Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

HIRING FIREFIGHTERS

Kamloops Fire Rescue is looking for new recruits

Jul 6, 2022 | 4:25 PM

KAMLOOPS — Courage, dedication, integrity and a willingness to face new challenges and learn new skills. Those are just some of the attributes it is recommended candidates possess if they hope to join Kamloops Fire Rescue. Competition for employment with the department opens on July 15.

“It takes a lot of dedication, really. To get the job, you’ve got to be really focused on what you do,” KFR Assistant Chief Scott Johnson tells CFJC Today. “You’ve got to be physically fit. There’s a lot of studying to do because there are written exams. There are swim tests, that kind of stuff. It’s just really trying to work on the craft before you get the job.”

Applicants are required to have a certain level of training before they can apply to join KFR. After that, they’ll receive in-house training with the members of Kamloops Fire Rescue, as well as learning on the job.

“You have to have your Firefighter 1001 training to start, so there’s already that level of training each candidate has,” Johnson explains. “Then they come in a do the four weeks with our training division and just learn how we do things here. From there, they get put on the trucks, but the learning doesn’t stop there. It’s every day.”

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Josh Cowen has been a professional firefighter for six and half years — the first four in Vancouver, and the past two and a half here in Kamloops. It took him a few years to build his skill set to the point where he got hired.

“I kind of made the decision at 23 years old to pursue the job, and it took a number of years to get into a place like Kamloops — building my resume and getting experience,” Cowen says.

Out of all the skills that serve a firefighter, Cowen says adaptability might be the most important.

“I could go to a medical call, then come back and go to a fire — you just have to be ready for anything, Cowen says, “which is a great part of the job. You never know what the day is going to bring, and every day can be different.”

While the job can be extremely challenging — both physically, and mentally — both Cowen and Johnson agree, that the satisfaction you get from helping the community is the biggest reward.

“Whether it’s saving someone’s life or just putting a smile on someone’s face, I can think of a number of calls when I went and did something, and when I came home I was really proud of myself,” Cowen says.

“You really feel like you’re doing something for somebody every day, and that’s a good feeling,” Johnson says. “That’s what drew me in, and still today, it hasn’t changed. I’d say that’s the number one thing.”

Applications to work with Kamloops Fire Rescue will open on July 15 and will close on July 29. For more information, you can click here.