Fire Protection Specialist

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-11/19/2024-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST clearly indicate the nature of the duties and responsibilities for each position, starting and ending dates of employment (month/year), and the resume must reflect full and/or part-time or total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time). If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount of qualified specialized experience.

SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTORS: (Screen-Out)

• Successful completion and have currency in the following from the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress (IFSAC) or National Board on Fire Service Professional Qualifications (NPQS/Pro Board):
  • IFSAC or Proboard Firefighter I & II AND
  • IFSAC or Proboard HAZMAT Awareness and Operations AND
  • IFSAC or Proboard Fire Officer 1 AND
  • NREMT EMT-Basic or higher AND
  • Must be able to obtain:
    • Fire Inspector I, and Apparatus Driver/Operator within 1 year of employment AND
    • Must obtain Fire Officer II and Fire Instructor II within two years of entrance on duty.
  • Candidates must possess prior structural firefighting experience. Experience that may be credited: volunteer firefighter, paid call firefighter, and/or structural firefighter with the Federal government or in an equivalent position outside the Federal government; suppressing fires that occur within buildings, ships, vehicles, airstrips and aircrafts, and other non-wildland firefighting. You must clearly demonstrate this experience in your resume, including the months, days and hours per week at which the work was performed in order to be considered.

Structural Fire: The Department of the Interior defines structural firefighting experience as any firefighting experience except wildland firefighting. Structural experience may be gained though work in suppressing fires such as those in buildings, ships, vehicles, airstrips and aircraft, and other non-wildland firefighting. This experience may be gained by serving in a structural firefighting position within the federal government or in an equivalent position outside the Federal government. Periods of structural firefighting gained as a volunteer or paid call firefighter can also be credited. In some instances, candidates may be hired in a dual wildland and structural firefighting role. Candidates must meet the qualifications required for either the wildland or structural fire function.

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Applicants must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement: (Screen-Out)

EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-08 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to successfully perform the duties of this position. Examples of specialized experience could include: (1) performing structure fire prevention inspections, (2) leading an all-hazard response team, (3) applying practical knowledge of National Fire Protection Standards (NFPA) and the International Fire Code (IFC) in assessing buildings or facilities for fire protection and prevention; (4) Utilizing emergency management methods such as first aid; (5) writing accurate reports of performed fire protection inspections to include discovered violations; controlling and extinguishing fires and operating hose lines; and (6) conducting advanced structural fire and emergency medical trainings or lectures. You must include hours per week worked.


Volunteer Experience: Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.