December 3, 1998
TC recruit test fast and tough
By Garret Leiva
Herald staff writer
A job interview can be a stressful- if not a downright trying event.
First there is the sweaty palm interview followed by a multiple page aptitude test that wears down your recall memory and #2 pencil. Oh, and don't forget the 100 foot hose drag and lugging a 125 pound rescue dummy up three flights of stairs.
Of course, dealing with stress and stressful situations is what being a firefighter is all about. For the 10 recruits vying to get their name on a list of potential employees with the Traverse City Fire Department, dressing for Monday's test at the fire hall on Front Street didn't mean donning a three piece suit. It did, however, require a turnout coat, pants, boots and close to 50 pounds of safety gear - including a SCBA breathing apparatus.
Offered every two years, recruit testing consists of a civil service examination and a 11 station "pass/fail" agility course said Lt. Tim Geis of the Traverse City Fire Department. Those that successfully complete the rigorous testing are placed on a list in the order they finish and the top five are brought back for an interview if a job opening comes available within the department.
While Monday's test-takers are labeled recruits, most were anything but raw. Even to be considered a candidate, an applicant must first meet firefighter level one, level two or paramedic requirements.
"The minimum application requirements have been raised because being a firefighter today requires having highly specialized training in advance life support," said Geis, who noted that when he took the exam several years ago 300 candidates applied.
While recruits are prepared as firefighters or paramedics, some found their training slightly off the stopwatch's pace. Undeniably the toughest section of the one-day test, 10 of the agility stations must be performed non-stop in 8 minutes.
Starting with a 100 foot fire hose drag, recruits must complete a number of agility events while wearing full fire fighting gear. Included in the timed test is swinging an 8 pound sledge hammer 20 times, carrying a 40 pound fire hose across a balance beam, climbing through a window and carrying a hose up 6 flights of stairs. Station number 10 is perhaps the most physically challenging, as recruits must find a rescue dummy in a darkened basement room and then carry the 115 to 125 pound dummy out the exit door and up three flights of the outside stairwell.
After catching their breath - but within 10 minutes - candidates must complete a continuous climb to the top of an 85 foot aerial ladder and return to the ground. The last station is an untimed event rated on a "pass/fail" basis.
For some recruits like firefighter/paramedic Pat Streets, the day ends with aching lungs and the heartache of lost precious seconds.
"It's good work. I just hadn't really prepared well for this one and it caught up to me right toward the end," said the Saginaw resident who tested at the Traverse City site two years ago. "I also stumbled once off the balance beam and that cost me probably 15-20 seconds dinking around trying to get back on."
While he passed the agility course with seconds to spare, Lansing resident Matt Sehlke agreed that the rescue dummy almost cost him as well.
"It's at the end and you're already gassing. There is just not an easy way to carry it," said the City of Dewitt firefighter/paramedic, who remarked that the Traverse City test was the toughest he had ever taken.
Despite the dummy's deadweight, a throbbing heart rate and maxed out muscles, taking that last step up the outside stairwell is all that matters. After all, you only have eight minutes to make a lasting impression.
"I just kept in mind that you've got to get through it no matter what," Sehlke noted. "There is always time to rest afterwards."