Boulder Rural is staffed by about 25 highly-trained volunteers and 10 full time paid members. We have four types of members:
- Full-Time Paid. Two paid members (1 officer and 1 paramedic) on staff 24 hours, 365 days/year. Colorado certified as both structural and wildland firefighters, Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT), Hazardous Materials Operations, and three of the staff are Nationally Registered Paramedics.
- Part-Time Paid. Colorado certified Firefighter, and EMT or Paramedic. The Contract Specialist position is a part-time paid position used to fill in for full time paid staff.
- Firefighter/EMT. Completes four 12-hour duty shifts/month. Optionally, if the member lives or works in the nearby response area, they can choose to meet their requirements by responding to at least 10% of calls (we average about 800 calls/year). In their first year, FF/EMT's are required to begin their Colorado Firefighter I certification. This requires approximately 300 hours in addition to required in-house training. Requires current Colorado certification as Emergency Medical Technician (EMT-B). Three of our volunteer staff are Nationally Registered Paramedics.
- Support. Does not respond to calls, but assists with administration, photography, and other support functions.
As a combination ALS (Advanced Life Support) department with three Nationally Registered Paramedics, BRFD is recognized for offering one of the most progressive training programs in the county. To ensure that we have a highly competent response, FF/EMT's and EMT's are required to attend 50 hours of training per year. In addition, FF/EMT's must become certified as a Firefighter within 12 months of joining (at Department expense). The Department provides all equipment and training.
Please consider joining us in our mission to provide superior customer service to your neighbors and your community. We are interested in recruiting volunteers from our Sunshine Canyon, Lake Valley, and the Heatherwood/Gunbarrel areas.
Hiring
We have more applicants than positions available. Typically, we have three applicants for every open position.
We are a combination fire department, hiring volunteers every six months or as needed. The selection process includes a certified physical assessment, a written test, an oral screening board, and a Chief's interview. Driving and criminal history checks are obtained on new hires during their probationary period.
New hires attend a 2-day, in-house "new member academy" which exposes them to the fundamentals of many of our operations.
In their first year, FF/EMT's are required to begin their Colorado Firefighter I certification. This requires approximately 300 hours in addition to required in-house training.
After this training, FF/EMT's have equivalent training to full-time, paid firefighters.
Questions about a volunteer position? Send an e-mail to the
volunteer hiring coordinator: volunteer@BRFD.org.
Questions
about a paid position? Send an e-mail to the Personnel Captain:
Chris.OBrien@BRFD.org.