FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q. What’s the difference between a Call Firefighter and a Volunteer?
A. Not much. Both volunteer firefighters and call firefighters serve their communities by responding to the station when an incident occurs. Call Firefighters are paid a hourly rate for their time instead of volunteering their hours. Call and Volunteer Firefighters protect 70% of land in the US.
Q. Would I be assigned shifts to work?
A. Call Firefighters are expected to respond to incidents whenever they are available. We understand jobs and families can impact availability at times.
Q. Who can be a call firefighter?
A. If you have the desire to serve, you can be a call firefighter. Two out of five Firefighters that join the fire service today are females, the stigmas that firefighting is a "mens only club" no longer exist and females are a valuable part of the fire service team. Even recent high school grads or college students that might be looking to learn a new career field, becoming a call firefighter is a great place to start. We are also always looking for people who might have day time availability such as those working from home, self employed, night shift workers.
Q. What does a call firefighter do?
A. A call firefighter is given a pager or a phone app to receive dispatches. When tones go out you will receive an alert with the location of the incident. You will then arrive at the station and go to the location of the incident. Calls vary between alarm activations at business, accidents, medicals assistance, structure fires, brush fires, etc.
Q. Do you need any experience?
A. You don’t need any prior experience in emergency services; you will receive the training you need when you join the department.
Q. Do call firefighters receive compensation?
A. Yes call firefighters get paid for attending calls, trainings, and meetings.
Q. What kind of training will I receive?
A. On top of station training available each month, recruit firefighters may be sent to an academy to earn their Firefighter I&II certification.
Q. What happens if I’m at my full-time job or at an event and can’t make the call?
A. You are not expected to attend every call, but when available it is encouraged to make it.
Q. Will I have to buy my own gear?
A. Gear will be provided for you which includes turnout coat, pants, helmet, hood, gloves, helmet, and face shield.
Q. Are there physical requirements?
A. There are no physical requirements, but all firefighters are encouraged to keep themselves in good physical condition. Firefighting can be a very physically demanding profession. With a pack on all turnout gear, tools, and hose a person can be wearing 70-100lbs of equipment while performing physically demanding movements. The Leicester Fire Department does have a gym in its new headquarters station that is available to all department members to use.
Q. Where does fire training take place?
A. Depending on which station you are assigned to there will be in house training at the station along with three company training at headquarters
Q. Are there any pre-requirements before applying for the role of an on-call firefighter?
A. To be eligible to be an on-call firefighter you must live or work within 10 minutes of the nearest station to your home
Q. How many fire stations are there in Leicester
A. There are three stations which consist of Company 1 at LFD Headquarters, Company 2 in Cherry Valley, and Company 3 in Rochdale.
Q. What is the minimum age to apply?
A. Applicants have to be 18 years or older to apply
Q. I am currently a serving firefighter for another department. Can I transfer in?
A. Yes, in fact many firefighters work for more than one department.
Leicester Fire Department Employment Application
