Firefighter Recruit

A Firefighter Recruit in this classification, is regarded as one who is in training for achieving an appointment as a Firefighter for the City of Dayton. Incumbents are assigned to the Dayton Fire Training Center for the purpose of receiving on-the-job training under close supervision of a training officer and the staff of the Dayton Fire Department Training Center to become a Firefighter with an EMT certification.

Must be a high school graduate or possess a G.E.D. at time of appointment.

Must be at least 16 years of age at time of examination. No person shall be eligible to receive an original appointment as a Firefighter unless the person has reached the age of 18.

No person shall be eligible to receive an original appointment on or after the person's 41st birthday except recruit candidates who have previously been appointed as a Firefighter in the State of Ohio; with 6 months of experience as a Firefighter, and who have provided proof of previous appointment that was subject to the civil service laws of the State of Ohio.

Must possess a valid driver's license at time of appointment and maintain thereafter as a term and condition of continued employment.

Must successfully complete the state Level II Firefighter certification while assigned to Fire Training Center during the initial recruit training and maintain that certification as a condition of continued employment. In addition, must successfully complete Emergency Medical Technician training and certification while assigned to Fire Training Center during the initial recruit training and maintain that certification, at a minimum, as a condition of continued employment, until such time as required by the City of Dayton to obtain Paramedic and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ALC) training and certification. Must be able to successfully perform all tasks required of this position.

In accordance with the 2024-2026 I.A.F.F. contract, when the City hires new fire recruits, who were City or Dayton Fire Department employees, or who were sworn firefighters with another employer, the newly hired fire recruits will move to the step rate of pay that is closest to, but higher than, their current rate of pay. The employee will progress through the contractual wage steps in accordance with the time frames dictated in the wage addenda.

Candidates will be required to provide proof of employment and wage information at the time of offer of employment.

Must pass a police background investigation. Convictions or admission under diversion programs for drug related offenses are potentially grounds for dismissal.

Final appointment is contingent upon passing, not more than 120 days before appointment, a job-related medical examination which includes a drug screen and cardiovascular and pulmonary fitness testing. Vision without correction must be a minimum of 20/100 in EACH eye. Corrected, vision must be a minimum of 20/40 or better, in EACH eye. Must not be colorblind. Failure to meet designated standards will result in elimination from appointment to the Fire service.

Must be a current full-time permanent or part-time permanent employee in pay grades: 124 (Wage) or below, 29 (Clerical) or below, P16 (Professional Technical) or below, S11 (Supervisor) or below, 317 (EMT), 302 and 302A (Paramedic), 220 (Aircraft Rescue Firefighter) and been employed for 6 consecutive months by the City of Dayton in a classified Civil Service position. Identical scores will be broken by (1) seniority and (2) random selection method.

Final appointment is contingent upon the applicant providing documentary evidence of Employment Authorization and Identity. Identical scores will be broken by a random selection method.

A candidate who achieves a passing grade on the Firefighter Recruit written examination is entitled to a maximum of 5 preference points as set forth below:

1. For Promotional AND Open Competitive candidates: The candidate, prior to the date of written examination, has been honorable discharged from service with any branch of the United States military. To obtain credit, a non-returnable copy of the DD214 OR CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE (indicating honorable discharge) MUST be submitted at time of written examination. 

OR 

2. For City of Dayton Open Competitive candidates ONLY: The candidate is employed by the City of Dayton but does not meet the qualifications outlined above for promotional status. Must have satisfactorily completed 6 months of full time employment as documented by City performance evaluations.

Applicants MUST bring a pictured ID to the written examination for identification purposes. Failure to present a pictured ID will result in the applicant NOT being admitted to the exam.

Candidates that meet the recommended scoring range will also be required to complete a Physical Ability Test successfully as part of the selection process for admittance to the Fire Academy. 

In accordance with Civil Service Rule 6, Selection 7.B, examinees will not be permitted to review examination questions. 

Examination dates and times are subject to change. Calculators will be provided for the Civil Service examination.  Applicants appearing on the Promotional eligible list shall be considered for appointment prior to those on the Open Competitive list. Applicants are responsible for providing all necessary employment dates, experience, training, or any other requirements as stated in the Exam Announcement, in order for their application to be considered for certification and admittance to the examination process.

Background Check