50 firies face fiery finale
FIREFIGHTERS were put through their paces as they prepared for their officer examination.
Senior firefighter Nicholas Hardy was doing his officer training yesterday in preparation for the officer exam.
“This is the most difficult exam in the fire service and there are a lot of people that don’t get through,” Mr Hardy said.
“It involves a lot of preparation and you need to get at least 75% to get through,” he said.
If Mr Hardy succeeds in the training, he would become a station officer.
Senior station officer Rikki Jackson was mentoring Mr Hardy in his training.
Mr Jackson said the test focused on procedures the officers had to know and deliver on the job.
“Every crew has four firefighters on board – three firefighters and one officer,” Mr Jackson said.
“The training takes 12 months minimum if all the boxes are ticked,” he said.
“Sometimes it takes up to three or four years for some.
“There is a lot of hard work that the firefighters have to go through.”
Mr Jackson said about 50 Queensland firefighters were doing officer training this year.
