{"id":1582,"date":"2019-06-25T17:38:34","date_gmt":"2019-06-25T17:38:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firefighternow.com\/?p=1582"},"modified":"2019-09-26T18:56:47","modified_gmt":"2019-09-26T18:56:47","slug":"firefighter-background","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firefighternow.com\/firefighter-background\/","title":{"rendered":"The Firefighter Background Investigation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Depending on the department the firefighter background investigation can be rather strict. &nbsp;Although the <a href=\"https:\/\/firefighternow.com\/firefighter-hiring-process\/\">process<\/a> can be difficult, it is not impossible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Every year fire departments spend thousands of dollars screening and checking potential candidates. The firefighter background investigation is usually one of the first hurdles you\u2019ll encounter in your quest to <a href=\"https:\/\/firefighternow.com\/find-fire-academy\/\">become a firefighter,<\/a> and for the purposes of this article we will focus on that. &nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Importance of Background Investigations&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Every year firefighters spend a good amount of time in people&#8217;s homes, or on their property. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This means that honesty is very important. The fire service has a reputation for being the \u2018good guys\u2019 and they generally work very hard at maintaining this image. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This means that the public needs to trust that image and not be concerned when firefighters are in their home. The same holds true for the fire house.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Spending days at a time with your crew can be exhausting and tense and it&#8217;s crucial that your crew mates are able to trust you around their personal belongings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The background investigation is a high-level way of looking at the character of the candidate.&nbsp; This doesn\u2019t mean that a clean background automatically makes you a good candidate, just that it doesn\u2019t make you one with a criminal history.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is involved in a firefighter background investigation?&nbsp; <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Although each department is different when it comes to their own process, they all follow the same general process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During the application period the candidate will be given a packet.&nbsp; Within this packet you will find pages that contain questions about, criminal history, employment verification, encounters with the law, driving record, and even credit history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All of these will play a factor in whether or not the depart will move on with the hiring process.&nbsp;&nbsp; Also, many departments require you to be fingerprinted.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All in all, process is usually quick, and you will find out your results within 1-2 weeks.\u00a0 Also, it&#8217;s important to note that depending on the department you apply to, you may be required to pass a <a href=\"https:\/\/firefighternow.com\/firefighter-polygraph\/\">polygraph<\/a> test as well.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Criminal History&nbsp; <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>As you can already guess, departments don&#8217;t want to hire candidates with a criminal background. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As someone that will eventually be held in a position of authority and responsibility, it is important that the leadership in the department as well as the general public be able to trust you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, this doesn\u2019t mean that any criminal activity in your past will preclude you from service, but it will certainly make it more difficult.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also, it\u2019s important to note that different criminal acts carry different significance.&nbsp; Most departments have a policy about not hiring someone with a felony record.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, some misdemeanors (depending on the amount of time that has passed and the severity of the crime) can be overlooked during the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Employment Verification&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Departments are looking for dependable candidates, one\u2019s that are looking to build a career in the fire service and not just another job. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Are you able to hold a position for a while? Do you have a problem with authority? Are they able to work well with others?&nbsp; All of this information will be reflected in your employment history.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Driving Record&nbsp; <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>This is vitally important information for a department. As someone that could potentially be driving fire engines, ladder trucks, watercraft, ambulances, utility vehicles and more, it is important to have a clean driving record. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While every department will be different, they generally will judge your driving record based on the number of points that have accrued on your license. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>DUIs are pretty straightforward when it comes to being considered or not, but just as with the misdemeanors on your record, they aren\u2019t necessarily a deal breaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Credit History for Firefighters!?<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Some may think that checking your credit history is unnecessary and unfair.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, many departments will require a credit check before they hire you.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why?&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Simply put, your credit history is a measure of your financial responsibility.&nbsp; Yes, you may have made mistakes, or possibly even be in a situation where your poor credit score is outside of your control (identity theft, divorce etc.)&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Situations such as this can easily be explained and overlooked.&nbsp; However, if you have a history of poor credit due to your poor decisions it may be held against you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although it can be a little intimidating to think about, the firefighter background investigation isn&#8217;t too nerve racking. The important thing to remember is honesty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It looks better to everyone if you are just upfront with your background. You would rather have the department know about your actions ahead of time than be caught in a lie down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember when it comes to certain mistakes in your past, time is your best friend, but even more so is action. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As most people believe that those actions in our past will be the actions we take in the future, you can break that stereotype by changing yourself for the better.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This means being able to demonstrate and articulate what you have learned from your past mistakes and what you have done to change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Depending on the department the firefighter background investigation can be rather strict. &nbsp;Although the process can be &#8230; <\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more-container\"><a title=\"The Firefighter Background Investigation\" class=\"read-more button\" href=\"https:\/\/firefighternow.com\/firefighter-background\/#more-1582\" aria-label=\"Read more about The Firefighter Background Investigation\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2037,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Firefighter Background Investigation | FireFighterNow<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Depending on the department the firefighter background investigation can be rather strict. &nbsp;Although the process can be difficult, it is not\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/firefighternow.com\/firefighter-background\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Firefighter Background Investigation | FirefighterNOW\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Depending on the department the firefighter background investigation can be rather strict. Although the process can be difficult, it is not impossible.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/firefighternow.com\/firefighter-background\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"FireFighterNow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/firefighternowcom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-06-25T17:38:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-09-26T18:56:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/firefighternow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/firefighter-background-investigation.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"452\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Josiah Raiford\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"The Firefighter Background Investigation | FirefighterNOW\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Depending on the department the firefighter background investigation can be rather strict. 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