Getting In

Where to begin...in June of 2005 I applied to be a firefighter in the county that I live in. I had talked to some people that were firefighters and they absolutely loved their jobs. I enjoy helping people, and a lot of the aspects of the job look really cool (plus, who doesn't love a firefighter?). I took the necessary steps and applied.

I took a written exam, went through the physical test (called the CPAT-Candidate Physical Ability Test), and also completed a medical physical, polygraph test, and a psychological evaluation. I passed all the stages with flying colors and received a letter in late June 2006 saying the paperwork portion of my application was complete, that I was eligible for hire, and that I just had to wait for the call.

Fast foward seven months to January 2007. The next recruit class scheduled to convene was slated to begin on March 5, 2007. I heard that they were making calls. Finally it happened. Upon checking my messages on a Friday afternoon (January 26th to be exact, right around 2:30 in the afternoon), I had a message from Fairfax County Fire and Rescue. I was in. My wait was over. A new goal had been put in front of me: Recruit School.

That being said, I'm slated to begin training on March 5, 2007 in the 122nd Recruit Class of the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department.

My hope is to keep you all updated as to what is going on in my life while in the Academy. I'm not going to have a lot of time, but I hope to keep this up to date as best as I can. I'll be going home at night, but mostly to study and rest up for the next day of training. I'll be around, but if I'm too busy to hang out, please forgive me. I'm planning on putting all my efforts in to passing and exceling in the Academy. Like I said, I'll try to keep this up to date as best I can, even if it's just a short post.

Please feel free to leave comments and words of encouragement. I'm sure I'll need them...