City of New Haven (CT) FD - FF/Medic

[jcoppola 52]

Firefighter

CITY OF NEW HAVEN

FIREFIGHTER

START DATE: JULY 13, 2009

REMOVAL DATE:

JULY 24, 2009

This position is subject to a non-refundable $50.00 application fee, (Money order only) made payable to Treasurer, City of New Haven. Fee may be waived in cases of hardship; see application packet for details.

This position also subject to a background, medical & drug testing upon conditional offer of employment.

Must be 18 yrs of age at time of application; HS grad or GED; Must have a valid CPAT Certificate dated no earlier than August 1, 2008. Must have a non-expired State of CT Paramedic License or be State of Ct license eligible; Must have non-expired, valid National Registry of EMTs Paramedic card. Must have Medical Control in good standing supported by a letter from the sponsor hospital where medical control issued OR you must be recently graduated from a recognized paramedic program supported by a letter from Course Director/Course Coordinator verifying graduation in good standing. Must meet all other min. requirements stated on job announcement as well as possess abilities & skills as stated in job description, and meet special requirements as stated in job description.

TO APPLY: Special application packet available at Dept of Human Resources, 200 Orange St, Mon Fri, 9 a.m. 5 p.m. OR may be downloaded from www.cityofnewhaven.com. Completed application packet & $50 application fee (or waiver) MUST be submitted to Dept of Human Resources and MUST be received no later than Friday, July 24, 2009, 5 p.m.

Completed applications accepted only at Dept of Human Resources, 200 Orange Street, Rm 102, New Haven CT 06510

For more info, call Dept of HR (203) 946-8252, 9:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m. Mon.-Fri. or visit website www.cityofnewhaven.com. Minority applicants encouraged to apply. EOE, M/F/D.

Could this be real that they are only accepting paramedics???

[99subi 121]

looks that way. guess i wont be taking that test

[medic25 0]

This is correct. The city is has a significant shortage of paramedics for its emergency units, and they are hoping to bring their staffing levels back up to par by recruiting current paramedics.

[nfd2004 750]

It certainly is becoming more apparent that a lot more depts are looking for Paramedic Certification. Anybody looking to get on the job as a Firefighter should seriously look into that. At least in Connecticut its becoming more of a trend. I"d guess that maybe half the depts that have given test recently have required it. I know in the dept I retired from, recently gave a test, and this was the "FIRST TIME" EMT was required. Also CPAT is a must and military service/college is favored. Not a bad idea to get a few of those Firefighter Exam books to practice with either. For anybody trying to get on the job, its a lot of work, but well worth it the day they swear you in. And remember, its not just passing all the test. Its about who scores the highest overall.

Another point is that these depts are not looking to hire a Chief. They are looking to hire a "Probie Firefighter". They aren"t looking for somebody to tell them how to run the dept. Based on my experience, being Honest and Humble will get you a lot farther. Best of Luck Guys. And don"t give up.

[Goose 188]

I really hope that this doesn't spur an increase in the number of medics being churned out of "paramedic mills" for the sake of jumping on an FD. That would be a net loss for everyone. I would hope they would specify some minimum experience as a paramedic and look favorably on applicants who went for the paramedic degree.

Edited July 12, 2009 by Goose

[lad45der 78]

How can a urban city fire department that has many different types of people of all walks of life hold a civil service test requiring a paramedic certification. I bet even in these times the city will only get 50 applicants.

[IzzyEng4 427]

The New Haven Fire Department was one of the first fire departments in CT to run first responders and then Paramedics, dating back to the 60's with what they called "First Aiders". A little back ground: Prior to the current set up of engine first responders and the two "Emergency" units, the city had three first responder EMT units and one paramedic unit. Engine companies were basically backup first responders and didn't cross district lines. When the department decided to re-organize the EMS sector of the department, they disbanded BLS emergency units and now they run medics on two emergency units and the engines run first responders crossing district lines.

There was an article in the New Haven Register that the department was looking to expand and hire more medics almost a year ago due to thier shortage. This was approved by the city when the funding became avaiable and the department has a great bunch of medics working for them.

Lad45der you would be suprised how many would take the test for New Haven and they can because they are looking for a specific group of people they need. And besides, tehre are a diverse group of paramedics that work for the different ambulance services that would be great in this job.

[x635 4,066]

Doesn't AMR cover New Haven?

[IzzyEng4 427]

Doesn't AMR cover New Haven?

AMR is contracted to transport for New Haven FD but Emergency Units 1 and 2 have transport capabilities (both are full ambulances staffed with a medic and EMT). 90% of the time AMR will transport the patient to the hospital and the NHFD medic may or may not ride in on the AMR rig on an assist, depending on the type of call and also if the AMR rig has a medic. NHFD will also transport a patient especially if it is one of thier own, a family member, police officer, first on scene depending on the call (ie as Code, pediatric trauma, ect. ect.ect.).

Now if an AMR rig is not available for transport, C-MED will notify the Emergency Unit and also New Haven ERS who will then contact the on duty Deputy Chief. Depending on the call and also any other incidents occuring, the Emergency Unit will decide if they want to transport or wait for a mutual aid ambulance to transport the patient. The majority of the time the Emergency Unit will transport the paitent unless its is a "very very very BLS" call or if there is a major incident occuring that the unit has to be freed up after the medical call has cleared.

The is one emergency unit assigned to each of New Haven's battalions (east & west) and are assigned on structure fires, extrications and HazMats. When at those incidents they are working medics for the incident.

There have been rumors circulating fo years now that NHFD wants to re-activate two more emergency units staffed with medics and they were also considering having paramedic engine companies.

[SageVigiles 1,194]

Its my understanding that one of the Squad companies is also an ALS rig.

[ajsbear 11]

Some college? And a certain department in Westchester does not even require a high school diploma.

[IzzyEng4 427]

Its my understanding that one of the Squad companies is also an ALS rig.

No, they are not a recognized paramedic responding unit. They are still classified as a BLS "heavy rescue". The last I knew there were members of the department that are on the Squads that are medics but there is no ALS gear on the rig itself. However wit the increase of medics in the department this could become a reality as well.

Sage if you listened to C-MED the Squads sign on as either 1-Alpha-18 or 3-Alpha-18 (Squad 1 for example, Squad 2 is "19"). The "1" designation is BLS first responder and the "3" is classified as a rescue unit. If they were a certified medic unit then the first part of the C-MED designations would be "5" which they are not permitted at this time to operate as through the New Haven Sponsor Hospital.

[IzzyEng4 427]

Some college? And a certain department in Westchester does not even require a high school diploma.

All positions for the City of New Haven has that in their applications.

[medic25 0]

If they were a certified medic unit then the first part of the C-MED designations would be "5" which they are not permitted at this time to operate as through the New Haven Sponsor Hospital.

This is actually nothing to do with Sponsor Hospital. The City of New Haven would have to apply to OEMS to add an additional ALS unit, which they have not expressed any desire to do.

[IzzyEng4 427]

This is actually nothing to do with Sponsor Hospital. The City of New Haven would have to apply to OEMS to add an additional ALS unit, which they have not expressed any desire to do.

Your right, just realized what I wrote. Was thinking of OEMS but Sponsor Hospital came out when I was typing. Thanks for the correction!

[IzzyEng4 427]

From today New Haven Register

City moves to fill need for certified paramedics

Published: Tuesday, July 14, 2009

By William Kaempffer, Register Staff

NEW HAVEN — The Fire Department is strapped for paramedics and the city, for the first time, is moving forward with a hiring exam restricted to people who already have certification.

For about a year, the city has been discussing a fire union-supported plan to offer a paramedics-only entry-level exam to help fill a growing number of positions.

http://nhregister.com/articles/2009/07/14/...eparamedics.txt

[TSull 33]

What seems like something new in the fire service of paramedic certification being required has been around for a long time. I have told a lot of the guys who talk to me about taking tests to: A- take as many test as possible (don't hang your hopes on one particular department hiring you) and B- to get your medic certification. It just makes you that much more marketable.

From today New Haven Register

http://nhregister.com/articles/2009/07/14/...eparamedics.txt