Firefighter (basic Life Support)

Firefighter Position

This position is located within the Facilities Service Line - Tomah VA Medical Center Fire Department, located in Tomah WI and works under the general supervision of the Supervisory Firefighter (Captain) and supervision by the Assistant Fire Chief. Responsibilities include but may not be limited to:

• Performs initial and on-going focused patient assessment and physical examination.
• Determines priority of patient care based on assessment findings.
• Takes, records, and monitors patient's baseline vital signs including temperature, blood pressure, and pulse.
• Manages respiratory and cardiac emergencies to include performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), bag-valve-mask resuscitation, or automatic external defibrillation (AED).
• Controls external bleeding with direct pressure and treats shock with pneumatic anti-shock garments.
• Attempts to ascertain whether the patient has preexisting medical problems and to obtain a comprehensive drug history from the patient that includes the names, strength, and dosage of drugs taken by the patient.
• Assists patients in taking emergency medications for certain complaints, e.g., Nitroglycerin tablets for chest pain, Epinephrine auto-injections for allergic reactions, or Albuterol inhalers for asthma patients, under the direction of standing orders or of a physician.
• Employs a variety of established emergency medical techniques, methods, and equipment to stabilize the patient for transport as soon as possible to the receiving facility.
• Assists intermediate life support or paramedic staff.
• Prepares appropriate and relevant patient care documentation and reports to ensure medical requirements are met and accurately reported.

Work Schedule: Full time, 72 hours per week, 144 hours per pay period. Working a schedule of 48hrs on then 72hrs off, 48hrs on then 72hrs off, and 48hrs on then 48hrs off.

Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized.

Requirements Conditions of Employment:

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.

Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements.

Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.

Qualifications:

To apply for this position, you must have the following qualifications:

• English Language Proficiency - In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English.
• You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English in order to meet the requirements of this position.
• In addition to the meeting the Basic Requirement, this position includes a Selective Placement Factor (skill, knowledge, ability or other worker characteristic basic to - and essential for - satisfactory performance of the job). The Selective Placement Factor (SPF) for this position is:
• Possess a current and valid National or State Registry Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) - Basic Certification.
• Possess a current and valid National Firefighter I Certification.
• Possess a current and valid National Firefighter II Certification.
• Possess a current and valid National or State Hazardous Materials Technician Level Certification.
• Possess a current and valid National Fire Inspector I Certification.
• Possess a current and valid National Incident Management System - ICS 200 Level Certification.

Specialized Experience: Must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-6) in the federal service that has given me the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of a Firefighter (Basic Life Support). Such duties may include (1) controlling or extinguishing fires as part of a fire department, or brigade; (2) rescue operations; (3) detection, reduction, or elimination of potential fire hazards; (4) operation of fire communications equipment; (5) controlling hazardous materials incidents and/or (6) developing, implementing, or providing training in fire protection and prevention. At this level, assignments would have been performed independently, with little or no supervision, only consulting with the supervisor when unusual problems are encountered.

You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position:

• Attention to Detail
• Interpersonal Skills
• Teamwork
• Technical Competence

IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: The Firefighter/EMT must maintain an adequate level of physical fitness to react quickly and have the stamina to endure the physical exertion and stress of firefighting, they must complete 1 hour of physical activity per day per the NFPA 1500 and annually complete a Fire Department Physical Agility Test outline in NFPA 1500 and NFPA 1583. Fire Department personnel must complete an annual Firefighter physical with Employee Health to be cleared for duty. Incumbent must maintain physical condition to don personal protective equipment consisting of coat, helmet, boots, gloves, bunker pants, and self-contained breathing apparatus, which weighs 75 pounds. Incumbent must wear this equipment when responding to and during all emergency calls regardless of temperature. Incumbent is expected to enter buildings and atmospheres that are unsafe due to fire, oxygen deficiencies, etc. and perform very strenuous types of work carrying heavy equipment and victims. The requirements of the job are such that the incumbent must maintain alertness, self-control and emotional stability when working under conditions of stress, confusion, panic and where physical injury or death are present.