Firefighter 1 Age Requirments?

[sbvfd596 2]

I was just wondering what other dept's age requirements and rules for ff1 are. Are canidates under the age of 18 allowed to take the class, and not participate in the physcial portion of the class until their birthday?, or are they not allowed to take it at all?

[Guest]

I have another question along those lines that maybe some of you brain trusts can answer. I was just certified FF1 in Florida. I moved out of NY before I could get certified but I still read this website because its the best around. Their course uses the exact same book but is considered to be 160 hrs long. In that 160 you have a 40 hr (supposed 20 lecture/20 drill) first responder and 8 hr HAZMAT awareness. All told 111 hrs lecture and 49 hrs drill. For exact breakdown visit

http://www.fldfs.com/sfm/bfst/forms/DFS-K4-1380.pdf

or

http://www.fldfs.com/sfm/bfst/Standard/StdFF1Cert.htm (and click on FF1 application)

Its a 100 question test that draws randomly from a huge bank of questions so you never know what you are going to get on the test. I was lucky enough to get a lot of questions from the fire prevention chpater but the next test was heavy on ladders. There is no physical agility portion until FF2. There is also little or no vehicle extrication familiarization until ff2 as well. It may have been that the people instructing my class were idiots (which they were) but I learned more useful firefighting knowledge by going to one day of the explorer firematic convention at the county training center than I did in three 8 hr drill days with them. It didnt help that I was also taking the class in one of the poorest counties in the country that had one 4 story drill tower for 20 departments (including city of Pensacola) that covered in excess of 350,000 people. How much different are NY standards? Will NY accept the FL standards? FL does not accept anyones standards whatsoever. They wont even allow you to challenge for certification their EMT exam even though it is the EXACT same test as the National standard (I know NY does not accept that standard). You have to take two tests if you want both certs. Anyway back to FF1, do you think that FL has a better idea with what a FF1 should be? Is there any legislation being pushed in NY by groups like IAFF trying to make it harder to be a volunteer?

[COMMANDCHIEF 4]

SBVFD, you can be 16 and take the full FF1. Your status or title must be Firefighter. Explorers are not premitted, and there is no such title as Junior Corp. as far as status description as far as the state is conserned, so they would be firefighters with a department restriction of no interior operations.

Several Westchester departments have 16 year old members.

[AFS1970 504]

Only because I've run into this before, I believe those Under 18 can not complete two sections of the CT FF1, due to OSHA regulations. One of the sections is Ladders, because there is a workplace standard that states minors can not climb more than 6 feet up a ladder. The second is the SCBA section, because minors are not supposed to be exposed to any IDLH atmosphere and thus can not be trained to be exposed. I am actually trying to find the relevant standards on someother issues concerning Juniors, so when I find them I will post them. I know that alot of departments restrict their FF1 classes to those over 18, mostly due to these reasons. This is a relatively new change, in that I know within the last 10 years you were allowed to take the class and wait until you are 18 to take the tests.

[CHIEFPHIL 90]

I was just wondering what other dept's age requirements and rules for ff1 are. Are canidates under the age of 18 allowed to take the class, and not participate in the physcial portion of the class until their birthday?, or are they not allowed to take it at all?

←

In Connecticut you are not allowed to take Firefighter 1 if you are under the age of 18. It says that on the FF1 application for the testing. It is also state statue. Since you are from Ct, you should also be aware of the Department of Labor laws regarding minors in the fire service. They are very stringent , ment to protect minors. A lot of CT depts dont realize this and if 16-17 yr olds are participating in actuall firefighting.... I hate to be the Chief.....

As an instructor I will allow a minor to sit in on a class room class only. I will not allow them on the training ground at all during a FF1 class. The reason being is that if something happens to them while they are thier it is my butt and I can face crimminal penilties. I'm not wasting my house, business or my retirement so some 16 yr old can watch a drill. (this is when I'm contracted by another dept to teach FF1 or 2 or whatever) Just having them on site could raise a question or two.

I believe that there is a positng in the Junior/Explorer area of this site that lays out in detail the do's and dont's of minors in CT. I cannot speak for NY as I have been out of that loop for 20+ yrs.

I'm well versed in this area as when I was Chief I set up the Junior Cadet program for the Bethl Fire Dept I did a lot of research into this.

If you want further info, you can pm me.

[ENG47INE 17]

In Dobbs Ferry you can't take FF1 until your a FF and you can't be a FF until your 18. So in Dobbs Ferry it's 18 or older.

[16fire5 693]

In most parts of NY 16-17 years olds taking FF1 and more. This is the case here in Orange County where the county got an opinion from the state before allowing it. As far as minor goes I would be alot more weary legally of letting the 16 year olds perform dangerous functions than a 17 year old. Reasoning is allowing a 16 year old to perfom some of the dangerous functions on a fireground is technically by NYS law endangering the welfare of a minor because they are under the age of 17. Hope this helps. I'd like to know about that OSHA standard so I can look into that. The above advice was recieved from council that specializes in Fire and EMS law in NYS and is an officer in a central NY combination department.

[IzzyEng4 427]

Check your child labor laws in NY State, it should outline this question on firefighting and training. In CT it is 18 and no one under the age of 18 can be certified since they cannot take part of any live fire drills.

[Guest alsfirefighter]

Command Chief covered as far as NY State training and requirements of those under the age of 18.

I'm trying to figure out what your other question was in regard to FL vs NY and if FL has a good handle on what a FF1 should be. First NFPA 1001 outlines what a Firefighter 1 and Firefighter 2 curriculum should cover. I personally feel that NYS has a good grasp on what should be in each and it probably is more then what the current 78 hour FF 1 is. But every step of improving that curriculum when it increases in time of course gets met with complaints and mud slinging. When I became a certified firefighter in Virginia my FF 1 was 135 hours. That included 8 hours for HazMat Awareness and CPR training that was also required. No one is out there trying to make training for volunteers harder. The curriculums used in NYS are the same ones delivered at the academy to become what is a true NYS Certified Firefighter by the 229 standard.

Finally, I would like to know what experience you base that your instructors were "idiots." They had to know something to be doing what they are doing. Not digging you but just curious.