Essex Fire and Rescue looking for the brave at heart

 

Essex Fire department are hiring and they are looking for recruits that can handle a little more than the scorching temperatures of a fire.

The department is looking for eight recruits to fill positions at the three local fire stations. According to Rick Arnel, Chief of Fire of the Essex Fire Departments, only about 10 per cent of the job consists of fighting fires.

“Understandably you hear the word fire and you think fire is the main thing we do,” said Arnel. “We go out and assist people in some of the worst situations they can be in, some of the things (people) don’t understand are smoke alarms and CO2 alarms, we go out and have the conversation with them, make sure they know what’s going on.”

According to the Ministry of the Solicitor General, half a million incidents were reported to Fire Rescue Services in Ontario in 2017. Of those cases, 10,296 were fires resulting in a loss (The Solicitor General considers loss to be injury, fatality or loss of money).

“What we’re looking for in a new recruit is just a genuine person that wants to be able to help out the community,” said Arnel. “All the training we do, all the attributes that come with that, we’ll provide and train each individual.”

Arnel says it is important recruits are eager to assist in the community because community assistance is what the job entails.

In order to become a firefighter in Ontario you must pass an exam for proper certification in order to be verified as qualified, then you must pass a medical examination. The qualification test is taken online, to learn more about the exam visit, www.firefighters-exam.com.

The deadline for this recruitment period is Fri. Feb. 7.