Role and Responsibilities
Under general supervision, performs various responsible fire service duties at an assigned fire station for the County's Fire and Rescue Department and performs skilled and technical work in rescuing victims and administering emergency medical to patients on site. Work involves performing various duties, including preventing, controlling and extinguishing fires; maintaining and servicing fire equipment, station houses, and grounds; and maintaining operational readiness of departmental vehicles and equipment. Employee is also responsible for operating a fire fighting vehicle in responding to fire alarms. Work also involves responding to the scene of emergency and non-emergency calls, applying necessary medical treatment to sick or injured persons, transporting persons to a medical facility. Employees are subject to the usual hazards of firefighting duties and emergency rescue work, including risk of exposure to infectious diseases. Reports to a Shift Captain.
Essential Job Functions
Duties may include, but are not limited to the following:
- Operates a fire fighting vehicle in responding to fire alarms; activates pagers for fire calls and proceeds to the scene of the fire; takes command of the fire scene until properly relived by superior; and performs fire suppression and fire rescue activities.
- Maintains and ensures the operational readiness of departmental vehicles and equipment; performs preventive maintenance tasks and scheduled testing of all firefighting apparatus; makes repairs to equipment and vehicles when necessary; and maintains fixed inventory.
- Prepares and maintains accurate records and reports; maintains vehicle and equipment maintenance records; prepares incident fire reports, training reports, and hydrant inspection reports.
- Performs fire station and grounds maintenance including sweeping, vacuuming, mowing grass, washing vehicle, etc.
- Responds to emergency calls; performs necessary rescue work; administers necessary emergency medical care requiring the use of suction units, immobilization equipment, Syringes and medications, and automatic cardiac/defibrillator monitors; requests dispatch of specially trained medical personnel, as necessary. Emergency Medical Technicians trained in approved training programs certified by the Department of Health - Bureau of Emergency Medical Services may perform any of the following procedures if allowed by the County Emergency Medical Services System in which they function:
- Basic life support techniques in accordance with the American Heart Association or American Red Cross including airway management and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
- Bandaging and dressing soft tissue injuries.
- Splinting fractures and dislocations.
- Treatment of injuries to the head, face, eye, neck and spine.
- Treatment of injuries to the chest, abdomen and genitalia.
- Provision of basic life support for medical injuries.
- Assisting in normal and abnormal childbirth.
- Treatment of injuries as a result of exposure to heat and cold.
- Lifting and moving patients for transfer to a medical facility; and
- Extrication of patients from confined areas.
- Responds to non-emergency calls, such as requests to transport patients from hospitals to their homes or from a local medical facility to a specialized medical center.
- Participates in a continuous training program to improve competence in medical clinical work and in ambulance service and operation; maintains knowledge of new or modified operational protocols and procedures; studies street and road patterns and networks of the County in order that future runs may be made with minimum difficulty and delay.
- Performs other job-related functions as required.
(The above information on this description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties or requirements of this position.)
Qualifications and Education Requirements
Graduation from high school and 1 to 2 years of experience in fire protection; or any equivalent combination of training and experience which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Knowledge of the operating characteristics and service requirements of equipment and apparatus used in firefighting, fire prevention, rescue operations and hazardous material response;
- Knowledge of the hazards involved in emergency response operations and of the applicable safety precautions;
- Knowledge of street layout, subdivisions, buildings and the location of fire hydrants in the County;
- Knowledge of departmental policies, procedures, rules and regulations;
- Knowledge of emergency medical procedures and techniques;
- Knowledge of equipment and supplies employed in the emergency care of patients and victims of accidents;
- Knowledge of County geography and of the location of roads and streets within the County;
- Knowledge of procedures of extrication, movement of patients, rescue techniques, transportation and psychological needs of a patient;
- Knowledge of radio communications equipment;
- Skill in diagnosing a victim's condition and applying emergency medical care;
- Ability to respond quickly and calmly to emergency situations;
- Ability to operate and care for assigned emergency response apparatus and equipment;
- Ability to exercise initiative in meeting and resolving emergency situations;
- Ability to analyze situations quickly and correctly and adopt effective courses of action with regard to surroundings and circumstances;
- Ability to lift substantial weight;
- Ability to understand and follow oral and written instructions;
- Ability to maintain routine activity reports;
- Ability to effectively express ideas orally and in writing;
- Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships as necessitated by work assignments; and
- Ability to perform prolonged and arduous work under adverse conditions when required.
Additional Requirements
Physical Requirements: Must be physically able to operate a variety of machinery and equipment including driving a fire truck, and operating such firefighting equipment as pumps, ladders, air compressors, self-contained breathing apparatus, two-way radios, emergency medical equipment, etc. Requires ability to ascend and descend ladders, stairs, scaffolding, ramps, poles, etc., using feet or hands and arms. Requires ability to maintain body equilibrium to prevent falling when: walking; standing; bending; stooping; crouching; or running on narrow, slippery or erratically moving surfaces. Must be able to exert up to 150 pounds of force occasionally and/or up to 50 pounds frequently, and/or a 10 pounds of force constantly to move objects. The job is rated as very heavy work.
Data Conception: Requires the ability to compare and/or judge the readily observable, functional, structural, or composite characteristics (whether like or divergent from obvious standards) of data, people or things.
Interpersonal Communication: Requires the ability to speak and/or signal people to convey or exchange information. Includes receiving instructions, assignments or directions from superiors.
Language Ability: Requires the ability to read a variety of reports, correspondence, charts, forms, maps etc. Requires the ability to prepare correspondence, reports, forms, etc., using prescribed formats. Requires the ability to speak to people with poise, voice control and confidence.
Intelligence: Requires the ability to apply principles of rational systems to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists; to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in oral, written, diagrammatic or schedule form.
Verbal Aptitude: Requires the ability to record and deliver information, to explain procedures, to follow oral and written instructions. Must be able to communicate effectively and efficiently in a variety of technical or professional languages including emergency response codes, and fire and medical terminology.
Numerical Aptitude: Requires the ability to utilize mathematical formulas; to add and subtract; to multiply and divide; to utilize percentages and decimals.
Form/Spatial Aptitude: Requires the ability to inspect items for proper length, width, and shape.
Motor Coordination: Requires the ability to coordinate eyes and hands rapidly and accurately in using firefighting and medical equipment and hand tools.
Manual Dexterity: Requires the ability to handle a variety of items such as firefighting equipment and hand tools. Must have levels of eye/hand/foot coordination.
Color Discrimination: Requires the ability to differentiate between colors and shades of color.
Interpersonal Temperament: Requires the ability to deal with people beyond giving and receiving instructions. Must be adaptable to performing calmly under stress and when confronted with persons who are acting under stress. Must be able to perform multiple tasks with simultaneous demands under conditions of stress.
Physical Communications: Requires the ability to talk and hear. (Talking: expressing or exchanging ideas by means of spoken words. Hearing: perceiving the nature of sounds by ear). Must be able to communicate via telephone and two-way radio.
(Reasonable accommodations will be made in accordance with existing ADA requirements for otherwise qualified individuals with a disability.)
This job description is not intended to be and should not be construed as an all-inclusive list of all the responsibilities, skills, or working conditions associated with the position. While it is intended to accurately reflect the position activities and requirements, management reserves the right to modify, add, or remove duties and assign other duties as necessary. This job description does not constitute a written or implied contract of employment.
