Columbia Fire Department Looking for New Recruits

The Columbia Fire Department is now taking applications to fill about 50 firefighter vacancies.

The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. on August 7.

Read the full release below:

Columbia Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins announced today that the Columbia Fire Department is currently accepting applications for the positions of recruit firefighter.  We are in the process of filling our new advanced and standard recruit schools. 

Chief Jenkins stated that the Department is the largest in the state and is responsible for serving over 500,000 citizens within the City of Columbia and Richland County.  Firefighters respond to more than 30,000 emergency incidents per year from rural to densely urban areas.  Chief Jenkins continued to state that fully staffed the Columbia Fire Department has over 550+ personnel with 32 fire stations; which he says makes this fire department a rewarding and exciting career opportunity.

The Columbia Fire Department is looking to fill approximately 50 firefighter vacancies.  Our advanced program will consist of candidates that are South Carolina certified Firefighter I and/or Firefighter II.  Any candidate, which has received training from outside of South Carolina, wishing to apply to the advanced program must be granted equivalency/reciprocity from the South Carolina Fire Academy (SCFA).  For information on that process you can contact them at (803) 896-9800.  This program will last eight to ten weeks depending on the candidate’s level of training. 

The standard recruit school is for candidates that have no experience or experience that is not granted equivalency/reciprocity by the SCFA.  This program will run for 14 to 16 weeks and will bring the recruits to a trained level of FFII.

The application period is currently in progress and closes on August 7, 2013 at 5:00 pm.  All qualified candidates will be notified of the dates for the pre-qualification testing process once their application is received by the Fire Department.  This will be a progressive process based on minimum passing scores for each phase. 

Phases of the pre-qualification testing process include:

•  Application, to include a 10 year driving record from the State of residency and a background check from the leading law enforcement agency of the state of residency
• Written test on basic aptitude, testing reading and comprehension, basic mathematics, reasoning skills (Study guide available, link on the CFD website)
• Maze endurance testing (video available, link on the CFD website)
• Physical agility test (video available, link on the CFD website)

Those individuals that successfully complete these phases will have their application go before the application review board.  The review board will make a recommendation to the Fire Chief, Deputy Chief and Assistant Chief of those candidates that should move forward for the hiring interview.

To receive a Firefighter application visit or contact:

City of Columbia Human Recourses

1225 Lady Street

Columbia, S.C. 29201

803-545-3010

employment@columbiasc.net

Any questions that you may have can be e-mailed tocfdrecruitment@columbiasc.net.  For information on equivalency/reciprocity you can contact the Columbia Fire Department at 803-545-3704.