Become a Fire Fighter I

  • Entry Level
  • Supervisory
  • Full Time
  • Seasonal
  • Benefits Eligible

Under close supervision, as a temporary employee, to do heavy physical work involved in fire fighting as a member of a fire crew; to assist in building, grounds, and equipment maintenance and repair; and to do other related work.

As a member of a fire crew, receives training in wildland, rural, and structural fire suppression methods and techniques; fights fire as a member of a fire crew using tools and equipment such as a shovel, axe, McLeod, Pulaski, and back pump; clears trails, cuts brush; assists in building, grounds, and equipment maintenance and repair; inspects, cleans and repairs fire hose and equipment, sharpens fire tools, paints equipment and buildings and performs semiskilled or laboring construction work; performs general station housekeeping and kitchen duties.

Hires may be made in the following counties: Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Modoc, Mono, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Plumas, Riverside, Sacramento, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Diego, The City and County of San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Ventura, Yolo, Yuba.

Candidates may be selected by resume review.

Applications will be processed in rounds with the following cut-off dates:

  • March 31
  • July 31
  • October 10

This classification is eligible for the following pay:

$4,296 - $5,432 Base Salary (paid every month) 

$1,460 - $1,846 Extended Duty Week Compensation (paid every 4 weeks)

$52,900 – $66,889 Annual Compensation (max of 9 months)

In addition to the above pay items, employees are eligible for medical benefits (health, dental, vision) and may be eligible for other pay differentials.

Benefit information can be found on the CalHR website and the CalPERS website. 

Minimum Qualifications

Minimum Age: 18 years at the time of appointment.

Knowledge and Abilities

Knowledge:
Good physical work methods.

Ability to:
Do heavy physical work; exercise good judgment in hazardous fire suppression activity; accept and benefit from training in fire suppression work and techniques; follow directions; work safely with others; live in a fire station compatibly with others; and respond quickly to oral commands or signals in emergency situations.

Special Personal Characteristics
Willingness to live and work in remote areas and on weekends and holidays and remain on duty 24 hours a day, as required; visual acuity, color vision, and hearing sufficient to perform the assigned duties; physical strength, dexterity, and agility necessary to perform the duties of the position.

Additional Desirable Qualification
Possession of a valid California driver license of the appropriate class issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles.

No examinations at this time.

Requirements and Training

You must be 18 years of age at the time of your appointment to Firefighter I. You will be required to follow oral/written directions, do heavy physical work, exercise good judgment in hazardous emergency activities, be willing to live in remote areas and work on weekends/holidays. Being physically fit is vital to your success as a firefighter. Applications will be processed in rounds with cut-off dates throughout the year.

Successful applicants are placed into the appropriate category as follows:

  • Category 0: The applicant has returnee rights to a CAL FIRE Unit.
  • Category 1: The applicant is considered "fully trained" and has provided an acceptable document showing completion of ALL of the required trainings listed above.
  • Category 2: The applicant is considered "partially trained" and has provided an acceptable document showing completion of at least one of the required trainings listed above, or one of the desirable trainings listed above.
  • Category 3: The applicant has not provided acceptable documentation for any of the required trainings, or desirable trainings listed above.

For more information on category placement and required trainings please review the Required Training PDF.

For a list of acceptable documents, please review the Acceptable Documents PDF.

For additional questions, please call the FFI, FFII, and DSI hotline at 951-901-5051.

Job Application Period

November 1 through November 30 and there may be additional cutoffs throughout the season.

Hiring Begins

Hiring may be as early as January and it will continue throughout the year as the need arises.