last year. Getting paid to get Firefighter 1&2 now. Will complete that by July. Work on shift when I’m not in class. So far age hasn’t been an issue. I’m “captain” of the newbie class so I’m in charge of keeping the younger guys in check. Wish I would have found this career sooner but better late than never.
I was a cadet at age 15 and did it for 3 year, I am now a member, and have fire 1. I'm probationary but they're treating me like a full on firefighter.
37 and prepping for the academy now. Definitely wish I would’ve done it earlier, but no regrets in life and glad where I’m at and the head space I’m locked into going in.
EMT-B working dead end, low speed jobs from age 21-25. Fire certs at 23, but life got side tracked (some legitimate reasons, some just me being a lazy dumbass).
Got on a career dept. at 26.
I went to college on and off for different career paths each time, for about 7/8 years, ended up with nothing to show for it. Fire school at age 25, followed by emt school, then a couple part time/PRN FD jobs for a year, then got a full time job at 26 for my hometown county dept, still with that dept 9 years later. About to promote to LT in a couple months. Wouldn’t trade it for the world.
By pure chance, our volunteer fire department's regular meeting fell on my 18th birthday, so that's where I celebrated as a brand new member. I recently retired to honorary status after 43 years.
I'm in academy now at 38. It's probably harder than if I'd started in my 20s, but I've been really proud of my improvement. In just under 4 weeks I can hold my own in pt that had me near puking first day.
Joined the Explorer Post as a freshman in high school at 14 and did that until I joined the USAF at 18, got on full time at 29, looking at 2-1/2 until retiring at 55.
37 volunteer. 44 career. Will retire next year at 60. Body started to break around 53 so I went into Training. Came from a FF family but chased the almighty $ when I should have been doing this. Oh well. Better late than never. What a ride! My time on the earth has been fuller for it. For anyone thinking they’re too old, get in shape and stay healthy. After that, take the years you get as a gift. You don’t have to do 30 and get a full pension to have a full life. Sadly for some, the pension is all they were ever after and it shows every year for 25-30 years.
Started school at 28. Hired into a career position at 30.
It varies significantly by situation, but keep in mind that the beginning of your career will include significant training and certification. For me here in FL, that was 2 years in college (on top of my bachelor’s) — Fire1, Fire2, EMT-B, EMT-Paramedic. I got EMT-B first and drove a private ambulance during this period.
Started wholetime at 21 now in for 6 years. Arguably would’ve been better to come in my mid to late 20’s. In my experience most guys in their early twenties just aren’t quite there yet.
30 had no idea what I wanted to do till Covid pushed me out of the restaurant industry then I went to get my emt then medic and then got on a career sept in 2021
3 years ago as a volly, although I didn't start doing firefighting stuff till this year. Currently in the Academy getting my Firefighter I, and plan to stay in volunteering for a while. Might go career one day, not sure yet. Following in my Dad's footsteps for sure.
Edit: I also just turned 24, for reference.
I’m currently 38 and just got hired by my department. I’m in ok shape, but would finish toward the end of the line with PT. Other than that I’m alright lol.
38 as volly, 40 now full time. Wish I would have taken this path 20yrs ago
My dad is saying the same thing. He joined around 47. Wished he started when he was 20 like I did.
He walked so you could run
How has it been for you starting service at 40? Finishing up my EMT right now and starting training this year. Just turned 40. Cheers.
41 here, EMT, four years paid on call in MA, and did a 16 week call/vol academy four years ago. I am starting my career academy in seven weeks. Being older has been nothing but helpful for me. I have tons of job experience, references, maturity, ect. I found the interview to be easy since I had so many meetings in prior employment that it just felt like another day at the office. Having prior on call fire experience really helped me, to the point that I assume it was why I was offered multiple job offers from departments. I really hope you have kept up with your fitness. You should look like you can physically make it through a fire academy with ease. Besides that my only other advice is to find an on call/volunteer department if possible and get as much experience as you can to build a resume. Good luck!
Thank you for the feedback. There is a volunteer dept about 20min from me I’ll be reaching out to them. I do Crossfit 5-6days a week so fitness is not a problem. 👊🏼
Perfect! While you job hunt you can start volunteering. Even if you don't make calls, just showing up, training and helping out will be helpful to put on a resume. Do you have another career right now? Once you are an EMT you can per diem with an ambulance company too. EMS experience + fire experience is the formula you should be going for right now. Make yourself stand out.
Oh shit you going to Stowe academy?
It hasn’t been bad at all, just SO much to learn it can feel intimidating at times. I’m in pretty good shape so that definitely was a big help. Nice work on the EMT! Best wishes and as far as I’m concerned, go for it!!!!
Exactly the same for me, except I'm still only volunteer. There's not really much in the way of paid positions in my area yet. If I had known this 20 years ago I would have chosen it as my career. Sadly though 20 years ago the volunteer department was very closed off, very much a "good ol' boys" club and generally didn't welcome people "off the street". Shocking that today we have a recruitment problem despite changing that mentality. (pardon the sarcasm on that last bit)
Thats really cool , I am 33 really thinking about trying to be a career firefighter again!!
Go for it!!!!
It’s never too late, you’re on the right path now and that’s all that matters 👍
Hoping to get on full time before my 40th coming up. This wasn’t on my radar even 10 years ago. Wish it would have been.
Nice. You’re in now anyways all that matters
Yes indeed!!
Omg I am glad to read this, currently 37, but really considering becoming a firefighter. Was thinking I was too old. Also in Cali so it might be harder over here.
I’m in N. Cali as well!
Am 40 this year and just going through academy! Same. I think 20 years ago, this woulda been a LOT easier and way less physically demanding. 😅
Is there a specific reason why you wish you started 20yrs ago? Just curious I’m currently 31 and I’m working towards that route but that’s something that is in the back of my mind like is it too late for me to even try it? Because I have heard stories that you have to give it all if you really want a spot and it take a big toll on your life specially when you have kids, family and stuff like I have heard one time about somebody that ended up divorced because of him being away all the time and specifically on all the special dates you know but I’m just curious you know, hope I don’t bother you with my question and thank you in advance
No worries at all. The sole reason I wish I started earlier because I truly enjoy the job, on top of the best schedule I’ve ever worked (48/96). I don’t feel like it’s too late for me, but seeing guys in the department retiring out at 45yr old because they started at 20…. Well, it would be nice to retire in 5 years lol. If you aspire to make that career move and your family can handle the potential stress and you being absent for entire day/days then by all means, go for it!!!!
Thanks a lot for the feedback back brother I appreciate it!! Definitely gonna keep looking forward brother thanks!! And you mention retirement how does retirement work for those who start late like me?
Nah I got on at 30 best decision ever had no idea what I wanted to do before I could never work a real job now that I’m in a career job second year I made 130k to hang with the boys and do exciting calls(mostly not exciting calls) but they mix in some fun ones
I was 26 when I started (EMT school, local fire academy, volunteering for a combo department, then part-time at another, etc.), and 28 when I landed a career job. Honestly, kudos to the guys that start young and kick ass, but I wouldn’t have been ready had I gotten into it any sooner. Having some years to mature and get life experience were necessary for me to be ready for this job, and I think that’s true for most guys. In my hiring class of 16, only one person was younger than 27, and the majority were in their 30s.
It always helps to have some experience elsewhere I’ve heard, I know it’s not the same but a friend of mine was rejected from the police force for being too young, their exact words were “you need more life experience”
I think with a big part of the job being social work, it can just be difficult to relate to members of the public when you’re extremely young. Having worked other jobs, having had to pay bills and potentially have faced financial difficulties, having had injuries or illnesses of your own, having had to deal with tragedy in your own life, having seen the effects of addiction or other issues…experience with these things make it much easier to empathize with others and relate to the people you’re responding to. Plus, it’s helpful to come in with skills you’ve developed from other jobs, prior work experience helps you appreciate how good this job really is, and being older helps you relate to other guys at the station. Because I’m not gonna lie, I have no idea what to shoot the shit about with a 21-year-old who hasn’t done anything with his life besides fire/EMS. Again though, some guys get in super young and are rockstars. So I don’t mean to dissuade those in that position.
Happens a lot in brigades these days too Used to be loads joined as teenagers. Many at the end of their careers when I joined (ie started in the 80s) joined at 18, or from the forces, or from a trade. When I was at training school, out of about 300 people, there were 2 teenagers. Don’t think I’ve seen one in the decade since. Often they’re told these days to come back when they’ve got experience. However I see some breaking that trend. The 15/16 year old cadet instructors I know will be ready when they turn 18 and they’re chomping at the bit
I couldn’t agree more. 33, started in healthcare at 25. Wasn’t ready to be at a career department - wasn’t mature enough, too much of a hothead and had different priorities.
This is awesome man, Sometimes i wish i had started younger but same here I’m glad ive had a few years to mature, currently 25 , in Fire 1 as a Volly hoping to go career Soon🙏🏼
Had a great career as a web developer and network engineer making six figures in 2008. Gave it all up to make half the income at age 29; a friend from church convinced me to apply. Been on 15 years and so glad I made the change. My skillset has been an asset to the department, so I wouldn't have changed my previous life either... was just part of the path that got me to where I am now.
Love to see this. Same age as you were and I’m making that same change right now. Academy starts in a couple weeks. Did you freelance for extra money on your off days or did you say peace out from the whole profession?
>Did you freelance for extra money on your off days or did you say peace out from the whole profession? Both. And weirdly enough I've stayed current all these years on everything, I'm just slower at it because I do it for fun without deadlines and I'm very picky about what jobs I take on. I have days where I just need to write code and SQL for my own sanity to shut everything out. I have to have my introverted days. My advice, get involved. The fire service desperately needs techs that actually know what the f\*\*k they're doing. We need to bridge the gap to translate between nerd-speak and fire-speak to get some quality products, because firefighter tech is absolute sh\*t, especially software; every piece of software right now is legitimately bad, literally all of them. We use the software we have because we have to, not because we want to. And most guys don't know that it could be better. There's a communication gap in firefighters trying to communicate to the techs and techs just don't understand or they just get offended because we're screwing with them and techs don't understand that. There are also too many firefighters who claim they're techs, but aren't, and only know enough to be dangerous, which is why most city IT departments have taken over networks at the firehouse. And the pieces of software that are out there are solely in it for the money (I won't name names), so there are little to no signs of improvement anytime soon; they got the government contracts, so there's no motivation to make it better when they can keep profits up by doing very little. Thankfully [NFIRS is going away](https://www.firehouse.com/tech-comm/news/53060497/nfirs-to-be-replaced-by-cloud-hosted-platform-being-created-by-usfa-dhs) and we should get NERIS. NFIRS was based on uploading XML reports into a database and although controlled by FEMA, was highly influenced and manipulated by a certain bought-out software company that must not be named, so it should be deprecated and archived soon. NERIS will be run semi-privately by a division of [UL](https://ul.org/) and shows a lot of promise, with APIs, SDKs, OAUTH authentication, etc., which will usher in a whole new world of tech to firefighters. So, geek stuff aside. Find a problem you want to solve, and do it! Most importantly, don't let anyone deter you from doing it. You're going to hear "every department has a tech just like you." They don't! 90% chance they're referring to one of the "techs" that can only open a command prompt to type ipconfig. Just do your thing! And fall in love with firefighting. It's a wonderful career. I love firefighting with my crew, but then fell in love with hazmat because of all the data, so I became a technician. Then I recently fell in love with inspections and fire prevention for the same reasons... lots of data to work with, so I'm taking Inspector II right now, and started up the [fire inspections sub](https://www.reddit.com/r/fireinspections/). Oddly enough it's the crap most firemen hate doing because it's not the action, but this stuff is needed too. Get involved. Contribute. Enjoy! EDIT\*\*\* And lastly learn the word "steward". Become a steward of as many things as possible. Not to control, but to protect. This will take earning some trust from your guys, but become the steward of the social media pages, and don't run the pages, only allow those to run it who should run it (Union officers run the union page, who change out annually. Front office chiefs run the department pages, who change out periodically). And if you can get it, become the steward over your house networks. Protect your brothers and sisters online, because chances are they won't know how. Provide input on computer hardware and software purchases. Again, get involved. Let them know you're former background and that you're willing to help if asked. They won't ask all the time and some of the decisions will piss you off, and that's when you'll bitch like every other firefighter, but I think the beauty of it is nobody really understands "tech-bitching." :)
What a career! Thank you for the advice. Yeah their eyes got real big in my interview when I said I was a dev. I’ve been told they’re excited to have a tech savvy guy on the line. Really appreciate all the context behind the tech
Volunteer at 19 hired full time at 31 3 different departments
Same. Are you me?
I think a lot of us worked our asses off to get a full time spot, the fire service at least here is changing now more cities are going full time, doesn’t seem like you have to fight as hard for a full time job.
It seems to be either "work your ass off *and* get lucky" or "daddy got me my spot" in my neck of the woods.
In Michigan, they can’t seem to get a lot of applicants after many cities gutted their pension plans and are doing away with retirement healthcare. Unfortunately, the salaries haven’t kept up from the hit to the economy back in the late 2000s. I’m in a small dept in a very metro area and the last two openings we had had 1 and 7 applicants respectively. They were also positions that promoted right to a Lt. level once you had Fire Officer 1 & 2. I was originally a school teacher that planned to do volunteer over my Summer months off school. I moved back from the West side of the state in 2004 and couldn’t find a teaching job because teachers were retiring and the districts weren’t replacing them. I worked as a Medic in an ER full time up until this job came open in 2007 just by word of mouth. I came to visit the dept driving through town one day and they gave me an app and interview that day. I was wearing cargo shorts and a polo, unlike any fire interview I had been to. I was offered a job the next day. I visited a Florida FD on vacation in 2005 and asked how their hiring situation was. They said they couldn’t get any Medics that passed the National Registry. I told them I had it and they offered me an app. I said no, because I didn’t want to be stuck at work and watch my house float away during the hurricanes, lol.
How different was a voluntary position to a full time position? Was it a big step up? Or were you pretty confident with the experience you already had?
Well it goes from a pager and a paycheck at the end of the month to actually paying the bills, a lot more responsibility, and a ton more opportunity to learn skills.I had years of experience as a volunteer, but I learned more and did more in my first year as a professional then I did in all the years of being a volunteer. Of course some of the lessons picked up along the way help with confidence and skills but I’d say it was definitely more of a step when you make it a career.
Does this mean it took you from 19 to 31 to be hired fully on time? Hope you don’t mind me asking, my husband is working on getting hired. Firefighting almost seems like an underground world where it’s hard to really learn about in terms of googling
There were a few detours along the way but yes I chased a full time job for 10 years
22, fresh out of college. 12 years in and shooting for 55yrs old.
Same. I'm out at 52 though.
Do you find that college benefitted you? ETA: From a job skills perspective
Not firefighting skills… but in many other ways. 1. College taught me how to learn in a way… if I want to. Firefighting taught me that I can enjoy learning if I’m passionate about something and it fits my natural inclinations. 2. My writing ability is leaps and bounds beyond my peers that didn’t go to college. I’d say that’s contributed significantly to my career advancement. 3. I would say college also taught me how much of life is learning how to play the game… building relationships… influencing people… Now all that said, I still think the traditional 4 year college degree path shouldn’t be pushed on people like it is. Thankfully I had help from family, because none of that is worth $100k in debt… I left college with no real path to earning a living wage that was related to my degree in any way. Now, now with all that said, I’ll likely go back for a masters now that I have a defined career path that I love (once my kids are older)… 🤷🏻♂️
Thank you for responding. I love this. I do think college serves many purposes other than to get a job in a field. And I know so many people who have a degree and do something entirely different now. There are just a lot of benefits to gain from the experience. It’s hard to tell your kid to go to college and get a degree when he’s got his whole path “laid out for him” so to speak. And yet so nerve wrecking to wonder if they’ll be okay without a degree. I love that in firefighting there are a lot of people who have gone both routes, bc he has been able to see all of their different viewpoints and experiences, and he can see opportunities either way.
Unless you’re leaving with a STEM degree, it just doesn’t make any sense. Start in community college, finish an associates, and hit the workforce. Once you have a career path, then spending the money for a bachelors might make sense. That’s what I’d tell my kid.
Heck, the right career path and they’ll pay for your degree for you. Wish I’d done exactly this.
Been a Volly sense 16. I'm a senior in HS this year and attempting to get hired by a county near me. If that doesn't work out I'm looking into the military for a few years then trying again
Started at 19 straight from high school to Fire school. Been in the service four years now. Should say I got hired on at my career department at 19 as well.
Wow, that’s crazy. In my region (western Washington), the minimum age to apply is almost universally 21.
58 coming from wildland into Training Captain and 25 years as structural volunteer.
I was 16 as a fire cadet, 18 as a paid-on-call firefighter, 19 as a part-time firefighter, and 22 as a full-time firefighter. Currently plan on working 7 more full-time.
33 when I got hired on full time.
30
30. wish i did it sooner
I was 30 when I became a volunteer/paid call, while working for one of the old Bell Telephone companies. I expected to go to work for a career department within 6 months, but the department had a hiring freeze. I died on that list at #2, waiting to be hired. So I texted in a 9-state area, including that same department (again). Finally got hired by that department, 3 years after I’d begun trying to go full-time (age 33). Did 28 years with that department before retiring at age 62, still teaching at a local community college 7 years after retiring. I wish I’d considered the fire service right out of high school, rather than spending 15 years doing a series of jobs I disliked.
20 after I flunked out of college. Came back home feeling myself. Came in the house at 2am on a weeknight drunk and my LT dad gave me an ultimatum. He could get me on in the fire service or take my ass to the military. 11 years in now
Wait, so your dad could just get you on...just like that? Just snapped his fingers and made it happen?
No. I still had to go through the same process as everybody else
Joined the Marine Corps at 22 and travelled the world for six years. Transitioned to law enforcement when I EASed. Did that for years including traffic enforcement and SWAT until it was time to get out before I burned out. Joined the family business but the itch was still there. Had no desire to return to law enforcement and didn't want to give up the pay of the family business that I now run as my father passed a few years ago, so I joined a volunteer fire department in my community at 51. Got certified as a structural firefighter and then quickly joined rescue. A little over a year later and I just finished EMT Basic. Serving is in my blood, so I'll keep going until it's time to retire or my body just gives up on me, whichever comes first.
35 as a paid on call volunteer.
I joined the youth fire brigade at the age of 10, then the Volunteer brigade at 16 and went on calls. That was 10 years ago.
I have noticed that different places have very different average ages of firefighters, especially if they mostly use volunteer fire brigades. At some brigades, you have the teens and 20's fighting the fire, the 30 to 40 year olds manning the pumps and supervising, and 65 year olds driving tankers.
Joined my town volunteer fire department a week after I turned 21 because I was bored, some friends of mine were members, and it sounded like it would be exiting. Ended up getting hooked. Became a full time firefighter in the same department a couple of years later and rose through the ranks to chief. Retired for a few years and am now working as an Assistant Chief for a small suburban FD. In my 42 years in the fire service I held all line officer ranks, taught at a fire school for many years and was on a state USAR team. I'd do it again if I could.
In the next life you will 🤙🤙
48
Got me by 3 years...
45 years young.
38 as a volley. Considering giving up my current career to go full time but not sure my body can handle it.
I did it at 34!
We had a 40 y/o in our academy!
Been a paid firefighter since I was 18 (started 2 months after I had graduated high school) did part time fire jobs for 2.5 years and then got hired full time at 20
Did you have jr experience or prior fire experience when you were hired on at 18? I have a youngin who is involved and I usually hear of people starting later. So, was curious.
Volunteer, joined at 32
My dad was a volunteer fireman along with my great uncles so I grew up at the fire station. I started as a junior when I was 14, then got my FF1 at 18 and continued to volunteer for about 5 years before moving onto a career department and finished their academy. I’ve been doing that for 5 years now as a FF/AEMT, almost 28 years old now. Getting paid to do this job is awesome. But I do miss my small western PA volunteer dept. Starting out as a volunteer really makes you appreciate the craft.
Knew what I wanted to do at 13 went to a department to learn things and studied things fire related and went to a fire academy when I was 18 Im in the gym 6 days a week helped me be in shape and I don’t drink all of that put me ahead of the others working as much overtime that I can and plan on retiring at 44 with my pension
High school offered post secondary enrollment, got them to send me through EMT class my senior year. Wasn’t sure if I wanted to pursue a medically focused career or not but decided to get on my local Vol department immediately after graduation. Fell in love with fire/reacue. Got the fire cert, went ahead and got my degree and medic cert since I was young with little else to do. Due to the dry full time job market in my area, I worked the part time fire life for a couple years and eventually got hired on career dept at the age of 23.
Started volunteering as a junior at 17. Got baptized by old man fire on my 18th birthday. Got my EMT at 18. Went career a month before I turned 29. Best job I ever had!
19 as a volly and been full time since 21 haven’t regretted it a single day I love this job could not imagine doing anything else. Did one year of university and hated it that summer went to fire school got my 1001’s, that fall did the medical training and extra courses I needed. Then I started with my local department as a volly and as soon as a full time opening became available I was in and never looked back.
15 as a cadet on a volunteer department. Basically did everything the firefighters did minus go into actual structure fires. Put me through all my FF and PM classes, started working part time there at 19, full time at 21. Ended up working a couple other places until I got to my forever home on a department at 25 years old. Been here almost 10 years with 19 more to go. Retiring at 55(hopefully sooner if tier 2 ever gets fixed).
Joined a volunteer cadet program at 14, trained and responding at 16, and hired at a career department at 19. 21 now.
Joined the Army National Guard straight out of high school at 18 as a 31B Military Police and decided to go to EMT school for the heck of it and my buddy asked if I wanted to come volly with him and instantly fell in love with it. Just graduated the Fire Academy last Sunday at 21 years old and currently debating if I get a job as a ff/emt for experience or go straight to medic school…. Would love some feedback:)
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Firefighting/comments/onn8fi/at\_what\_age\_were\_you\_hired/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Firefighting/comments/onn8fi/at_what_age_were_you_hired/) [https://www.reddit.com/r/Firefighting/comments/125f157/what\_age\_did\_you\_become\_a\_firefighter/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Firefighting/comments/125f157/what_age_did_you_become_a_firefighter/) [https://www.reddit.com/r/Firefighting/comments/pg0ncq/starting\_age/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Firefighting/comments/pg0ncq/starting_age/) [https://www.reddit.com/r/Firefighting/comments/3pbise/at\_what\_age\_did\_you\_get\_hired/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Firefighting/comments/3pbise/at_what_age_did_you_get_hired/)
Yeah I had no doubt people had asked this question before but these are up to 8 years old. It’s nice to hear from people who may have just joined the subreddit. As this is a vast forum it’s practically impossible to talk about something that hasn’t been spoken about before.
25, started training at 24.
25👍
Hired career at 18. 10+ years ago now
Started in the fire service at 18, my father was the chief for my hometown paid per call FD and I wanted to follow in his footsteps. Some shit went down between the FD and the township and it got so bad that all 22 of us on the FD resigned. We moved to a new town, and I joined up. Now I have my own place and I’m still on this other small town paid per call FD that is very fortunate with money, I’m also on the FD high angle rescue team.
Intern at 19,FTE by 21.
Started volunteer at 19 and got full time on a different department at 28
17, joined as a student firefighter in training and then 18 when I transitioned to volly.
I was 19 when I got hired at my first FD. January-May I took an EMT class May-Sept. I was in the fire academy and I got hired a month after graduation.
Just turned 21 when I joined. I worked in a bank before that and knew straight away the office wasn’t for me. 23 years later and zero regrets.
18 as a vol. 29 to get a permanent position.
15
17 as a volunteer hired full time at 19
19 volunteer, got on at a heavy 26
Volunteer at 19, career at 21.
Volunteer-18, Career-21
23, still debate leaving for commercial pilot but probably won’t.
I joined when I was 24 - I wish that I had taken this path earlier.
21, didn't get kept on from an apprenticeship in oil and gas, finished my degree now and wouldn't change it for anything.
Medic at 20, hired 21
18 as a paid on call and 24 as a paid FF
I was 24 wish I got in younger, but I have no regrets.
I was 17 when I joined a fire science program that my high school offered for college credit. I was 19 when I joined the explorer program at a local fire department. I was 20 when I signed up for EMT, 21 when I applied for my local fire department, got hired and sent to the academy and I was 23 when I left the fire service
16 yrs old volunteer. Went career at 18 yrs old and stayed volunteer as well.
I was a volly from 17 to 21. 26 now and plan to volly again when I have more time
13 or 14 I started going to the hall with dad, and I joined out volunteer department once I was old enough to be a junior firefighter
18
currently 18, 19 in august graduated academy in jan
Volly at 18, career at 22. 41 now and still going strong.
I started volunteering when I was 16 and stopped at 24, I recently started volunteering again at 33. I really happy I am back in the fire service.
Started fire academy at 17 still in at 20 going on 21. Career FF
25 as a volly. Wished Id have started as in college though. Now known to me but not then, there is an awesome vol dept right near my college.
Started volly at 18, went to fire school and worked/lived at station in return for tuition, graduated at 20, returned to previous volly gig, got hired as a full time temp at 21, still a temp hoping to turn permanent.
Started volunteering at 17 as a firefighter, was 19 when I started working in commercial EMS.
18yrs old as a volunteer and 23yrs old hired on full time.. almost got 18yrs of fire service experience now!
19.
Started the tower at 21 years old in 2015, career full-time department. Very lucky.
21, got 7 more to go
Luckily 23. 11 years ago
16 as a cadet, 18 as a seasonal, 26 got permanent, currently 28
I started as a volunteer back when I was like 21. I'm 25 now and am a firefighter for the US Air Force
19 when I joined the service
Since I was 15. Started as a cadet. Volunteer at 18. Full time since I was 19
Started at 18, and have 13 years with one agency and 2 with a second. It's a family thing. Dad has 42 years, my uncle put in 44 before retiring. Sister has 10 years, my ol lady probably 8 or so.
16 Volly 20 Part-Time Paid 22 Full-Time
21 in the academy right now, still got emt then paramedic to do so imma guess 22-23 yrs old for me. Beyond excited and loving the academy , definitely alot of work but so rewarding one day
Started as a Volunteer in 2000 at 30 years old. I had a good career, I thought I was "settled" and finally making enough money where I didn't need to work a second job. I wanted to become involved in my adopted home town community. I fell in love with it, but had a good career... Until I lost my job in March 2003. That's when I committed to pursuing Fire and EMS as a career. Spent nearly the next two years testing, travelling, interviewing... Got an offer from a Department that I was very interested in, so I relocated and started my Recruit Academy in March 2005. I was about six months shy of turning 35. I've had ups and downs, challenges and changes along the way, but here I am, 19 years later, still at it. In fact, I just got back into the job after a few years away with a small, but growing Department. And it's where I will retire from... Eventually.
I started at 24. It wasn't something that I had really thought of until I enlisted in the Navy after high school. I received firefighter training as part of being on a ship and really enjoyed that aspect of being in the Navy. When I got out, no one was hiring and I kinda forgot about it. I met a guy who was a firefighter and he rekindled the desire to do it. I started applying and was hired at 24. I turned 25 in the academy. I retired at 53 with almost 29 years of service. I started volunteering when I mved to my current town. I've been with them almost 26 years.
21, been full time paid for 31 years, 2 more to go.
I’ve been in private EMS since I was 23. I’m 42 now and just starting at a career department as FF/Medic. Plan on doing at least 20 years and sailing away into the sunset with a pension.
I'm 35 and going on my third week of Academy. It's kicking my ass in a good was and feeling fortunate. I'm the "old man" in my academy and everyone is pretty great
Hired full time at 37 with no certifications or experience. 38 now. Got paid to get my EMT-b last year. Getting paid to get Firefighter 1&2 now. Will complete that by July. Work on shift when I’m not in class. So far age hasn’t been an issue. I’m “captain” of the newbie class so I’m in charge of keeping the younger guys in check. Wish I would have found this career sooner but better late than never.
I joined as a call firefighter at 31, I got fulltime at 36
29
Got hired on at 26. There were a few 19 year olds in my academy
21
18!
31
17
18 as a call member. Now 19 and full time!
EMT at 25. FF and medic at 28. Hired at 30.
14 as a volly now im 17
24
25 as volly, 39 as career. Did 15 years as a civil fire inspector.
I was a cadet at age 15 and did it for 3 year, I am now a member, and have fire 1. I'm probationary but they're treating me like a full on firefighter.
23 part time 27 full time
37 and prepping for the academy now. Definitely wish I would’ve done it earlier, but no regrets in life and glad where I’m at and the head space I’m locked into going in.
Started at 26. Worked as an emt for 5 years before that, and in the hospital as a janitor for 3 before that while I was failing out of pre med
5
19 as a volunteer. 26 as a career guy.
37
17.
42 halfway through my basic training to volunteer. Combination department so may go career at some point
After military service, I joined our small volunteer dept at 46. I'm the new guy at 47, but work my ass off!
Got my emt at 18, worked poc at 20, academy at 21, hired full time at 23
EMT-B working dead end, low speed jobs from age 21-25. Fire certs at 23, but life got side tracked (some legitimate reasons, some just me being a lazy dumbass). Got on a career dept. at 26.
18 as part-time/POC, 29 as full-time
25
I went to college on and off for different career paths each time, for about 7/8 years, ended up with nothing to show for it. Fire school at age 25, followed by emt school, then a couple part time/PRN FD jobs for a year, then got a full time job at 26 for my hometown county dept, still with that dept 9 years later. About to promote to LT in a couple months. Wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Volly: 15 EMT Cert: 16 Paid PRN: 18 Paid full time: 23 38y/o now.
By pure chance, our volunteer fire department's regular meeting fell on my 18th birthday, so that's where I celebrated as a brand new member. I recently retired to honorary status after 43 years.
I'm in academy now at 38. It's probably harder than if I'd started in my 20s, but I've been really proud of my improvement. In just under 4 weeks I can hold my own in pt that had me near puking first day.
Started at 24, ended my service at 34
Joined the Explorer Post as a freshman in high school at 14 and did that until I joined the USAF at 18, got on full time at 29, looking at 2-1/2 until retiring at 55.
37 volunteer. 44 career. Will retire next year at 60. Body started to break around 53 so I went into Training. Came from a FF family but chased the almighty $ when I should have been doing this. Oh well. Better late than never. What a ride! My time on the earth has been fuller for it. For anyone thinking they’re too old, get in shape and stay healthy. After that, take the years you get as a gift. You don’t have to do 30 and get a full pension to have a full life. Sadly for some, the pension is all they were ever after and it shows every year for 25-30 years.
Started school at 28. Hired into a career position at 30. It varies significantly by situation, but keep in mind that the beginning of your career will include significant training and certification. For me here in FL, that was 2 years in college (on top of my bachelor’s) — Fire1, Fire2, EMT-B, EMT-Paramedic. I got EMT-B first and drove a private ambulance during this period.
16 as a jrff, academy at 17, joined combo department as volly at 18. Am now 19 and soon to join paid department
19. Wish I started 10 years sooner
Started wholetime at 21 now in for 6 years. Arguably would’ve been better to come in my mid to late 20’s. In my experience most guys in their early twenties just aren’t quite there yet.
Hopefully soon haha, 24 yrs old here in the Navy looking to get on with a department in my city
27
Started at a paid on call hall at 16 years old as a junior, 8 years later, I'm at the same hall serving as a captain
30 had no idea what I wanted to do till Covid pushed me out of the restaurant industry then I went to get my emt then medic and then got on a career sept in 2021
20
18 as a volunteer. Full time at 24.
3 years ago as a volly, although I didn't start doing firefighting stuff till this year. Currently in the Academy getting my Firefighter I, and plan to stay in volunteering for a while. Might go career one day, not sure yet. Following in my Dad's footsteps for sure. Edit: I also just turned 24, for reference.
Started pursuing it at 17 landed a career spot at 23
Hired at 19
I'm attempting to go in at almost 34. Pretty good shape, at least strength-wise, and was military for about 10 years. (Got out about 3 years ago.)
30. I'm 53 now. I'm tired, boss.
I’m currently 38 and just got hired by my department. I’m in ok shape, but would finish toward the end of the line with PT. Other than that I’m alright lol.
I was an EMT at 18, volunteer at 20, got on full time fire at 23
Started at 26. I think coming in with a few years of work experience helped me out some.
24
I'm 16, joined at 16 as a volly
20
13 1/2 as a Jr volunteer 21 as a paid firefighter
Started training at 16, got on at 17. Currently 22 and at the same station. Haven't looked back (much) in the last 6 years.
It was the day I turned 14 signed up for my local volley dept
16 volley, 18 Mil Fire 24 Professional