What can my husband do to prepare to apply for a firefighter position?

His Angel: What can my husband do to prepare to apply for a firefighter position?
My husband wants to apply for a firefighter position when he returns from Iraq. What can he do in the meantime to prepare for it?
Besides strength training…he does that everyday in Iraq.

Answers and Views:

Answer by backseatboy_03
Hey, yeah im in the military too so here is my answer for him. it depends on what state you want to be a fire fighter in.. but for the most part you can go to any book store and bye a study guide for the exams. also stay in really good shape, im a fire fighter onboard ship and you have to be in great shape.. but the big thing is just study the fire fighters exam book.

Answer by Ellen J
Because there is so much physical activity involved in being a fireman he should work out to increase his strength. Also, it would help if he knew something about math, chemistry, and physics because he will need at least a basic knowledge in these to get through the academy studies.

Answer by hobbs1833
There are online classes offered by the College of Dupage in Illinois that can prepare him from some material. The best thing for him to do is visit the Firehouse(s) and get to know the other firefighters-this may help him immensely when it comes time to choose between two like candidates. Ask if he can observe training evolutions-most insurance for the department will NOT allow him to actively participate, but watching is generally OK. Ask if there is a junior fire-explorer program he can help out in.

Know the area for where he is going to apply.

If he is coming off active duty or is separating from service and has suffered any injury, the best advice I can give is claim VA disability even as little as ten percent will put him WAY beyond other candidates right from the start.

Go to half.com and look for firefighter text books or if you plan on being in the district ask the school/academy what textbook they use and IF the book is coming up for review soon. Most places change books every two years so you don’t want to waste money on a book that is not going to be used.

While he is in country he can meet with firefighters over in Iraq. KBR and Wackenhut has thousands of FF in country right now and he could possibly get more access to training and stuff that they have to complete over there as well.