Become a Fire Fighter

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Now accepting applications. Any questions can be emailed to FSFDCAREERS@fortsmithar.gov

The City of Fort Smith and the Fort Smith Fire Department is an equal opportunity employer. In the recruitment and selection process, equal employment opportunity is guaranteed to all persons without regard to race, creed, color, sex, national origin, age, religion, mental or physical handicap, labor affiliation, sexual orientation, or any other factors not related to merit and fitness for the position.

Firefighters for the City of Fort Smith are all civil service employees. They are hired according to Arkansas State Law and City of Fort Smith Civil Service Commission Rules.

All applicants for the position of Probationary Firefighter must meet the following criteria:

Be a citizen of the United States of America.
Be at least 18 years of age at the time of application and not have arrived at 35* years of age at time of appointment. ( per AR Code § 14-51-301 (2020))
Exception to maximum age*
- Any person who has at least two (2) years of previous experience as a paid firefighter with another fire department and whose years of experience as a paid firefighter when subtracted from the person's age leaves a remainder of not more than thirty-two (32) years;
- A current or former service member of the regular or reserve component of the uniformed services of the United States as defined under 10 U.S.C. § 101 who is within three (3) years of separation or retirement from the regular or reserve component of the uniformed services of the United States.
Be free of a felony record. A felony record shall mean having entered a plea of guilty, or otherwise having been convicted of an offense, the punishment for which could have been imprisonment in a federal or state penitentiary. The fact that an individual has received a pardon, or their record has been expunged shall not release the individual from having a felony record for the purpose of this regulation.
Be free from conviction of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence or sexual activity.
Be of good character as determined by a thorough background investigation.
Be a high school graduate or have passed the General Education Development (GED) Test indicating high school graduation level.
Be examined by a licensed physician and meet physical requirements.
Be interviewed personally, prior to employment, by the Fire Chief and/or his representatives, to determine such things as the applicant’s motivation, appearance, demeanor, attitude and ability to communicate.
Possess a valid driver’s license.

The hiring process for the Fort Smith Fire Department (FSFD) has five (5) steps. They are as follows:

Fill out the online application. You can also check application availability on the City of Fort Smith Human Resources Department webpage. The Pre-Employment Physical Agility Liability Wavier must be completed and is available for download.
After your application has been completed, you will be scheduled to take a civil service written examination. The examination is traditionally set for the first Monday in October, at location TBD. Examination room doors close at 6pm sharp.
Upon successfully passing the written exam, you will be scheduled for a physical agility test to determine your ability to perform firefighter functions. Physical Agility Examination is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday after the test. To learn more about the Physical Agility test, you can view the entire course online at the Physical Agility Test walk through.
After successfully completing the physical agility test, you will be scheduled for an interview with a panel of members from the FSFD. The purpose of the oral interview will be to determine such things as the applicant's motivation, appearance, demeanor, attitude, character, reputation, social adaptability, alertness, judgment, adequacy of background, ability to communicate, and suitability for the rigors demanded of a firefighter. Interviews are tentatively scheduled for the mid October.
Upon completion of this interview, all aggregate scores are added and the Civil Service Commission will format and certify a list to be forwarded to the FSFD to use for hiring purposes. The certified list expires one year from the date of certification. Any remaining candidates not hired are encouraged to reapply the following year.

The fire service is a highly regarded and noble profession. Many skills are required to excel in the fire service. The FSFD is responsible for responding to all-hazard emergencies such as, but not limited to;

Fires – Structure, vehicle, wildland, etc.
Rescue – Vehicle extrication, water, trench, high rise, collapse, etc.
Medical – All types
Hazmat – Industrial and transportation accidents
Bomb Squad – All types of explosive remediation
Homeland Security and severe weather emergencies
All other hazard response

The starting pay for a firefighter in Fort Smith is currently $43,803 per year with excellent benefits and LOPFI retirement. Other incentive packages are available. FSFD firefighters work a 24/48 schedule for an average of 56 hours per week. All new hires must successfully pass the department's FireTAC program, Arkansas Fire Academy Firefighter Standards, obtain IFSAC Firefighter II and NR-EMT, within the first year of employment.

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