Columbus Firefighter

FIREFIGHTER

Job Information

Position Title:

Firefighter

Department:

Columbus Fire Department

Reports to:

Fire Chief and/or designee

Salary:

$66,031 - $89,600*

FLSA:

Partial exemption under FLSA 207(k)

Work Schedule:

24-hour shifts and additional shifts as needed, based on need

Application Deadline:

April 1, 2024

Written Test:

April 20, 2024

Interviews:

Week of May 13th

Apply Online at www.columbus.in.gov/jobs

* Entry level salary for a probationary firefighter: $66,031. Completion of 20 years/1st class firefighter: $89,600 (Pension Base as of 2024)

If you need assistance, accommodations or don’t have access to the internet elsewhere, call or email City Human Resources 812-376-2570 or humanresources@columbus.in.gov to make an appointment to apply in person. We welcome all applicants.

INTRODUCTION:

Columbus, Indiana, population 50,000 is well known for its architectural innovation, community collaborations, engaged public, and high quality of life. The City is a regional center for financial services, health care, employment, entertainment, and shopping. For more information about our community visit our visitor center website at www.experiencecolumbus.com or the City’s website at www.columbus.in.gov.

Purpose of Position:

This position aims to protect life and property by performing fire suppression, emergency aid, hazardous materials, emergency response, and fire prevention duties. The successful candidate will desire to help others and protect lives, property, and the environment. Work is to be completed as an individual contributor to the firefighting team by responding to and fighting fires, delivering emergency medical care, participating in ongoing training, and participating in outreach events throughout the Columbus community.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Respond to emergency and non-emergency situations such as, but not limited to, fires, vehicle crashes, water accidents, bomb threats, hazardous materials incidents, severe weather, and medical emergencies.
• Perform firefighting techniques including, but not limited to, extinguishing, ventilation, rescue, salvage, overhaul, and forcible entry.
• Move injured, sick, or unconscious individuals away from danger and provide pre-hospital emergency medical care.
• Drive appropriate firefighting equipment and motor vehicles to the emergency and non-emergency scenes, as directed and in a safe manner.
• Monitor radio and other communication devices to receive assigned runs.
• Attend, participate in, or lead presentations to civic, school, neighborhood, industrial, or business organizations. Topics include, but are not limited to, fire prevention, fire station tours, safety, or other public training exercises as directed.
• Attend and participate in various educational, technical, and other training exercises as directed by the Chief and/or designee, which could include, but are not limited to, extrication, ice water rescue, rope rescue, and confined space.
• Clean and maintain all equipment, buildings, and grounds; perform regular maintenance and repair on equipment, buildings, and grounds as directed to ensure proper function and upkeep of all Fire Department equipment, grounds, and facilities; maintain uniforms to standard.
• Assist, as directed, to other departments within the City of Columbus, Indiana.
• Complete all necessary forms, reports, and data uploads in a neat, orderly, accurate and timely manner as required by Fire Chief, local, state, and federal agencies. Provide oral reports to appropriate personnel.
• Maintain personal physical fitness levels necessary to perform the position’s essential functions. A yearly fitness-for-duty evaluation will be required, and firefighters must be fit for duty, with or without reasonable accommodation consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This fit for duty evaluation will be administered by a health care professional specializing in Occupational Medicine with an emphasis on Firefighting and Hazardous Materials. This fit for duty evaluation will be provided on duty and at no cost to the firefighter.
• Maintain the highest ethical and moral standards and perform within the parameters of the law as set forth by the City of Columbus, Indiana as your employer.
• On occasion, relieve an officer of higher rank as directed and assume all the responsibilities of that position.
• Respond to mandatory overtime requirements and balance any secondary employment and community volunteer work in such a way as to not interfere with duties at the Fire Department, which are always primary.
• Accurately record all time worked for the Fire Department consistent with FDO’s on timekeeping and not create conflicts of interest.
• Comply with the City of Columbus Indiana Fire Department’s anti-tobacco policy, which prohibits the use of tobacco products within the City offices, facilities, and vehicles.

Minimum Qualifications:

• High School graduate from an accredited school. Alternatives include achievement test certificate from an accredited high school, or State Board of Education is acceptable. A G.E.D. is acceptable.
• A valid driver’s license (any state) with a good driving record sufficient to be covered by the City of Columbus’ insurance. Must convert driver’s license to an Indiana license within thirty (30) days before the start date. Indiana license must be maintained at all times.
• Ability to work in the United States and provide I-9 documents upon request in the hiring process.
• At least 21 years of age and under the age of 39 at the hire date. Exceptions include Military (see IC 36-8-4.7) and Lateral Transfer (see 1977 Indiana Police and Fire Pension Fund “PERF.”
• Be accepted into the Pension Fund
• Certified as an Indiana Emergency Medical Technician within one (1) year from the date of hire.
• Maintain an Indiana Emergency Medical Technician certification for the duration of employment as a Firefighter with the City of Columbus. Deviation from this requirement may result in immediate termination. Exceptional circumstances may present where extensions may be granted at the sole discretion of the Fire Chief and Human Resources Department.
• Shall possess a current Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT) certification prior to written test date (issued within one (1) year prior to the date); yearly Physical Ability Test administered by the department must be passed.
• Candidates with military experience shall not have received other than an honorable discharge from the military or other discharge with honorable conditions. (All candidates with military experience must attach a copy of their DD214 to the application)
• Shall be compliant is IC 36-8-4-2 residence requirements within 90 days of appointment.
• Shall be drug-free and have no convictions for driving under the influence of drugs.
• Shall not have more than two (2) alcohol-related violations.
• Candidates applying for employment shall not have a conviction for operating a vehicle while intoxicated (OWI) or operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol content (BAC) in excess of the legal limit as set by state law within the past five (5) years.
• Shall have no felony convictions.
• Shall comply with the City’s Drug and Alcohol-Free Workplace Program, including pre-employment testing, random testing, post-accident testing, reasonable suspicion testing, return-to-duty testing, and follow-up testing.

Performance of essential functions may require life-or-death decisions based on circumstances beyond the incumbent’s control. Decisions may affect the general public and co-workers as well as the incumbent.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Ability to exercise sound judgment, discretion, calm, and make good, rapid decisions in emergency, stressful, and changing situations.
• Ability to calm and comfort individuals who are distraught, ill, or injured with sensitivity to all cultures and backgrounds.
• Ability to exert heaving to extremely heavy, though not constant, physical effort, typically involving some combination of climbing and balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, crawling, and lifting, carrying, pushing, and pulling of objects and materials weighing 20 to 50 pounds; may occasionally involve objects and materials up to and exceeding 100 pounds.
• Ability to operate a personal computer, utilizing word processing spreadsheets, database management, mapping, incident reporting, and other software applications as necessary to perform essential job functions; ability to operate a mobile computer.
• Ability to perform addition, subtraction, multiplications, division, calculate decimals and percentages; ability to calculate surface area, volumes, weights, and measures.
• Abilities in the operation of fire suppression and other emergency equipment.
• Abilities of standard firefighting, emergency aid, hazardous material, and fire prevention techniques.
• Ability to perform strenuous physical activity for prolonged periods during emergencies and under conditions of extreme heights, intense heat, cold, dirt, dust, rain, snow, noise, pathogenic substances, moisture, toxic agents, disease, vibrations, traffic hazards, fumes, toxic agents, and smoke.
• Ability to follow verbal and written instructions.
• Ability to make appropriate and effective independent judgments that considerably impact the City of Columbus, Indiana.

The physical demands and the work environment characteristics described here represent those an employee may encounter while performing the essential duties and responsibilities of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties and responsibilities if the accommodations do not cause undue hardship to the department. The responsibilities listed above are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment of the position.

Tools and Equipment Used:

• Fire apparatus, first aid equipment, oxygen, ladders, boats, trucks, automobiles, trailers, breathing apparatus, hearing and eye protection, firefighting clothing, hazardous chemical clothing, computer, calculator, copy machine, facsimile machine, telephone, radios, other communication devices, measuring devices, camera, power tools, hand tools, chain saws, shovels, brooms, fans, electronic test equipment, general medical equipment, and any other departmental equipment as necessary.

Personal Work Relationships:

• Firefighters work as a team and maintain effective and positive communication with the Fire Chief, Deputy Chiefs, Battalion Chiefs, Captains, and Lieutenants within the department, and personnel from other public safety agencies. Firefighters will have contact with City employees, personnel from the State Fire Marshall’s office, and the public. These relationships are necessary to receive and convey information, resolve problems and answer questions, all intended to assure an effective and efficient fire department and the City of Columbus, Indiana.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Associate’s Degree or Bachelor’s Degree (any subject area) preferred, added weight given to relevant courses of study and certificates, included but not limited to Fire Science, Paramedicine, Fire Fighter, Fire Prevention and Investigation, Fire Service Administration, Hazardous Materials, Business Management, Public Safety, etc.
• Military, added weight given to military experience relevant to fire fighting.
• Firefighter I
• Firefighter II
• Advanced EMT
• Paramedic
• Hazmat (Awareness, Operation, and Technician)
• Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting (ARFF)
• Technical Rescue Awareness
• Vehicle Machinery Technician
• Confined Space Technician
• Trench Rescue Technician
• Structural Collapse Rescue Operations
• Instructor I
• Fire Officer I

Residency:

• Must comply with residency requirements of IC 36-8-4-2 within 90 days of employment.

Drug/Alcohol Testing:

• This is a safety sensitive position and, as such, is subject to the City's Drug and Alcohol-Free Workplace Program, which includes pre-employment testing, random testing, post-accident testing, reasonable suspicion testing, return-to-duty testing, and follow-up testing.
• This description is intended to describe the type of and level of work performed by the person assigned to this job. It is not an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities required by a person, and employees at the city may be given other assignments at will.

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

M/F/D/V

*all potential applicants are encouraged to apply, and if you need accommodation or help to apply online, please call 812.376.2570 to make an appointment or email humanresources@columbus.in.gov

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $66,031.00 - $89,600.00 per year

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible schedule
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Ability to Relocate:

• Columbus, IN: Relocate before starting work (Required)

Work Location: In person