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Jump Start -- by Mark Sproxton
Wondering what life as a firefighter might be like, or the kind of
training they go through? If you're a Calgary high school student,
you can apply to see first-hand through a program offered by the
Calgary Fire Department and various Calgary school boards.
"This program gives youth an opportunity to explore the fire service
as a career option, and provides guidance to those working towards
becoming a firefighter," explained Kristin Hartman, fire cadet
co-ordinator.
The Fire Cadet program accepts 24 students each year, allowing them
to learn the technical and theoretical sides of fire suppression in
addition to earning school credits. A 250 word essay, and a
recommendation from a teacher are part of the application process.
Once accepted, the students become part of a three-level program,
each lasting 12 to 14 weeks. Students can apply to the program at any
time during high school as the courses run Wednesday for three hours
each night. All training takes place at the fire academy at 5727-23
Ave. S.E. Approximately twice as much time is spent on practical learning
as opposed to theoretical learning.
Cadets are instructed by qualified fire instructors and fire suppression /
medical staff. In turn, cadets help the department by
participating in numerous school career fairs, youth forums, and
other volunteer initiatives. The first class of fire cadets started
in September 2000.
Opportunities to take specific training, or take part in courses,
programs and real-life experiences that will help with applications
to EMS or fire departments are everywhere. Here are some ideas on
where to look for education/training, related associations, general tips, and job boards.
Education/training
Private companies and public institutions offer many opportunities
for people to gain the required training and education to certify in
any of the three levels emergency services provider available in
Alberta: emergency medical responder (EMR), emergency medical
technicians (EMTs or EMT As), and emergency medical technologists
(EMT-Ps or paramedics). All businesses or institutions offering such
programs must first be scrutinized and approved by the Alberta
College of Paramedics. Each business/institution will have its own
admission criteria.
EMR programs:
EMT - A programs:
EMT - P programs:
Firefighter training is available through The Alberta Fire Training School.
SAIT, in conjunction with Lakeland College in Vermilion, also offers an emergency services technician program that is a combination of
firefighting and emergency medical services study.
Associations
General tips
While this issue of nextSteps focusses heavily on the opportunities
available through the City of Calgary's EMS department, there are
also many employment possibilities in private businesses for
emergency medical workers.
Several companies in Calgary and area, such as Ward
Industrial Safety, hire those trained as emergency medical
responders, emergency medical technicians and paramedics. These
companies supply pre-hospital care to industrial projects such as oil
and gas pipeline construction, petrochemical plant shut-downs or
other large construction projects. Each business will have its own
employment criteria and job expectations. Some aviation companies
also provide air ambulance services, however, those companies
typically don't have their own medical staff.
- The Calgary Health Region also requires certified EMTs
to work in its paramedical patient transfer division either driving
ambulances taking patients from one institution to another, or
working in dispatch.
- Here are some of the traits, characteristics and skills the
Calgary Emergency Medical Services (EMS) department is looking for in
new members as it responds to over 70,000 emergency calls a year:
- independent thinkers
- mature
- care for people
- type A personality
- must have a life-long learning mentality as training and re-training
is the way things are done
- must be able to adapt to shift work (typically four days on, four
days off consisting of two day shifts and two night shifts)
- must be a good communicator
With an aging workforce and a growing city, EMS statistics shows
EMT-P (paramedics) has a 100 per cent job placement within six months
of graduation.
Job boards
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