Historical Fires

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Page updated on 30th December 2007

* Note: The information supplied below is general information which is applicable mainly to the fire services in the Republic of Ireland. Please read it carefully before you e-mail me as it may answer your questions and save you some time. You can also visit the recruitment section of the forum to view more information or ask a question. Good luck!

• Organisation of the fire service
• Recruiting Process
• General requirements
• Remuneration (pay)
• General advice
• The Aptitude Tests
• The Personality Profile
• The Interview
• The Physical tests
  
  

The Fire Service falls into 3 categories: -

Full-time Firefighters
Employed where there is a need for a full-time brigade such as in the bigger cities like Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway. A list of fulltime stations is on side bar panel.

Retained Firefighters
Employed in rural areas along with small towns and villages. Paid a yearly retaining fee (every 3 months) as well as on a per call basis. Alerted for a call via pagers. Usually self employed and local as they need to respond within 3 to 5 minutes.

Full-time Fire Prevention Officers
These are recruited at graduate level usually being qualified engineers, architects or surveyors. Their work in the fire prevention of fires involves surveying buildings under construction and existing buildings to ensure fire safety regulations are being adhered to. They can also be called in at a major fire where a coordinator is required to oversee certain operations. In Dublin Fire Brigade Fire prevention officers are of District Officer level with the majority operating soley as fire prevention 9-5pm staff who are civilians with the appropriate academic qualifications. The others are operational District Officers who transfer from operational fire duties to Fire prevention for a number of years and work primarily at night checking pubs and clubs etc.

Each local authority is responsible for the fire service in their area. Dublin City Council is responsible for Dublin's city and county fire service and you should apply to them as the employer if you are interested in looking for a job as a firefighter / E.M.T. in Dublin.
Local authority requirements for employment differ so check with the relevant local authority.

Recruiting Process
For new firefighters the brigade (Local Authority) requiring recruits will advertise the positions in the local and national newspapers. You generally have one month to get the application form and return it with your filled in details. Some authorities also advertise on their websites with Dublin City Council having the form online and the only way of of replying to the advertisement.
In order to have a good chance of finding out when they are advertising you should if possible have a number of people in the service keeping track of news / rumours!
Have friends, relatives constantly checking papers etc. and let them know that they should contact you if they see anything. 
From time to time telephone the human resources department of the local authority that runs the fire brigade you are interested in and ask them when they are advertising next.
Finally check the forum on this site for info and leave some information on the forum if you find out anything first.

Concerning retained recruitment this is usually done on a local level via a number of different ways. Newspapers, flyers, etc. Go down to the local station on a training night and ask them about the job details and also contact the local authority.

As of 2003 and on many retained brigades are finding it extremely difficult to recruit new members so if you think you have what it takes and can dash off at the drop of a hat then check out your local authority.

Transferring Within the Irish Fire Service
If you are already a fulltime firefighter in Ireland then there is the chance to transfer to another fulltime brigade as this has been done before on a number of occaisons. As yet though there is no formal procedure set up and it's up to you to contact your Chief Fire Officer and set the ball rolling for them to contact the brigade you are interested in. Ideally a mutual swap means that your brigade does not lose a person they have spent thousands training and therefore your Chief would be more open to the idea.

If transferring to Dublin please note all firefighters are trained paramedics / EMTS and you will be required to do the Paramedic EMT course to become one and you will as part of your duties be rotated from fire to ambulance duties.
As a retained firefighter transferring to another retained brigade obviously you would need to move house to be able to respond within the required turnout time. As above you should contact the Local Authority which runs the service and make enquires.
Most brigades willl also require you to go through some familiarisation course to be able to work smoothly within the brigade you are applying for as each briagde will vary slightly in their protocols and level of training.

Transferring or Joining from Another Country
Again like the above no brigade to my knowledge has a set procedure for employing a person who is already a firefighter in their own country. You need to contact the Human Resource section and the Chief Fire Officer of the brigade you are interested in joining (see links below) . Remember being a small country we do not have many fulltime brigades and we have 37 different Local Authorities which run them! Most people joining a brigade have themselves only been in one for a few years and therefore most Authorities would require you to go through the full recruit course again in particular if your country had a different operating methods. You should ask some questions on the forum as well as people from that brigade may be able to assist you. In short it's down to you to contact the brigade and Authority that runs the brigade to see if they are open to the idea.

General Requirements
Candidates should be of good character and be able to supply references as required by their employers. They must be free from any defect or disease which would render them unsuitable "for duty" and be in a state of health, decided by the corporation, to render regular and efficient service.
They must have the physical capacity to undertake all fire service duties and their strength will be assessed by undertaking tests on various machines such as on their hand grip and leg back pull strength on a load cell dynamometer.
The age requirement is above 18 with no height restriction.
Eyesight, hearing and a list of various diseases and conditions are also areas in which the candidate must be acceptable.

Educational Standard (Limerick Corporation)
Each candidate must have obtained a grade D (or a pass) in five subjects including Mathematics and English in the Junior Certificate or it's equivalent. Additional marks can also be given to those with any of the following:
A higher educational qualification (e.g. leaving certificate)
Experience of driving heavy vehicles.
Technical or trades training (e.g. electrician)
Civil Defence Auxiliary Fire Service training.
The applicant must also hold a full class B (car) driving license.

Remuneration (full-time)
It is a full-time pensionable job with retirement at age 55.
Current wage scale as of November 2003 from €387.94 to €640.00. In Dublin this rises by increments every year for the first seven then at the start of year 13 you get your first long service increment and then on year 21 you receive a second LSI.
There are also meal, weekend and night work allowances. The initial probation period is twelve months and there are 21 days annual leave and sick pay.
Firefighters in Dublin also operate the emergency ambulance service and rotate from firefighter to ambulance duties. Those stationed in DFB headquarters in Tara Street as well as other stations with control rooms would also operate these on a rota basis depneding on local arrangements.

The training in Dublin for an Paramedic is currently seven weeks full-time in addition to fire training and a minimum of number of hours after going operational for a period of time on the ambulance as a part of the requirement for the Department of Health Paramedic. certification. (this is currently under negotiation so l cannot give a definitive answer yet but it stands at 880 at the time of writing) You travel as a third person working with the ambulance crew for a few weeks and then go fully operational taking notes and a diary of all your cases for return to the Department of Health.

General advice.
Firefighting by its very nature is a dangerous job requiring responsibility and commitment to both your colleagues and the public. Both the lives of the people you are rescuing and your colleagues whom you may be backing up, depend on you doing a good job.
I have to say this because you must see past the so called glamour and excitement of the job to it's real role and decide if you are prepared to give your best. If that's you then great here is my advice.
 

• It is very rare for people just out of school to be taken into the brigade. Most people are on average around 23-27 years of age. This is because they have seen a bit more of the world and are somewhat more mature. It should be noted that people as old as 42 have joined the brigade as a recruit so don't rule yourself out.
• Regardless of the above apply as soon as possible as many people only get the job the second time around and you will obtain experience just going for it. Who knows you may get it!
• Anyone who has a trade such as a electrician, carpenter has a great advantage. They have shown that they can work with their hands as well as the ability to study and learn.
• Other areas where prior experience can be gained are a volunteer fire service such as the Civil Defence Auxiliary Fire Service or in the Army, FCA (Territorials in Northern Ireland) mountain rescue, lifeboats, ambulance volunteer or otherwise.. These qualify as extra points on a candidates form.

The Aptitude test.

This varies from brigade to brigade and from year to year however several factors remain the same. First try and find out what the format will be based on previous years. Usually the tests are speed and accuracy based, using word association, numerical ability, spatial relationships and mechanical reasoning. These l find are only difficult if you don't practice. It is not how many questions you get done, it is how many questions you get done correctly in the time allowed.

The aptitude test for Dublin in 2007 consisted also of various observation tests. Several one minute videos were shown and candidates were required to answer questions on them, from what was in the room, colour and position of objects and questions on the subject e.g. answer questions on fire safety after watching a video. It's important to answer the questions based on what you actually heard / saw rather than any prior knowledge you have about the subject as assumption is the mother of all ^***&^&((!

Borrow some books from the library, buy some puzzle books etc. and get practicing in the weeks before you are due to sit the exam. As l have told many people, those who want the job will do the work and it will show in who passes the test. Remember it does not matter how great you are and what qualifications or experience you have if you cannot pass this section so prepare for it. 

If you are interested in preparing for the aptitude test then a good course is run by www.testpreparations.ie . The instructor is more than familiar with Dublin Fire Brigade and adapts the course as the test itself does change from time to time. If you do the course then let others know how you get on through the forums.

The Personality profile
This was introduced by Dublin Corporation for the recruit selection process in January 2001.
It consisted of 144 questions with five possible choices of answer from strongly disagree to strongly agree. There was about 30 different questions which were repeated in a number of ways in order to assess the consistency of the answers the individual gave.

Tasks / Team work
Again a new section in Dublins recruit process candidates were broken up into groups of 5. Each of the people in the group were given a topic to talk about and 5 minutes to make notes before speaking about it. The rest of the group were required to discuss the topic. 3 examiners were present.

The second part of the test was an individual manual dexterity task removing nuts and bolts and reassembling them on a different piece of wood.

The Interview

• There are plenty of good books regarding interviews so check them out. The panel will ask you questions on any previous experience such as teamwork ,skills related experience etc. If you have some don't be afraid to talk about it in a positive way as it will lead to more questions from the interviewers showing you up in a good light hopefully and keeping them away from any negative questions.
• If the interview is broken down into sections e.g.teamwork, communications, decision making etc. then have examples of those areas from your past experiences ready to discuss with the interviewers.
• E.g. if you worked with other people then was it teamwork and how did you contribute etc.
• Rule number one is no spoofing if you don't know say so. They can spot it a mile off. Remember if they can't even trust you in an interview they are hardly likely to recommend you for the job.
• Speak up and project confidence, and be ready to answer as to why you want this job and why it should go to you.

Tests

• Beside the strength tests which are mentioned above there are other tests which you may be given to assess your suitability. One of these is the height test which may be climbing a 13.5M ladder or similar taking a leg lock and leaning back with both arms outstretched.
• A second one is for confined spaces where a blacked out breathing apparatus mask without the set is placed on your head and you are sent through a series of narrow tunnels.

Please note that the Irish Fire Services Resource web administrator does not hire people and has no links to an individual brigade or employer i.e. l can't get you a job sorry!

Related Pages
Job Requirements | Local Authorites | Dublin Fire Brigade