The Beginning

OK, so like I said before, I want this to be for posterity, so that anyone going down to the Ice next year for the first time will know a little more of what to expect than I did. Specifically someone going down as a firefighter.

First off, I think I got the first email in April asking if I was still interested (DUH!!) I responded and was called in about a week by a captain in the dept. We had a phone interview, he asked for copies of my certificates, which I scanned in and emailed to him that night. Within a week I had a job offer.

Here is where the fun with paperwork starts. First they sent an email with a weblink to a bunch of pdf files. Most are fairly pertinant (sizes for the ECW gear, reimbursement forms, etc). Some you have to sign and send back. Download EVERYTHING and PRINT IT OUT!!! I have a small folder with the 'Participant Guide' all nicely in like a book, but most of the rest of my stuff is in a folder on the floor next to my desk. Still, I know where everything is, so it's all good. In this load of pdf's to play with is your medical stuff. Get it done ASAP!!! You can't go if the docs don't sign off on you.

Then HR sends you a packet with your urine test and the offer letter, which you must sign and send back in 3 days (so they say). Also in this packet is a metric shit-ton of other stuff to read and sign. After June 1st, I got another email with a bunch MORE paperwork to read and fill out and sign and send back. Remember, you are now dealing with a contractor for the federal government. You WILL get writers cramp.

Fill this stuff out ASAP and send it in. They can't issue you your tickets to training until they have certain pieces of paper in their hot little hands. By now it is about mid-June (or at least, that was about my timeframe). By now you should have started the Physical Qualification process (PQ). I hadn't really started, and now I wish I had. Also, you'd better have your passport stuff in NOW, or you'll be sweating it in August.

For my PQ, I have my doctor's appt on Thursday, which will also see me a referral to a pulmonologist, since my doc doesn't do pulmonary function tests. I'm still trying to get my bloodwork issues straightened out (I didn't have the right paperwork the first time I left, but the woman at Labcorp was cool and called the medical dept at Raytheon for me. For my dental, I still need a crown and 4 fillings, but my work switched dental insurance on me, so I have to check to see if the place I have the appointment for on August 22nd takes the new insurance.

So you can see there is a ton of stuff to do. Plus, you have to factor in about 10-11 days for training during this time. I also have a 2 week trip I had already set up last year, so that is putting a serious crimp in my planning schedule for this. Currently, the hope is to get the crown as the last bit of dental issues, and have the fillings done before hand. Then a final cleaning and OK by my dentist who is filling out the paperwork, and I'm done with that. With luck, I'll get my bloodwork done this week, and everything will be ok with the docs at Raytheon medical. One of the guys in my training class has to get a stress test done and another bloodtest. So remember, they might make you do more. I'm hoping to get this done by first week in September.

It's now pretty late, and I'm heading to bed. The next installment will be about ARFF training in Salt Lake City, UT (in July!). Complete with pictures, even.