Lead Firefighter (Basic Life Support)

Clarification from the agency

See "Who May Apply" in the "Qualifications" section for more information on who is eligible to apply for this position.

• Provide leader duties for a fire crew responding to routine and emergency operations.
• Operate a variety of major motorized firefighting equipment, including structural, crash, and brush firefighting vehicles.
• Direct personnel and equipment available in any or all sections of the department.
• Perform as firefighter to protect life and property in response to all types of fires and other emergencies, including burning structures, small and fixed wing with some larger aircraft, hazardous material, etc.
• Perform initial and on-going focused patient assessment and physical examination.
• Performs fire prevention inspections of low and moderate hazard facilities, performs pre-fire planning risk assessment, analyzes requests for burn permits, etc.

Conditions of employment

• Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• This position requires the completion of pre-employment and periodic subsequent medical examination in accordance with DoDM 6055.06 to ensure continued, required level of physical health and ability or fitness to perform the duties of the position.
• This position has a requirement to lift up to 50 lbs. in the regular performance of duties.
• The duties of this position meet the criteria for compliance with Federal and Department of the Army Drug Free Workplace Programs. Detection of the presence of drugs is warranted.
• This position is subject to a pre-employment screening, and random testing thereafter, to include testing based on reasonable suspicion and testing due to direct involvement with an on-duty accident.
• This position requires shift work to provide coverage on evenings, weekends, holidays, or special situations. Employee shifts are rotated on a regularly scheduled basis; 48-hour rotating shifts with a work schedule of 144 hours per pay period.
• Due to the nature of this position, employees are required to work both planned and unscheduled overtime. This position performs, as required, mutual aid support to local fire departments.
• The duties of this position require the incumbent to possess or obtain and maintain a valid state Driver's License in one of the 50 U.S. states or possessions to operate vehicles.
• This position requires successful completion of an annual Job Performance Test.
• This position requires participation in a cardiovascular physical fitness program.
• Incumbent must wear a uniform and safety apparel in accordance with established policies and procedures.
• Incumbent is subject to periodic (e.g. annual) medical examinations following appointment to determine fitness for continued performance of the duties of the position.
• Incumbent is required to report for duty during inclement weather, Natural Disasters, and other emergency situations as directed by the Fire Chief and may be required to remain on duty after the official shift ends, i.e.,
• mandatory overtime; recall to duty.
• Incumbent must maintain a functioning telephone at residence to aid in contact during recall situations.
• A Emergency Vehicle Operators certification is required to operate all vehicles assigned to the Fire Protection and Prevention Division.
• Within the first year of occupying the position, incumbent must obtain and then continue to maintain National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) Wildland Firefighter Type II Red Card Certification.
• Appointment to this position is subject to a one year probationary period unless the appointee has previously met the requirements as described in 5 CFR Part 315.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: Only applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job. You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected. See Proof of Eligibility for an extensive list of document requirements for all employment authorities.

• 30 Percent or More Disabled Veterans
• Current Department of Army Civilian Employees
• Domestic Defense Industrial Base/Major Range and Test Facilities Base Civilian Personnel Workforce
• Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan
• Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act
• Military Spouses, under Executive Order (E.O.) 13473
• Non-Appropriated Fund Instrumentality (NAFI)
• Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Reserve (MR) and National Guard (NG) Technician Eligible
• Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Spouse Preference (MSP) Eligible
• Priority Placement Program, DoD MR and NG Preference Eligible Tech Receiving Disability Retirement
• Priority Placement Program, DoD Retained Grade Preference Eligible
• Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) of 1998
• Veterans Recruitment Appointment (VRA)

In order to qualify, you must meet the experience requirements described below. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes: 1) Driving and operating firefighting vehicles to respond to incidents like wildland fires, structural fires, airfield crashes, hazardous material incidents; 2) Performing emergency patient care, for example monitoring vital signs, performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or automatic external defibrillation (AED), controlling bleeding and immobilizing fractures; and 3) Mentoring others on emergency response to fires, accidents or hazardous materials incidents. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-07).


ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATIONS REQUIREMENTSPECIAL PLACEMENT FACTORS:

In addition to meeting the education/experience requirement above, applicants must also possess the following below certified through DoD Fire and Emergency Services Certification System, International Fire Service Accreditation Congress (IFSAC), or the Fire Service Professional Qualifications System (PRO-Board) in accordance with DoD 6055.06-M AND a State or National Registry EMT Certification indicating a future expiration date when applicable.

To occupy this position at the GS-08, at the time of appointment, you must possess and continue to maintain the following certification:

• Firefighter I and II
• Emergency Medical Technician - Basic (Must meet all State EMT requirements)
• Fire Officer I
• Fire Instructor I
• Fire Inspector I
• Driver Operator - Pumper

You MUST submit a copy of your certifications with your application package.

Maximum Entry Age (MEA) The MEA for Firefighters is 37. An employee originally hired into a covered position must be hired by the last day of the month he/she reaches 37.

Maximum Reentry Age An employee who previously served on a covered position may be rehired past the MEA as long as he/she is able to complete 20 years of covered service by his/her mandatory retirement age. The maximum re-entry age for the individual is calculated by determining the total amount of time he/she has served on a covered position and subtracting that from age 57 if a firefighter. The employee's current age is compared to the calculated maximum re-entry age to determine if he/she can be rehired into the covered position.

Waivers to Maximum Entry Age MEA may be waived, but only under specific circumstances and only if approved by the authorized entity: Waivers to MEA for firefighters must be approved by local Command.

You will be evaluated on the basis of your level of competency in the following areas:

• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• Flexibility
• Influencing/Negotiating
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Reading Comprehension
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork

Time in Grade Requirement: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent (GS-07).

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Once the announcement has closed, a review of your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position.

You may claim Military Spouse preference.

You may claim Priority Placement Program (PPP) preference.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP). If you are a Federal employee in the competitive service and your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority for this position. To receive selection priority, you must: (1) meet ICTAP eligibility criteria (2) be rated well-qualified for the position and; (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your ICTAP eligibility. To be considered well-qualified and receive selection priority applicants must satisfy all qualification requirements for the position and receive a score of 90 or above. Additional information about the program is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website.

The documents you are required to submit vary based on the authority you are using to apply (i.e., applying as a veteran, applying as a current permanent Federal employee, applying as a reinstatement, etc). Please review the following links to see which documents you need to provide to prove your eligibility to apply: Applicant Checklist for Internal/Merit Promotion Announcements

As described above, your complete application includes your resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply. If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further.

1. Your resume:

• Your resume must be two pages or less and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration.
• For each relevant work experience, make sure you include the employer's name, job title, start and end dates (include month and year), for qualifications purposes, the number of hours worked per week, and a brief description that show you can perform the tasks at the required level listed in the job announcement. If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete, and you may not receive consideration for this position.
• Use plain language. Avoid using acronyms and terms that are not easily understood. The hiring agency will not make assumptions about what's in your resume.
• If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations, and you may not be considered for this vacancy.
• For additional information, to include formatting tips, see: What to include in your resume.

2. DoD Certificates and NREMT License:

• You MUST submit a copy of the following: Firefighter I and II, Emergency Medical Technician - Basic (Must meet all State EMT requirements), Fire Officer I, Fire Instructor I, Fire Inspector I, and Driver Operator - Pumper certified through DoD Fire and Emergency Services Certification System, International Fire Service Accreditation Congress (IFSAC), or the Fire Service Professional Qualifications System (PRO-Board) AND a State or National Registry EMT License. If your application package does not contain proof of having these certificates and license, your application will be marked as incomplete and you WILL NOT receive consideration for this position.
• Rather than submitting individual DoD certificates, if you have received a Student ID# for the DoD Fire and Emergency Services Certification Program website (https://go.usa.gov/xdsTR) you may provide a copy of your most recent certification transcript. If you do not know your Student ID, you may contact the AFCEC Reach-back Center at afcec.rbc@us.af.mil for assistance. Rather than submitting your EMT License, you may print proof of your current EMT License with NREMT from their website (https://www.nremt.org).
• If you are a current federal employee and do not have one of the required certificates due to the DoD F&ES Certification Program delay - You may submit a provisional certificate, memorandum from the Fire Chief requesting the certificates, and/or another document showing completion of the course. PLEASE NOTE: If selected, you will not be placed into the position until the official certificate has been received from the DoD F&ES Certificate Program.

3. Other supporting documents:

• Cover Letter, optional
• Most recent Performance Appraisal, if applicable
• Proof of Eligibility to Apply: Your application must include the documents which prove you are eligible to apply for the vacancy. The Proof of Eligibility document describes authorities commonly used in merit promotion recruitment and what document(s) are required to prove you meet the requirements of the authority. You must meet the requirements of at least one of the authorities listed in the Who May Apply section above to receive further consideration.
• Time-in-grade documentation: If you are applying for a higher grade and your SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you meet the one year time-in-grade requirement so you will need to provide an SF-50 which clearly demonstrates you meet the time-in-grade requirements (examples of appropriate SF-50s include Promotions, Within-grade Grade/Range Increases, and SF-50s with an effective date more than one year old).

Next steps