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***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION***

Major duties and responsibilities include:

• Serves a work leader distributing and balancing workload, instructing employees in specific tasks and job techniques and providing on-the-job training, and resolving simple and informal employee complaints.
• Performs fire protection and suppression duties.
• Participates in all aspects of structural and land firefighting operations and rescue.
• Serves as a hazardous materials first responder.
• Performs first inspections and fire alarm maintenance.
• Performs patient triage, employing a variety of established emergency medical techniques, methods, and equipment to stabilize the patient for transport.
• Provides Basic Life Support, CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation), and uses AED (Automated External Defibrillator) at medical emergencies.
• Drives and operates firefighting apparatus of significant complexity.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Full-Time; 72 hours per week; 144 hours per pay period on a work schedule of 48 hours on 72 hours off. Subject to overtime call back and mandatory overtime to ensure compliance with minimum crew manning requirements.

DESIGNATED DRUG-TESTING POSITION: Applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Applicants will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive drug test result is received.

Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

Qualifications

ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English in order to meet the requirements of this position.

SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR (SCREEN-OUT) - A Selective Placement Factor (SPF) has been identified for this position. Selective Placement Factors (SPF) are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirements for the position. Applicants who do not meet the SPF are ineligible for further consideration.

SPF for this position is: A valid state driver's license is required for this position. For those positions requiring employees to drive motorized firefighting equipment, applicants must possess and maintain a valid State motor vehicle operator's license of the appropriate classification or kind. Applicants also may be required to pass a practical road test and provide information on their driving record. NOTE: We cannot accept photographs. Therefore, please do not submit a copy of your license with your application package. If an interview is requested, you may be required to provide a copy of your driver's license at that time.

Additional SPFs (Certifications) Required:
Note: All Certifications must be by an accredited agency such as International Fire Service Accreditation Congress (IFSAC) or Pro Board. Copies of certifications must be submitted with your application to receive credit.

• Firefighter I and II certification
• Hazardous Materials Certification at the Operations or Technician Level
• National Registry Emergency Medical Technician (NREMT) or State EMT certification
• Driver/Operator - Pumper certification
• Incident Command Systems courses ICS-100 & 200
• National Incident Management Systems courses ICS-700 & 800
• Fire Inspector I and II certifications in accordance with NFPA 1031, or willing to obtain the certifications within 24 months of employment.
• Fire Instructor I certification, or willing to obtain this certification within 24 months of employment.
• Fire Officer I certification in accordance with NFPA 1021, or willing to obtain this certification within 24 months of employment.

In addition to the above requirements, position requires one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-7) in the federal service that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of a Lead Firefighter (Basic Life Support). Such duties 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. At this level, assignments would have been performed independently, with little or no supervision, only consulting with the supervisor when unusual problems are encountered. Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week.

You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position:

• Attention to Detail
• Decision Making
• Fire Management
• First Response
• Oral Communication
• Selective Placement Factor

IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

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.

Physical Requirements: Must maintain an adequate level of physical fitness to react quickly and have the stamina to endure the physical exertion and stress of firefighting, they must complete 1 hour of physical activity per day per the NFPA 1500 and annually complete a Fire Department Physical Agility Test outline in NFPA 1500 and NFPA 1583. Fire Department personnel must complete an annual Firefighter physical with Employee Health to be cleared for duty. Incumbent must maintain physical condition to don personal protective equipment consisting of coat, helmet, boots, gloves, bunker pants, and self-contained breathing apparatus, which weighs 75 pounds. Incumbent must wear this equipment when responding to and during all emergency calls regardless of temperature. Incumbent is expected to enter buildings and atmospheres that are unsafe due to fire, oxygen deficiencies, etc. and perform very strenuous types of work carrying heavy equipment and victims. The requirements of the job are such that the incumbent must maintain alertness, self-control and emotional stability when working under conditions of stress, confusion, panic and where physical injury or death are present.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).

Your responses to the assessment questionnaire will be reviewed along with the information provided in your resume and supporting documentation to determine if you are qualified for the position. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your rating may be lowered and/or you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

Candidates who apply under All U.S. Citizens announcements will be rated and ranked using Category Rating procedures. Qualified candidates will be assigned to a quality category. The categories are defined as follows:

• Best qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position;
• Highly qualified - applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the requirements of the job;
• Well qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in some, but not all, of the requirements of the job; and
• Qualified - applicants possessing experience and/or education that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors.

Application of Veterans' Preference: Category rating and selection procedures place those with veteran's preference above non-preference eligibles within each category. Preference eligible applicants that meet the eligibility and qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent are listed in the highest quality category (except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level or higher).

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.