Former Pasadena Fire Chief Collaborates to Develop First-of-its-Kind Fitness Training Program for Fire Service Aspirants

 

Becoming a firefighter is no easy task and for many, there is one test that must be passed to kickstart the respected public service career — a test that more and more are failing at high rates.

Former Pasadena Fire Chief Calvin Wells took matters into his own hands and collaborated to help develop a first of its kind fitness training program designed specifically for those seeking a career in the fire service.

The program know as Firefighters In Training (FIT), operates out of the highly-regarded Pasadena CATZ sports performance facility on South Raymond Avenue and features techniques and training needed to pass the Candidate Physical Ability Test, or CPAT, which up to 30 percent of prospective firefighters currently do not pass.

“Our goal is quite simple. We want to make sure that we are providing the industry with the fittest firefighter candidates and recruit firefighters available to the industry. We anticipate that through the doors at this facility we’ll pass exactly that group of people,” said Wells.

Firefighter in Training (FIT) is the collaboration of the Athletic Gaines program at CATZ Pasadena where Wells and Stephen Loy, Ph.D., former Wellness Coordinator for LA County Fire Department developed an accessible two prong fitness program that prepares firefighters for both the CPAT and the extremely competitive Fire Recruit Academy “Drill Tower” programs.

“There has been a huge failure rate in the basic training process involving firefighters,” said Wells.

The CPAT is the recognized standard for measuring an individual’s ability to handle the physical demands of being a firefighter. The timed test measures how candidates handle eight separate events, all designed to mirror tasks on the job.

The CPAT is first physical challenge in the process of becoming a firefighter.

Approximately thirty percent of firefighters hired by agencies before graduation end up failing out prior to graduating, according to Wells.

“That has largely to do with their physical deficiencies,” said Wells.

Fire Recruit Academy “Drill Tower” is a 16-week long, extraordinarily difficult training program equivalent to military boot camp. The physical demands of Drill Tower mirror the responsibilities of firefighting including: training in full firefighting structural gear, throwing ladders and pulling hose, wild land firefighting, live fire training, and vehicle extrication tactics.

“There is a need for such a program in the community as there is no one dedicated program for the CPAT,” said Pasadena Fire Captain Robert Sepulveda

Sepulveda is a FIT recruiter and visits local college campuses to educate fire science and emergency medical technician students about the program.

The Catz facility is not an approved CPAT center, but purely offers professional training that Wells and Sepulveda say guarantee results.

“We have all of the equipment that is used in the CPAT so that you’re able to practice that before you go in to take the physical test in Orange County,” said Sepulveda.

While the short term goal is to get prospective firefighters prepared for physical success, there is a long term goal in mind.

“Our long term goal is to actually capture the city departments to actually put their candidates who get hired as firefighters through our program before they enter the drill tower so they can be more successful. There is a lot of money that is wasted when somebody is hired and they don’t make it–it comes out of the taxpayer’s money and it’s not an investment anymore,” said Sepulveda.

The Firefighting in Training program takes place weekday at Catz located at 801 S. Raymond Ave.

For more information visit www: firefighterintraining.com.