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Old 01-23-2008, 09:49 AM
 
Location: Baltimore
1,346 posts, read 4,196,549 times
Reputation: 667

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I'm currently in the hiring process with LA City Fire Dept. I grew up and currently live in Milwaukee, WI. My reason for applying to LA is because fire departments are extremely hard to get on. If you want the job bad enough, you have to travel around to test so that you have at least the smallest chance to get on.

LAFD is also one of the best fire departments in the world. Not many realize this, but they have so many special divisions that they are ready for anything. They are also one of the most aggressive fire departments in the world. By this I mean that they risk a little more than many fire departments to save whatever property that they can.

I came to LA last month for the first time ever so that I could take my written test. I found out yesterday that I passed. I will be back Feb 14 for an interview.

My main question is about possible places to live if I get the job. I still have a long ways to go, but wouldn't mind planning ahead. Firefighters start at about 50k. This is what I will most likely be making in the academy. I have been told by several firefighters that already work there that with overtime(which I will eventually work a lot of instead of getting a second job for my spare time), you can make around 100k.(It is easily one of the best paying depts in the country)

So my question is where would a good place to start off be? I'm only 20-years-old. So I'm spending literally all of my money just to travel around for tests. I would prefer somewhere like downtown so that I have most things around me.

I have heard both good and bad comments about the public transportation. How is it really? I would be nice to jump on the subway when I need to go most places. Car insurrance would be so much that I would prefer to take advantage of that. If anything, I might have a motorcycle because it's a lot cheaper than a car.

I would also like a decent nightlife around me. I won't be going out too much at first because I have to worry about the academy and probation for a good year or so. With higher pay after that, I may be moving anyway.

Last time I stayed with a friend in Hollywood. I'm not sure which part, but I know it was right across the street from Ralph's. He pays 1200/month for a studio. This time I'm staying downtown with a girl that has a little bit bigger of a studio for 1100. I think she lives on Wilshire.(sp?)

I know I've kind of babbled on here, but I would just like a few ideas. Also if there are any LAFD firefighters on here that went through a similar situation, that would be great. Thanks.
-Zach
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Old 01-23-2008, 02:07 PM
 
830 posts, read 2,850,168 times
Reputation: 387
You may already be thinking this way, but what you decide to spend on housing should be based on your minimum expected salary. So if you end up making $50k (without the overtime), I would suggest you spend no more than about $1,300 per month on rent. The rule of thumb is that you should spend NO MORE THAN one-third of your gross income on housing. So $50,000 / 12 / 3 = $1,388. I rounded down to $1,300. If you can spend less than that, do it. After taxes, saving, and your general cost of living, if you spend one-third of your income on housing, you won't have much money to do anything at all. You should probably look at moving into a two bedroom with a roommate to get your monthly cost under $1,000.

Where will you be stationed? That will determine where you need to live.

And there isn't much downtown, so I don't know what you mean by saying "most things around you".

If you live in the right areas, close to the subway stations, you can get certain places, but that covers a very limited area. Most things you'll likely want to do will require you to have a car. Public transportation in LA doesn't run all night, so the only way to go out at night is to have a car or go home early. I doubt you would want to go home early.

A motorcycle is doable, so long as you have a secure place to lock it up. But it's hard to take a date on a motorcycle, or carry groceries home from the store. And riding in the rain, stuck in traffic, is no fun. You can lane split out here, but doing that in the rain isn't a lot of fun. In the dry it's fine.

Tell us where you might be stationed and we can give you better guidance.
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Old 01-23-2008, 10:13 PM
 
Location: Baltimore
1,346 posts, read 4,196,549 times
Reputation: 667
Wasn't really sure about what is downtown. I'm from Milwaukee, WI which I think I forgot to mention.

About where I'm stationed, I wouldn't know that for awhile. If I get the job, I will be at one of two places for the fire academy for 17 weeks. The my first year(probationary year), I get relocated every 4 months. So I will be at 3 different stations. After that I would probably consider moving close to my permanent location.

There are still a lot of uncertainties. I have just been looking through here for awhile and thought I'd bring the topic up.

Thanks for the help so far though.
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Old 01-24-2008, 12:21 AM
 
Location: New Orleans, LA
683 posts, read 4,606,235 times
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Just don't expect public transportation to be similar to Chicago or NY.
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Old 01-24-2008, 08:39 AM
 
Location: Baltimore
1,346 posts, read 4,196,549 times
Reputation: 667
That's what I've been hearing. I checked the Metro though and it looks like it has a decent number of stops. Then there are the busses as well. Besides that fact that it stops at about 1:00AM, what's wrong with it?
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Old 01-24-2008, 09:49 AM
 
830 posts, read 2,850,168 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ffknight918 View Post
That's what I've been hearing. I checked the Metro though and it looks like it has a decent number of stops. Then there are the busses as well. Besides that fact that it stops at about 1:00AM, what's wrong with it?

Certainly there are a decent number of stops, but LA is a huge place. What is legally defined as Los Angeles County covers over 4,000 square miles and is home to over 10 million people. The greater LA area is significantly larger, with roughly 15 million people.

Sometimes you can find a stop close to where you are getting on/off, but sometimes not. My girlfriend takes the bus from North Hills to Beverly Hills. She has to drive to the bus stop and park in a lot. The nearest stop to her office is a 15 minute walk. Total commute time for about a 20 mile trip is an hour and 15-30 minutes. Sometimes longer. So sometimes just to use public transit you need a car, unless you have a couple of hours to get somewhere and you don't mind walking a good distance or waiting for multiple connections.

At the times the transport runs is very dependent on where you are coming from/going to. I know a girl that works in downtown LA, but lives somewhere in Orange County. Her last bus to get home leaves at 5:20 pm. That gives her very little flexibility as far as work hours. And then she has to drive home from the bus stop or have someone pick her up because she doesn't live close enough to the bus stop to walk.

It is also very slow. Sometimes there are "rapid" buses and such that get you there quicker than a regular bus, primarily because they make fewer stops, but those don't go everywhere. You can check out travel times on the metro.net website. Just plug in a couple of major insersections. Pick one in Hollywood and one in downtown LA, for example. Just pick them from Google maps or something.

Since you will be moving around, and I guess you could be anywhere in the LA area, I would imagine at some point you will just have to deal with the commute for the first year, unless you get lucky and get stationed at three different stations that are close to each other. That makes it that much harder to figure out where you should live.

Although traffic is bad just about everywhere during rush hours (rush hour is most of the day actually, except maybe for a few hours in the afternoon), it can vary greatly by area. I met a girl that has a 1 mile commute that can take her as much as 20 minutes. Another guy I know has a 4 mile commute that takes him about 30 minutes. And I know people with 45 mile commutes that takes them about an hour and 15 minutes. So it's all over the place. And that's why it is so important to live as close to work as possible.
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Old 01-24-2008, 11:10 AM
 
Location: SoCal - Sherman Oaks & Woodland Hills
12,974 posts, read 33,830,754 times
Reputation: 10491
You may want to get here first and then try to land a position with the Fire Department. Its very, very rare that they would hire someone from outside of the county with zero firefighting experience. Your chances would be much greater if you landed a firefighting job where you currently live then apply for a transfer. Many folks have become members of LAFD this way.
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Old 01-24-2008, 11:14 AM
 
Location: SoCal - Sherman Oaks & Woodland Hills
12,974 posts, read 33,830,754 times
Reputation: 10491
Before your February interview, you should see if you could spend some time with your local FD in maybe a volunteer basis - i.e., volunteer firefighter. You may already have done this but Im sure that in your interview they will ask if you've volunteered at all.

Good luck and I hope you make it.
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Old 01-24-2008, 12:46 PM
 
Location: Baltimore
1,346 posts, read 4,196,549 times
Reputation: 667
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaBeez View Post
You may want to get here first and then try to land a position with the Fire Department. Its very, very rare that they would hire someone from outside of the county with zero firefighting experience. Your chances would be much greater if you landed a firefighting job where you currently live then apply for a transfer. Many folks have become members of LAFD this way.

Thanks, but I'm pretty sure it's nothing like what you are saying. I mean no offense by it though.

I am already a firefighter with experience. I'm on a department and have tons of certifications. I have definitely done my homework.

It's not very rare at all to do this. The recruitment office is actually giving me extra help because I am from the other side of the country. They are scheduling a few steps together. I'm currently at the interview stage already.

You can't just transfer to a fire department. That's not how it works. There are only so many spots. You always have to go through the entire hiring process.

Experience also means NOTHING to LAFD. In fact, many are fighting about it right now because those with experience are getting turned down for those without experience. I've heard of a guy that has 10 years on full-time, but they said he wasn't "qualified" during his background interview. I know they like diversity which is why they take many based on personality, not experience. This is how most larger depts are. They have their own academy so experience means nothing. In fact, it could hurt a lot of people with LAFD.

I visited several fire house when I was there for my test and they all told me that I was exactly what the department was looking for. Especially being young and from Milwaukee. The recruiter that is helping me out really wants me to get through the process.

Like I said, no offense. I did do my homework though and I know how it works. I'm a firefighter/EMT in the Milwaukee area.

motoman - Thanks for the tips. I'm actually testing with LA City, not LA County. So even though it's still a huge area, it's a little smaller than what you were thinking.
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Old 01-25-2008, 01:44 AM
 
237 posts, read 913,245 times
Reputation: 72
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaBeez View Post
Before your February interview, you should see if you could spend some time with your local FD in maybe a volunteer basis - i.e., volunteer firefighter. You may already have done this but Im sure that in your interview they will ask if you've volunteered at all.

Good luck and I hope you make it.
I am firerfighter and they do not like volunteer's . When i was hired in 92,the cheif told me volee's do thing alot different than the city or county. When we train someone and that is the only way they have ever been shown that is the way they will do it. If someone is a volee and has been trained and has been doing a certain task a different way from the way we do it and if they have been doing it for years. What way do you think they will start referring back to, the way they always done it . Does that make sense. When you put volunteer on your application the current brass crosses it off it means nothing if anything a negative.
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