JunebugKFD257

City of Kingston, New York announces Civil Service exam for Fire Fighter. Examination will be March 19, 2016. Applications must be received in the Civil Service Office no later than 4:00 pm, on February 12, 2016. No exceptions. Anything received in the mail, after that date, will not be accepted. Office of Civil Service is located in City Hall, 420 Broadway, Kingston, NY 12401. Telephone is (845) 331-0080, Ext. 3921. You can also visit Kingston's website at: www.kingston-ny.gov I attached links and files to get the announcement and applications. The announcement is here: http://www.kingston-ny.gov/filestorage/8399/8469/8539/Fire_Fighter_65138_2016.pdf The application is here: http://www.kingston-ny.gov/filestorage/8463/8511/8630/8632/APPLICATION_FOR_EMPLOYMENT.pdf APPLICATION_FOR_EMPLOYMENT.pdf Fire_Fighter_65138_2016.pdf

For those municipalities that have ordered a new exam for 2016, the exam should be held on March 19, 2016. Start studying now.

OK folks. Here's the deal: The following link will get you about 95% of the information you need to know about the exam. You only need to focus on Entry Level Firefighter and/or Fire Protection Specialist, which is a state job. Anything pertaining to Fire Officers is not your concern. The link is: http://nysfireinfo.pbworks.com/w/page/27327765/Civil%20Service%20and%20Natl%20Cert%20Exam%20Study Entry Level Firefighter: http://www.cs.ny.gov/jobseeker/local/test_guides/fire_test_guide_01_09_06.pdf Now that you read the information: 1) Download or print the PDFs that have study guides included. Use them. Study them. Look a bit outdated? Yes, but then again, so is the test. Study some more. 2) RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH!!!!!!! Read the residency requirements. Do you qualify for residency? If yes, you will get preference over non-residents. If not, you are just taking the test for practice. 3) MAIL THE APPLICATION ON TIME!!!! SUBMIT A CHECK OR MONEY ORDER!!!!! DO IT BEFORE THE DEADLINE!!! DON'T WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE!!!!!! You may qualify for more than one offering, so you follow the instructions on cross-filing. You'll pay a bit more, but your net is cast farther out. 4) TAKE MARCH 19th OFF! HELL, TAKE THE 18th OFF TOO! If you work overnights, you want to be fresh for the test! Don't wait until the last minute to take time off. 5) Be on time, bring plenty of pencils, a pen, something quiet to eat/drink. Waiting game is months. Until then, get in or stay in shape. Drive carefully, stay out of trouble with the police. Look at your facebook or twitter pages. Anything that is sexist, racist, homophobic or would be offensive to others should be removed. The interview panel can use those things against you. All it takes is a screenshot, even if your pages is locked tighter than Fort Knox. You are trying to get a job that protects EVERYONE who works, lives, visits and travels in that municipality.

Thank you for that. I wasn't sure how to clarify that without becoming too abrasive.

Correct, not every municipality participates in the annual examinations. When an eligibility list runs out (usually in 4 years) or to keep the pool of eligible candidates active, a municipality will order an exam offering.

Why not? Has your Local done a disservice to you?

Correct you are.

My take on this: Most jobs in NYS have residency requirements, you must research the residency policies of each municipality. Second, if you are looking for a job out of state, you should look to see where you'd like to live, then find the jobs in those respective areas. BE AWARE of minimum qualifications of out of state departments! For example, in Florida, you are required to have a certificate from the Florida State Fire College BEFORE you even take a test. Firefighter jobs out of state are hot in MD, VA, NC and SC. Las Vegas recruits frequently, too. Hope this helps.

I might be biased because I got the job, but I don't see anything wrong with the system as it is. If you want to be a Firefighter, then you should have a "whatever it takes" attitude to get on.

Nichols brought one up to look at. Drives nice, jacks only come out 29". But it still doesn't navigate well on our tight streets, which is why our job needs a TDA.

Rich will do a good job for this Brother. He is our Local's lawyer as well.

I agree with Benz. Despite what a lot of guys say, it IS sometimes about the money. Yes, we still do things for our communities, especially on our days off but when the rubber meets the road, there is still food to be put on the table and a mortgage to be paid. Although I was capable of doing something different with my life, I chose this life. I'm grateful for my defined benefits, and grateful for a flexible schedule. I'm also grateful for never spending a day in the firehouse without laughing at/with somebody or something. This isn't a job you just "kick the tires" at. There are other people behind you on the list that are willing to put their 20+ years in. Taking the job to "just go around the block" isn't fair to the municipality that paid for you to go to probie school and it certainly isn't fair to those who want to be in it for the long haul.

I wouldn't put it past Cuomo to have a Tier 7 in the planning stages. Even with Tier 5 in place, he never gave it a chance to see if it would work, instead they developed Tier 6 and shoved it right down our throats. Cuomo has become the exact opposite of what I thought he'd be. He's been no friend of Labor and he is scaring a number of labor-friendly politicians not only in NY, but in other labor-friendly states as well. If Cuomo is successful in getting what he wants (Triborough Repeal and his Binding Arbitration bill), I think you will see a domino effect in those other states. This is why it's IMPORTANT for us career firefighters and cops to get involved in what goes on in Albany and hold our representatives in the Senate and Assembly accountable, especially when they are looking for a handout come election time.

It was NOT a rekindle. I know these aren't your words but there were members there after midnight into Sunday morning on fire watch. Extensive overhaul was done and all burned contents get thrown out. The word "Rekindle" is not part of this department's way of doing business.

Yes, we are understaffed. Our minimum manning is 10, which puts 2 on each rig, and that includes the truck.

No. They will be purchased in 2013. Why not sooner you might ask? It's a long story that is being resolved. I will not divulge into the matter.

No.

We got your back down here. You saw what happened in Wisconsin and Ohio.

And that Governor you guys got isn't helping you out either.

K-mart nobody works a 36hr shift unless it's a trade or OT. Either 10, 12, 14, 24, or 48hrs (I think the Arsenal does 48/96). As far as t-shirts are concerned. T-shirts are comfortable but it's not professional looking when you are conducting the department's business during the daytime.

You only have 3 Platoons up there?

The 3on/3off schedule consists of 3 10hr days followed by 96hrs off, 3 14hr night shifts followed by 72hrs off. So the schedule works like this: DDDOOONNNOOO and back around again. It's not 36hrs, we work a 42hr work week. As far as 5.11 is concerned, it's an option as MES and Rosen's in Albany are dealers around here. But we are looking at garments that are not only made in the USA, but Union Labor as well as utilizing a local dealer.

I should also bring up that we work a 3 on/3 off work schedule. So our uniforms are being work at least once or twice a week.

Guys, thank you very much for your input. They were all very informative. Anybody else willing to chip in is greatly appreciated. Currently, we have a clothing allowance of 900.00/year which we can purchase uniforms, t-shirts, footwear and any personal equipment we may need. Per S/O/G, we are supposed to have 3 L/S, 3 S/S uniform shirts, and 3 pairs of pants either the Blauer or Flying Cross. Anyone else with ideas, opinions???

I'm looking for some help on work uniforms: We are in committee to replace our Cotton/Poly work uniforms with a more FF Friendly 100% Cotton or F/R material. An example of what we are looking is: SS and LS Uniform shirts and pants with a similar style to what the FDNY is currently using (Navy for FF, Blue for LT, White for Capt and above) with embroidery. Pants (4 pocket or the 6 pocket cargo style). We wear polos from 6/1 to 9/1, so that would also be an option. Shorts are out of the question, we have been told that. So what I'm looking for from you folks is what brands to look for and what to stay away from. I'd appreciate any insight you can give me.