Firefighter (Basic Life Support)

Summary The incumbent is assigned to the Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System's (CAVHCS) Fire Department in the Safety and Emergency Management Service. The Firefighter/EMT responds to fires and other emergencies in residences, multi-story patient care buildings, psychiatric care units, community living centers, outpatient clinics and laboratories, electrical shop, general repair shop, warehouse, natural gas station, E85 pumps, fuel storage areas, public assembly areas, brush, and wooded areas. Duties The firefighter performs emergency procedures that are noninvasive. In performing these procedures, the firefighter: Responsible to brief staff physicians, nurses, physicians' assistants, and other health professionals on care provided and recordings of the patient's assessment. The EMT must be certified to administer Automatic Defibrillation. Identifies, assesses the degree of emergency, and renders aid for cardiovascular disorders, heart and circulation disorders, coronary artery disease, angina pectoris, acute myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, seizure disorders, anaphylaxis, hypoperfusion, poisoning and overdose emergencies, alcohol and substance abuse, environmental emergencies, hypothermia, behavioral emergencies, various emergencies associated with obstetrics and gynecology, respiratory emergencies, etc. Responds, assesses specific medical needs, and renders medical aid during a multiple casualty incident, involving infants and children to adults. Maintains awareness of the medical, legal and ethical issues and may be sued or held legally liable on any issue in patient care and treatment. Responsible for taking patients vital signs. Expects stressful reactions when responding to an incident which involves major trauma or distortion to the human body such as, patients with amputations, deformed bones, deep wounds, and violent death. Deals with patients with behavioral problems. Performs patient assessment (primary and secondary head-to-toe survey). Treats patients with emergencies involving soft tissues, open wounds with possible internal organs that are exposed, the upper and/or lower extremities, the skull and spine, soft tissues of the head and neck, the chest, abdomen, genitalia, cardiovascular system, respiratory system, diabetes, childbirth, and burns. Administers care to patients with respiratory failure, airway obstruction and performs cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). Detects, evaluates, and controls external and internal bleeding. Operates and maintains equipment consisting of base stations, mobile radios, portable radios, and cellular phones. Knowledgeable in language of anatomy & physiology, anatomical postures language and directions of movements. Familiar with the departments' personal protective equipment (PPE). Familiarizes self with laws such as Duty to Act, Negligence, Standard of Care, Abandonment, Patient Rights-Consent, Patients-Confidentiality, Immunities, and other legal aspects. Serves as driver/operator of major motorized firefighting equipment, responding with fire engine to assist ambulance at emergency scenes and a variety of utility service calls. Operates alarm room equipment including radio, computers, and fire reporting facilities. Performs maintenance tasks on firefighting apparatus, equipment, and facilities. Assists with hydrant, hose, sprinklers, and alarm tests. Provides classes for training of "hands on" or lecture, for other firefighters in the skills of driving and operating equipment. Serves as Lead Firefighter if required. Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: 8:00am to 8:00pm, 72-hour week, 144 hours per pay period; works a schedule of 48hrs on then 72hrs off, 48hrs on then 72hrs off, and 48hrs on then 48hrs off. Work schedule subject to change based on the needs of the department. Position Description/PD#: Firefighter (Basic Life Support)/PD104080 Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/28/2026. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-6 level. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Basic Requirements: Individual Occupational Requirements: Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 and above): Experience that demonstrated the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA5 s) to perform successfully the duties of the position. Such duties may include (1 ) controlling or extinguishing fires as a member of an organized military, industrial, volunteer, or governmental fire department or brigade; (2 ) rescue operations; (3) detection, reduction, or elimination of potential fire hazards; (4) operation of fire communications equipment; (5) controlling hazardous materials incidents and/or (6) developing, implementing, or providing training in fire protection and prevention. Grade Determination: Specialized Experience GS-7: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-6 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: is Performing fire/rescue and firefighting duties at large hospital complex/ campus consisting of fuel tanks, multi-story buildings housing non-ambulatory, nursing home and mental health patients; warehouses, residential housing and apartment complexes; Operating fire extinguishing equipment during firefighting operations to minimize damage; Verify the presence and/or concentration of hazardous materials through use of monitoring equipment to prevent environmental contamination to properties; Formulate written hazardous material incident reports to document potentially hazardous spill areas; Provide patient assessment by conducting systematic physical examination. AGE REQUIREMENT: Maximum Entry Age For initial appointments, applicant cannot have reached their 37th birthday by the day of appointment. Applicants who have passed the designated entry age limit noted, but who have previously served in a covered position may be eligible to re-enter the fire service provided that they: 1) Meet all applicable qualifications for the position; and 2) Will be able to complete a total of 20 years of covered and creditable Federal firefighter service by the time the Federal firefighter reaches the age of 57. Prior service in covered positions and creditable towards retirement may be subtracted from the applicant's age to determine if the Federal firefighter meets the maximum entry age. Mechanical Equipment Operator Qualifications: For those positions requiring the operation of specialized firefighting pumping equipment, mounted pressurized systems, dispensing devices, and/or rescue tools, applicants may be required to demonstrate the ability, before appointment, to operate the specific equipment to which they will be assigned, or similar related types of hydraulic equipment. Performance Test: Agencies may require candidates to demonstrate satisfactory performance of the minimum physical a