Clarification from the agency

Open to current Department of Veteran Affairs employees and Federal employees who met the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee, veterans and all other applicants.

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Duties include but not limited to:

• Responsible for all fire and safety related activities under the Fire Departments control.
• Provides technical and administrative supervision of all Fire department staff either directly or through subordinate supervisors. Administrative responsibility for the Perry Point VA Medical Center Fire Department.
• Provides direct supervision of three Assistant Fire Chiefs, and indirectly supervises three Lead Firefighter/EMT's, three Paramedics and 10 Firefighter/EMT's.
• Reorganizes work to increase effectiveness, productivity, and job satisfaction, and justifies substantial changes to staffing levels, budgets, priorities, and/or services.
• Assigns work and reassigns subordinates based on special qualifications and departmental capabilities or resources to assure that all duties related to fire prevention, fire protection, and suppression programs are accomplished on a timely basis and are technically
  acceptable and functional.
• Interfaces the fire prevention inspection program with the safety and other inspection programs.
• Responsible for keeping management informed of all significant changes in codes, standards, and regulations.
• Prepares and submits an annual budget to the Safety and Occupational Health Program Manager to assure that the supplies and materials required to administer program responsibilities are purchased as efficiently and cost effectively as possible.
• Responds to fire alarms and calls for assistance when required, including hazardous materials incidents, serves as fire scene commander, and is solely responsible for issuing orders and directing firefighters and Medical Center employees, including Nursing and
  Police, to promptly and effectively extinguish fires, save lives and property, and limit or prevent environmental harm.
• Implements the Incident Command System, assigning staff officers and others to key positions, formulates strategies and implements tactics, assigns mutual aid fire apparatus and staff officers to sector positions, and directs the activities of as many as 70-100 firefighters.
• Responsible for maintaining all fire department apparatus and equipment, and forward to the Safety and Occupational Health Program Manager recommendations for repairs and/or maintenance.
• Responsible for identifying the training needs of the Department and facilitating the completion of this training in a timely manner.
• Ensure that adequate staff are assigned and dispatched for ambulance responses after normal duty hours, on weekends and during normal duty hours to assure continuity of the Medical Center ambulance service.
• Ensure personnel are assigned to operate the Medical Center ambulance for responses to medical emergencies, including life threatening emergencies, to transport patients from one Medical Center building to another, or transport to off-station facilities for higher levels of care as directed by responding medical staff.
• Assists the Safety and Occupational Health Program Manager in the implementation of a comprehensive fire protection program at the Perry Point VAMC.
• Assures that the intent of established rules and procedures such as VA, The Joint Commission, NFPA, OSHA, local, state, federal codes, etc., are followed and met by subordinates, Medical Center staff, and the public.
• Evaluates fire detection/suppression systems inspection reports to determine system compliance with The Joint Commission, VA and NFPA regulations and standards. In cases of non-compliance, will initiate corrective measures that may include contacting vendors and developing service contracts when the work cannot be accomplished by station forces.
• Prepares and follows through for publication a Safety, Occupational Health and Fire Protection Program, which meets VHA Directive 7718 and affects all levels of management, employees, visitors, inpatients and outpatients, and construction programs.
• Develops review standards, routinely evaluates the program, and establishes a system of implementation to ensure compliance with any new or revised Joint Commission, OSHA, NFPA, VA or EPA standards, regulations, or guidelines.
• Compiles and maintains all reports required by the Department of Veterans Affairs, OSHA and The Joint Commission.
• Occasionally required to work shifts other than administrative working hours to effectively accomplish the requirement of extending the safety program to all personnel and phases of the Medical Center.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:00am-4:00pm with one 24-hour shift during the week (60-hour work week).
Compressed/Flexible: Not Available
Telework: Not Authorized
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Fire Chief/PD260010
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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
• 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)

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/22/2025.

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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. 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.

Maximum Age Requirement: This position requires a maximum entry age for an initial appointment; applicants cannot have reached their 37th birthday by the date of appointment. Applicants who have passed the designated entry age limit, but who have previously served as a federal employee 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 fire service by the time the firefighter reaches the age of 57

Certification: In addition to the minimum requirements, the Fire Chief position requires the the following certifications:

• Certification as Fire Officer IV in accordance with NFPA 1021 AND;
• Certification as Fire Inspector II in accordance with NFPA 1031 AND;
• Certification as Hazardous Materials Incident Commander in accordance with NFPA 472 AND;
• Certification as driver/operator in accordance with NFPA 1002 and provide driver training in accordance with NFPA 1002, and commensurate with the type of apparatus the firefighter will operate in accordance with NFPA 1002 per VA Directive 7718 Fire Department Services at VA Medical Centers and Domiciliary dated June 19, 2020, or its successor policy.

Driver's License Requirements: Fire Apparatus Drivers must possess and maintain a valid State motor vehicle operator's license of the appropriate classification or kind for motorized firefighting equipment. May be required to pass a practical road test and provide information on the driving record.

You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:

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

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:


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; religions; 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.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. 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.

Physical Requirements: A substantial amount of time is spent walking, standing, crouching, climbing or sitting. During fire ground operations, most of the time is spent standing, with frequent exposures to extreme environmental conditions. Required to participate in a physical fitness program.

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.

Area of Consideration - Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order:
1. Current permanent VA employees of the facility.
2. All other VA employees.
3. Current permanent Federal employees of other agencies.
4. All other applicants.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

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.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

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.