Blog Post: Career Interview: Battalion Chief

What’s a common misconception about the job?

Our job title is ‘firefighter’ but we spend 85-90% of our time doing something other than putting out fires.  We’re the first responders to car accidents, shootings, stabbings, or any other scene that calls for medical assistance.  But don’t get me wrong, putting out a fire is what we live for.

How many calls in a 24 hour time period do you receive? 

Anywhere from 24-32 calls.

How fast do you respond to a fire? 

Let’s put it this way: if you’re in the way, you’re going to get pushed out of the way.  We are quick.

What’s the ratio of female firefighters to males? 

There are 1700 sworn in firefighters.  About 60 of them are women.  I’m one of 4 battalion chiefs who is a woman out of 27 chiefs in the area.  And on any given day, there are 420 firefighters working, with 9 battalion chiefs on duty.

What’s a battalion chief do? 

The battalion chief exercises supervision over the fire captains and indirectly over the firefighters.  I’ll go out to the really big fires and report a status update to the assistant fire chief. But mainly, just direct, supervise, and manage the operations of this fire department.     

Does the state of the economy affect the number of fires reported? 

Yes.  The number of fires goes up in a bad economy.  The reason for that might be arson, we don’t really know.  Our job is to put out the fire, not figure out why it happened.  But with the number of foreclosures, you can always guess that the easy way out would be to set your house on fire.

What kind of requirements do you need to be a fireman? 

Everyone here is an EMT.  Emergency Medical Technician.  You need to be at least 18 years old.  You need your high school diploma or your GED.  A college degree is not required, but right now we’re going towards requiring a college degree down the line in the promotions process for battalion chief.  

How competitive is it to become a firefighter? 

Well, it took me two years to get my foot in the door.  It’s a long application process that can last around six months.  2,000-4,000 people apply for a dozen or so spots.  So it’s difficult and very competitive.  There’s a physical portion, oral interviews- you really have to want to become a firefighter and have that passion.

What’s the best part about being a firefighter? 

The people you work with.

What’s the most challenging part about being a firefighter? 

The people you work with.

Why?  

We’re literally like a family.  When I wake up in the morning, I think about coming here and being with everyone here.  Just coming here in the morning and cleaning and checking gear.  We have one of the guys cook lunch and dinner for everyone, which can be quite an ordeal for 18 guys.  We workout together, lift weights, play Xbox, basketball you name it.  But we do it all together.   

So that’s why it’s enjoyable, because what we do, we do together.  But we’re all very different.  We all come from different backgrounds.  We all have different political views.  The toughest time to be a fireman is during an election because everyone has their opinions, and you’re with each other for 24 hours.  We live in our stations for 24 hours at a time.  Then we’re off for 48 hours, and do it again.  So 24 on, 48 off.  But with each other all the time.  So that’s the challenging part, but also the reason why I love this job.  

Plus, being able to help someone out on one of the biggest days of their life.  Often the most painful day of their life.  Because maybe they lost a house.  Or maybe they were in a really bad accident.  And you’re there to help someone.  So that’s the rewarding part.

How long do fireman stay in their job? 

That’s another good part about the job.  This isn’t just a job where you try it out and then move on to something else.  Firefighters can retire after 20 years.  Most don’t.  Just because they love it so much, and love the people they work with so much.  Like I said, it would be like leaving your family.

Is the label ‘hero’ over-used? 

Yeah.  It is.  Because we're just doing our jobs.  We're just doing what we love to do. 

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