Fire Department Winnows 2,000 Recruit Applicants Down to 400

 

And then there were 400.

What started out as more than 2,000 potential Pasadena firefighters, through the application and written test process, has been reduced to 400 as of Wednesday.

The remaining have now gotten a better perspective on what takes to become a firefighter from Eugene Campbell, Jr., Pasadena’s Fire Marshal and Deputy Chief of Fire Prevention and Administration. Next week they will go through an oral board in hopes to be selected for Chief interviews, according to Lisa Derderian of the Pasadena Fire Department.

“And then if they pass that, they go through an extensive background and physical process, medical evaluations, to hopefully be one of the small numbers of recruits that can go through our academy,” Derderian said.

In a process that takes four to six months, ending with graduation, the potential firefighters will also hear from a Recruitment Committee member on what it’s like to live at a Fire Station and insight into the interview process and what to expect next week.

“There are interview panels, several firefighters from different ranks, that will ask set questions,” Derderian said. “And then if they are chosen from that group, and there’s an undetermined number right now, but it’s chosen from that group, they then move on to Fire Chief interviews, which will be more likely the second week in April.”

“Typically, what happens is once these fire candidates find out that they’ve made it through the written test, they start going to and calling all the stations,” she said. “So we try to alleviate that and have this orientation so they’ll hear directly from the fire personnel and from Deputy Chief Eugene Campbell about being a firefighter.”

Derderian said, with retirements still pending, it is unclear in the hiring process on how many firefighters will be selected.

“We hear that there may be several in the next couple of months, but until they actually file the paperwork, we’re not aware of that,” she said. “So hopefully we’ll have more insight in the next couple of months.’’

“This is literally your family,” Derderian said. “You spend more time in a fire station with your extended fire family than you do with your regular family.’’