THIS Is Why Recruits FAIL

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[dupont]

I have been in the fire service 35 years and I remember my first ever instructor.

He walked into the class room, stood in front of the class for 2 minutes….He introduced himself and said….” If you want to pass the written exam, read the book, if you want a long and productive career in the fire service meet me at the burn building with all your gear in 10 minutes” he walked out.

He never yelled at us once his entire time as an instructor. We did no PT, he put us in fire gear day one and had us do fire ground evolutions all day for 7 hours, that was our workout.

The second week he introduced us to the same evolutions in fake smoke, the third week he introduced real smoke, the fourth week he introduced high heat and heavy smoke conditions…etc

He trained us to be Firefighters, not marines, once the high heat, fire, and heavy smoke conditions were introduced we were already in fire fighting shape and were able to handle it, moving lines, searching, forcible entry, communicating, working as teams, all of it was second nature by the 5th and 6th weeks.

It’s the same model I have used for years to train my probies, it works!

I will be forever grateful to that instructor!

Stockton CA also has great videos on their training and orientation for their recruits.

[jadenteel]

In my academy right now… got a guy who is 41, it’s never too late!

[lizardfirefighter]

Well, her is my two cents: A few tips and philosophy acquired working in the fire service for 34 years.
Being a firefighter is a way of life. You always think safety and what might go wrong. You always prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Keep your skills up, don’t allow them to parish just because you haven’t needed them for awhile. Always try to perfect your craft.
Always strive to learn mor about fire behavior and firefighting strategies. Practice your knots while watching TV. Don’t just know how to tie a knot, know how to use it and when to use it. Always keep your SCBA on during overhaul if you go home with black boogers then you screwed up. If your the drive, learn to drive with your coat on - because you may not have time to put it on upon arrival. As a driver you should be able to have your SCBA on for show time in a minute or less. 42 second after setting the brake for me.

Take your health seriously, your going to need it after you retire. Eat real food. Keep hydrated, exercise on average no less than 20 minutes per day. Take showers after a fire, keep your PPEs clean and in good order. Consider a cold shower after a warm shower. Avoid all the sweets that end up in the kitchen. Learn breath control like box breathing and skip breathing. Focus on your brain, heart, liver and colon health. You have got to get sleep when you can. Sleep is when your body clears away the toxic waste that builds up around your mitochondria. Keep your boots shinny. Keep your finger nails clean. Wear safety glasses and gloves on medical calls. Lift with your legs not your back.
The idea is to still be healthy when you retire. The fire service takes its toll on the brain, heart, live, colon and prostate and breasts. Show up to work 15 minutes early. Have some coffee and get your pass over. Always, check the portable batteries. Lives are in the balance and a high battery level is important. The engine has bodily fluids that must be checked to insure a positive outcome. Don’t rely on the other shift! Keep your engine and tools pristine.
Keep your strength up, your team relies on you.

Avoid heated discussions about parenting, religion and politics with team members.
Well, hopefully there is some value with my post.
Well, there it is in a nut shell😂😂😂 Many things I had to learn the hard way.

[INFECTION]

2 months left in my academy. I'm 32 in a class with mostly 18-24 year olds. I started bottom physically and now I'm close to top 10. Growth mindset and never willing to give up has taken me a long ways.

[zlkii]

I have a guy in my academy thats 56 years old. And he is absolutely smashing the physical part. It's never too late to chase your dreams

[davidalanbasche]

Just passed FF1 at the Suffolk County Fire Academy at the tender young age of…53. Oldest in my class. It was absolutely one of the hardest things I’ve ever done mentally and physically - I’m in great shape but it pushed me to the edge. And, it gave me an even deeper respect for all first responders. I’m motivated, dedicated, and most of all grateful to the instructors who were tough but also wanted us to succeed and be able to serve. Thanks for the great videos!

[aarontraynham]

Have my first shift with my local fire department on Friday. Thank you for all the helpful videos. I do not think I would have done nearly as well as I did on the panel interview without your help.

[kill-shot]

The Fire academy i attended was rough. We got yelled at and our asses handed to us every day. It had a reputation of being the most difficult in central Florida. When I was done, I noticed a huge respect for those that came through my school. Guys would come from all over the station to shake my hand!!!!

[glennhaskell]

I'm 42 and been in for 20 years. We have physical testing every year and they lower the standards as you get older. I tell my guys that I should be held to the same standards they are. We are all doing the same job. When you can't keep up with these young guys, it's time to move on cause they deserve to have someone that is able to pull them out if they ever go down.

[hawktalk]

I start academy for fulltime company work at the end of March. I'm 33. Failed my CPAT the first time, passed it the second time. Your content was been so inspirational on my long journey into the fire service from training for the CPAT to the Chief's interview. Thank you, Mike.

[dylananderson]

I have my first interview on March 8th, thanks for all your advice and knowledge. I’d say you’re meeting your goal to give back to the fire service.

[kaillantz]

I got in at 28, end my 6 month probation tomorrow! Appreciate your videos man!

[bigholli]

I will say. I think my military service, and receiving that type of conditioning in boot camp prepared me to not get stressed out. Took away any thin skin.

[DPekk]

I got in the "academy" at age of 33. Before you got accepted and sent to school we had to pass physical test:
1.5 mile run under 11:00
min 5 pull ups without pause
min 25 squats with 30 kg load under 1 minute
min 30 sit ups under 1 minute
min 30 push ups under 1 minute
swimming 150 m under 3:45
Elbows above water for at least 1 minute
Minor tasks with tools (sawing, drilling etc.) to see your practical skills

After you pass this you need to go through few psychological tests and then you are sent to academy for 6 months (more than 900 hours of training, theory + practice drills)

When you are accepted you still have physical test every year for the rest of your career.

Greetings from Slovenia

[kevlarburrito]

Speaking as a war veteran, fire fighters better physically train like we do. That instills the discipline, camaraderie, and physicality required. But, there is, in my opinion, where the similarities should end.

The only thing I think the entirety of the emergency field needs to seriously stop doing, is treating their jobs like they're fighting a war. You're saving lives, not destroying an enemy. They are two different mindsets and this country has a bad habit of seeing every struggle like it's a war and they're soldiers in the trenches. It's not. You aren't. Just as we aren't fire fighters, emts, police officers, or any other of the multitudes of roles.

[Infantry]

Hey man not sure if you recall me commenting on your videos a while back about applying for the academy. Well today was graduation! It's been an awesome experience and I wanna thank you for all the helpful tips that got me hired.

[quiet_benzy]

As a marine, I’m glad firefighters are trained “like marines”. Prepares future firefighters for the dangerous ahead

[FastMellow]

I don't think many future firefighters really realize that a burning building is a dangerous environment. I think it is a very dangerous precedent that some departments are lowering standards to meet certain political quota's. But this isn't limited to various public services, but also in the business world. I get a lot of applicants that should never been allowed to graduate in IT. Universities have lowered that standards to such a degree, that local colleges provide better programmers and designers. Many of these students should apply for a refund!

[datboitreyy]

I attended LSU Feti in Louisiana and I noticed that a major part of the academy that weeded a lot of recruits out was when we were blacked out with zero visibility and put in training exercises like the maze, a few recruits actually quit the academy because they couldn’t handle it. Recruit academy is very physically demanding but also mentally demanding too, a strong mental mindset going in is a huge factor into successfully finishing the academy.

[stevemockoviak]

Even though I was on a volunteer fire department, there were very rigorous tests we had to pass to show we could do the job. Most of the departments around us were paid staff, so we had to interact with them more often than not. Pride in our department helped us to be recognized by those paid guys as though we were one of them. And I credit that to our rigorous and military like training that prepared us to go above and beyond on every call.