Firefighter (Basic Life Support)

Summary

This is a Direct Hire Authority (DHA) solicitation utilizing the DHA for Domestic Industrial Base (DIB) & Major Range & Test Facilities Base (MRTFB) in DoD to recruit and appoint qualified candidates to positions in the competitive service. This position is included under the provisions of Special Retirement Coverage (SRC) and may have both a maximum entry age and a mandatory retirement date. Click here for more information on SRC for Firefighters (Primary/Rigorous)

Duties

• In accordance with established protocol, administer basic life support to victims on the scene of a fire, accident, or in the case of sudden illness.
• Provide fire suppression team support to ensure structural or non-structural fires are safely controlled and extinguished.
• Deploy hose lines, ladders, hydrants, with proper techniques to suppress and extinguish fire and operate firefighting vehicles responding to incidents.
• Perform duties as a technician safely applying hazard risk assessment, identification, and control to mitigate hazardous material emergency incidents.
• Select appropriate and most efficient route conducting search and rescue operations to ensure the safe removal of people from harm.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: US Citizens In order to qualify, you must meet the experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document. Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes performing crash/rescue and firefighting duties controlling or extinguishing fires as member of an organized military, industrial, volunteer, or governmental fire department or brigade; performing basic life support functions such as determining priority of patient care based on assessment findings, taking records and monitoring patient's baseline vital signs including temperature, blood pressure, and pulse; responding to basic hazardous incidents reacting to releases or potential releases of hazardous materials as part of the initial response to the site to protect nearby persons, property, or the environment from the effects of a release. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-06). Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone -- no substitution of education for experience is permitted. Required Certifications: Firefighter I, Firefighter II, Driver Operator - Pumper, Driver Operator - Aerial, Hazardous Material Technician, National Registry Emergency Medical Technician as a Basic (NREMT-B). The Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) certification must be issued by National Registry (NREMT). The Firefighter certifications must have been awarded by the Department of Defense (DoD) or any equivalent entity accredited by International Fire Service Accreditation Congress (IFSAC) or Professional Qualification Board (Pro-Board) accredited training to meet the requirement. Do you possess the required certifications? (You must submit CURRENT copies of the required certifications with your application or you will be rated ineligible.) Special Retirement Coverage: This position has been identified by Department of Army and approved by the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness as a covered primary, rigorous position for special retirement coverage as identified in 5 CFR 831 Subpart I for CSRS Retirement coverage and 5 CFR 842 Subpart H for FERS retirement coverage. The individual hired is subject to Special Retirement provisions to include additional contributions to the retirement fund, mandatory separation/retirement at age 57 with 20 years of approved special retirement provisions service, options for early retirement at any age after 25 years of approved special retirement provisions service, or at age 50 with 20 years of approved special retirement provisions service. Maximum Entry Age: Department of Defense (DoD), in accordance with 5 USC 3307, has determined an individual must be appointed to their first/original appointment into a DoD position that has been identified and approved as a primary firefighter no later than the last day of the month in which they become 37. Preference eligible veterans over the age of 37, may apply regardless of the age restriction. If selected, a waiver of the age restriction will be requested by the hiring official for approval by the Department of Army. An individual who is past the maximum entry age (37) who previously served in an approved primary position may be reinstated to a covered primary position provided they meet the applicable qualification requirements AND will be able to complete a total of 20 years of covered service as a firefighter by the last day of the month in which they become 57. The Department of Army may approve an exception to the maximum entry age (37) for the original entry of a non-veteran-preference-eligible applicant into a primary covered firefighter position. Exceptions shall be extremely rare and based only on a compelling hardship to the mission. Should an exception be granted, the employee shall be separated on the last day of the month in which he/she completes 20 years of special retirement provisions covered service. For reentry into a primary covered position, you must also provide sufficient documentation (SF-50s) to show length of service in a previous covered firefighter position. Proof of Age: In addition to providing the required eligibility documentation listed elsewhere in this job announcement, you must provide sufficient documentation to determine proof of age. This documentation should be attached under Special Retirement Coverage as identified in the Required Documents section.

How to apply

To apply for this position, you must complete the online questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section above. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 09/08/2026 to receive consideration To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application (https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13048135). Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. As a reminder, your resume must be two pages or less and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration. For additional information, refer to the 'Required Documents' section. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process. You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. Your resume selected in USAJOBS will be included, but you must re-select other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application may be incomplete. It is your responsibility to verify that your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. Uploaded documents may take up to one hour to clear the virus scan. Additional information on how to complete the online application process and submit your online application may be found on the USA Staffing Applicant Resource Center. To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://www.usajobs.gov/applicant/profile/dashboard/), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status.