Martinsville Virginia Firefighter Salary And Job Requirements

As the name says, Firefighters are individuals who literally save people or other objects from fire through fighting it. They are strong people who can do rescue operations with style and panache. Much like any other macho image profession, like policemen, who offer risking their lives to save another. You see the accolades these professionals get, would you not like to become like these brave firefighters?

firefighter career summary Martinsville Virginia
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Table Of Contents

Just How Much Does A Firefighter Make In Martinsville?

If you value your work, sometimes you feel like you aren’t working anymore. However, this passion is not more than enough to provide your finances like basic needs as well as lifestyle. We all need bucks so we can move, after all money is crucial. Consequently, when it comes to selecting a profession, people are always curious about the amount of they might gain from it. For a few, it’s the only motivation in the morning to get up and go to work. People who carry out community outreach don’t earn much. But income is not their basis of happiness and fulfillment. {Let’s find out how much a firefighter earns.|Without more ado, let’s find out the income of a firefighter.

firefighter salary Martinsville Virginia
*Image Credit – BLS.gov

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Somewhere around $49,000 is the mean yearly income a firefighter would make. A median of about $46,000 is the median. There are various factors that affect this number such as the size of the population and also the education that a firefighter has been through. Below is a listing of these factors and how they could increase or decrease your salary as being a firefighter.

Location Matters

The location of the fire department is a main factor in deciding someone’s wage. This is due to a few aspects like – population size, availability of firemen and frequency of fighters. An area where fire takes place regularly probably will get higher salary compared to less occurrence of fire places. Presently, New York pays their firemen the most at around 70% above the national mean. On the other hand, Columbia pays the cheapest at 38% below the national average.

firefighter average salary by state Martinsville Virginia
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Educational Level

To become a firefighter, one usually just needs to have studied a course relevant to fire science in high school. In this field of firefighting, having achieved an education is advantageous. There are two major reasons for this. One is the reason is evidence of your know-how in the field. Another one is for the department to spend less on you just before becoming an asset in the government. Bringing on paying you more. If you have a degree, may it be a bachelor’s or an associate’s degree, that will help you gain added advantage. How much more if you have a graduate credentials in firefighting.

Length of Work Experience

Experience is usually a major key in deciding someone’s earnings. Being a firefighter, your revenue can rise around 50% with experience in the field of Twenty years. This is extremely high when compared to other jobs which commonly see a 15-20% rise in the same length of time.

Accreditations

Even the basics of EMT, it’s still needed by a fireman. On the other hand, you can pick to pursue the medical field a bit more and be a paramedic or get advanced EMT training. Having a deeper list of certifications and trainings give you a chance of having a greater income. It also gives you a “Plan B” if you do decide to change careers later.

Industry

By the end of the day, your company signs your paycheck. Per BLS records, it is not the government employers who pay out firefighters more, however it’s the private contractors. This includes firms that handle waste management, coal and oil production, and also metal product manufacturing. However, the local and the state government still employ the most number of firefighters.

Other Advantages

If you’re a government personnel, one of the advantages you receive is the benefits you can claim. You get the services such as insurance in your health or dental check-up. However you also get covered sick leaves as well as reimbursement for some specific tuition fees. But then again, benefits may vary from what department you are into.

Being a physician may have a better earning in comparison with being a fireman. Nonetheless, at the end of the day, you then become a hero in someone’s eyes. Learn the prerequisites to becoming a firefighter and be the man, the fireman, the hero!

Martinsville Firefighter Employment Outlook

firefighter job outlook Martinsville Virginia
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The job outlook is an important factor while deciding which profession to get into. You wouldn’t want to select your favourite career choice simply to realize that it going down the drain in a few years. You could find out such information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The career outlook for public servants is always on the rise since because of the ever-growing population. Therefore, what does the future hold for the common fireman? Let’s find.

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There are presently about 300,000 firemen employed in the USA. There’s a steady development of 5% for the next few years till 2024. This is the average progress rate of any normal career. Which means that there would be about 12,000 new jobs by 2024. Nonetheless, this also means that there will be that much more people hoping to get the job also. As a result, there will be some competition. This is primarily due to the low education specifications and also the attractions of a public service job. The pay might not be quite high, however the advantages make up for that. It’s approximated that there may be about 100 individuals competing for the same job by 2024.

firefighter job outlook by state Martinsville Virginia
*Image Credit – BLS.gov

Steps To Becoming a Firefighter

You need to follow a certain process to join any profession. The most crucial part of these processes would be to accomplish the education specifications. You have to have your diploma or you’ll never get hired. Though education is the primary requirement, you shouldn’t be worried because employer only need at least 1 degree completed. Beside, education you must pass other tests such as physical, medical as well as legal test. Let us explore these in detail.

Education Requirements

High school diploma and a degree in advanced schooling are the fundamental specifications to be qualified as being a firefighter. The subjects really do not matter as such. However, acquiring some courses in fire sciences does help your cause. That will give you a backgrounder of the profession you’re about to enter.

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Right after high school, many individuals choose to get some formal college education in the field before they will become a firefighter. You have to be at least EIGHTEEN years of age to meet the age qualification. Thus, one could not opt to be a firefighter right out of high school. College degrees in fire sciences are a huge plus if you are planning to join the field. Courses which show you how to save individuals, control hydraulic devices such as ladders or some other related stuff are a major plus.

It’s optionally available, you may pursue a graduate studies in that same field. The graduate studies you attain can help you land a promotion. While gaining your education, you always keep in mind that age limit qualification of 28 to 30 years old limit for you to be qualified also. As a result, if you want to spend most of your life as being a firefighter, you shouldn’t focus too much on education.

Paramedic Training

All the firefighters need to have this EMT certification. The one required is the EMT-B or the EMT-Basic. This will help firefighters tend to victims in accidents or fires. One year is needed in order to finish this training. Should you decided to be a paramedic at later time, you need to earn education in the area of Emergency Medical Services. The benefits of entering this direction are possible increase in salary or added edge over other applicants. Additionally, there are several medical expert firefighters who are able to take better care of people after they have already been rescued from the fires.

Qualified to Drive Vehicle In Virginia State

Many states need the candidates to be able to drive. As a result, they require their candidates to be a licensed driver that may help them when person is needed to drive the firetruck to the area. It also functions as an ID proof to validate the applicant’s age.

Legal Record

In most cases, a firefighter is compared as a policeman. The same as policemen, firefighters also go through lifestyle check before getting hired. It certainly required that an aspiring firefighters should have a clean record, no criminal history. If you think you possess previous records, then better to not pursue this profession as you will instantly be disqualified. Individuals who were pardoned for their crimes are usually accepted, however, not all fire departments admit such individuals.

Physical Fitness

One of the main attributes that a firefighter must have is physical strength. Scenarios like lifting fire victims or even objects to free victims arise quite often in rescue tasks, therefore, firefighter’s upper body strength is important. Not just body strength is need to have, firefighter’s endurance should be high as they need to deal lots of aspects like running even in harsh surroundings. No one become a firefighter without undergoing heavy and extremely comprehensive physical tests.

Free From Healthcare Problems

Suffocations in rescue tasks happen and firefighters learn how to handle it. They are normally supplied with masks to help them manage such scenarios but not always are they so fortunate. Individuals having respiratory conditions could not operate such heavy machinery with precision under suffocating conditions. That is why it’s essential that an applicant should be clear from any of that respiratory conditions.

If you fill up the forms, a lot of boxes need to be marked. Certainly, the list is long, so find out how long will it take you turn into a firefighter!

What Really Does a Martinsville Firefighter Do?

Firefighters are your daily heroes who work together to set out fires and also help people when they get stuck in such scenarios. They are also in control of rescue operations for common daily troubles. Just like what you see in movies, a firefighter saving a kitten in a tree. Apart from this, they’re also in charge of teaching people to avoid further fires. They also carry out the investigation as to the reasons of fire, its origin or cause.

Extinguishing Fires

This is the primary function of firefighters. When on-duty, these individuals stay in their firehouse to interact to a call as quickly as possible. When a distress call is got, firefighters along with their tools rush to the fire location to extinguish it. A few of the fire trucks are just meant to deliver injured people.

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At the scene of the fire, every individual has a different job. A particular firefighter maybe responsible for controlling the ladder and hose. Another firefighter is only for extinguishing the fire, while other carry out the rescue of fire victims. Just like any other team which has a leader ordering the operation, their group is headed by their commanding officer. They work in shiftings, for that reason, every shifting unit has its corresponding officers.

Rescuing People

A certification in EMT is needed to all firefighters. Since the primary job of the rescuer is to save lives, it is a must that a firefighter possesses this EMT. A firefighter might need this technical skills if a victim is stuck in fires. Not all rescue operations are fire related. There are situations that a fireman comes first in the scene. These casualties might be caused because of natural disasters, motor accidents or several other reasons. Firefighter needs to work to rescue the victim. Oftentimes a firefighter is also a knowledgeable paramedic helping them provide better healthcare to the victims.

Teaching People

Fire science is among the expertise a firefighter possesses. Their knowledge may vary as to how further firefighters go after this field. By discussing what they know, they help people by educating them how to prevent fire from happening. Firefighters normally do it right after visiting an extinguished fire scene. Or else, they also visit schools and also other locations to positively teach people about fires, how to avoid fires and if necessary, how to extinguish them.

Fire Investigation

It is also important to know the source of fire. They must distinguish what caused it so they can prevent further such cases. Oftentimes, it is possible that criminals with vicious intent set such fires. It is then the task of the firefighters to check out and provide more clues to the police officers about who started it. There are firefighters who’re also known as arson investigators which are skilled fire investigation. They work with the police to catch arsonists.

There’s no doubt why we should not call them our life savers and unsung heroes. They do rescue lives by extinguishing fires and they develop also our appreciation to them. Therefore, if learning about their responsibilities fired you up, see what education prerequisites you should become one!