48 spots per academy.
1 Like
Those are pretty small numbers then if there are two COA academies starting 1/9
Probably an FFA plus other classes, Ione zoo.
96 students
FAE calls started today for the new list, know of 4 people that got calls
3 Likes
The new list meaning from the most recent test correct? I got rank 2 on it.
The FFI application has been extended to the end of March. Me thinks massive hiring is coming.
2 Likes
Or not enough people appliedā¦
1 Like
For sure, add to the fact probably over 50%, if not significantly higher, are on the II/FAE list and will take a job. Add other agency hiring across all ranks and we have a storm for a young inexperienced work force.
1 Like
Yea thatās correct
1 Like
There is no way that there are 1500 FAE jobs open right now. A rough breakdown of where we are currently at:
Approximately 9000 bargaining unit 8 employees.
Around 3500 of those are FF1ās.
Approximately 2500 of those 9000 are Schedule A positions.
Leaving 3000 permanent Schedule B positions, 80 of which are FF2, so roughly 2900 Schedule B spots.
2900 + 2500 being 4900, which includes FF2, FAE, FC and BC ranks with FC being the highest majority.
If you said we have 1500 OPEN FAE spots, you are saying that we currently only have 3900 permanent spots filled in all 4 ranks is WAY off.
In my current unit they over hired 8 FAEās from the Aug-Sept. hiring. Multiple folks have already left for other agencies.
RRU currently has 70-80 FF2 vacancies open, which they are trying to do TAU and LT hires of FAE and FC Medic so they can fill those vacancies with LT FF2 positions, and also hearing rumor the bottom 3 units are sponsoring folks through paramedic programs with a 2-3 year commitment to the unit in the medic classification to fill the void. SoCal is hurting for medics, not just CAL FIRE with other agencies downgrading from ALS services to BLS services based on staffing as well.
There is also rumor the crew program will see a transition of having 2 FF2ās per crew in the next year or two that will have an effect on hiring and positions.
A very weird time with our budget increasing and the California government predicting a budget deficit already.
The 1500 FAE positions may be whatās required to get the state to 4 person staffing and a 3 platoon system, but when I went to COA in 2016 the FAE positions in Schedule B was under 300, and it hasnāt increased to the point of being 1500 vacancies open by 2023. With some quick form math, 1500 divided by 3 is 500 pieces of apparatus with 3 platoons of engineers and their aināt no way we are that understaffed.
There are approx 2000 02350/03050 FC positions in the state and approx 1200 02350/03050 FAE positions in the state. This is the primary reason OPEN LIST FC get hired.
The budget is based on āstate missionā and not contracts. As those can come and go.
Currently there are 10 COA scheduled Jan-Sept for a total of 480 students for 2023. The 1st 2 COA that start on 1/9/23 are for the folks that had FFA already or finished the last 7week or 2nd 4week FFA in Q4 2022.
The current budget had over 350 new positions that required COA(FAE, FC, BC, DC, AC) not to mention the additional Staff Chief positions.
The last 5yr the dept has not kept up with attrition let alone all the new positions created. With the bottleneck continuing to be training/COA.
Finally, additional positions have been created to expand training as have additional engines been purchased to expand COA.
The dept is just experiencing growth that continues to outpace current training capacities.
1 Like
Heard from an admin captain at Ione the number is closer to 800 people through COA for 2023
Very possible
VS only shows 10 COA on the calendar Jan-Sept. 4-8 mo could be scheduled the last 4mo of the year. 
Fun fact:
About 950 CAL FIRE safety (mostly BU8) employees are 50+. Thatās 10.5% that are theoretically eligible to retire today.
Another 900 (~10%) are 45-50.
That means over 1,800 (over 20% of the safety employees) will be eligible to retire in the next 5 years. Thatās a lot of movement and a lot of holes to fill on top of any newly created positions and attrition to other departments in a relatively short period.
3 Likes
I hear there are about 1,200 permanent FAE slots plus another 200 or so permanent FAE medic slots statewide. Thatās 1,400 total FAE slots budgeted statewide both Schedule A and B.
This doesnāt include any LT slots, but still brings into question the likelihood of there even being more than 1,500 slots total, let alone 1,500 openings at one time.
Any word on bringing back the 2 week Firefighter Challenge (FFC) Academies?
They did 3 in 2007, but that was it.
You had to meet certain entry requirements like having an accredited academy cert, EMS, hazmat FRO, and a few other training requirements and certs you would have gotten in the FFA in order to be considered for placement.
The expectation was that you already had the training and experience, so you were given an opportunity to do the FFA tests to demonstrate competency and skip the FFA that was 6 weeks at the time.
If you were accepted, you literally took your written final before lunch on day 1-pass/fail with no retake opportunities-and if you passed the written test, were shown the skills tests that afternoon. Zero classroom or basic skills instruction. Like I said above, you were expected to be proficient coming in day 1.
The rest of week 1 was skills test evolution practice and a few short refresher classes on specific skills like vehicle fire and such.
Week 2 was almost all skills testing and graduation.
The FFCs had a 50%+ failure rate, but I think that was mostly due to the FFCs being a new offering and units not fully understanding what the expectation was, so they ended up sending inexperienced people to FFC and the experienced ones to the full FFA. I think the more FFCs that were held, the higher the pass rate would have been as people learned what to expect.
Those who failed the FFC remained employed and were placed in the next available full FFA with no discipline. They then attended the FFA just like everyone else.
To me, if someone has been to an accredited 12+ week academy and has their SFM FFI along with the other certs you get from the FFA, why not put them through an abbreviated FFC and grant FFA equivalency if the truly are proficient?
That would save a considerable sum in training expenses, help alleviate some of the FFA bottleneck, and free up precious capacity for additional COAs.
Seems like a no brainer to me.
1 Like
That has begun to happen, hence the 4-week FFA. I personally know several people that have e graduated from one of those 2 āBetaā Academys. Several of those are on the calendar beginning Aug/Sept.
Now that the dept is fully aligned with OSFM FF1 & FF2, we are in a hybrid time frame. Employees who have Cal-Fire Basic, Employees with OSFM FF1 certification Pre-2013, etc. Beginning 1/1/24 all new Employees on suppression will need OSFM FF1 2020 or newer to be assigned to an engine. SFM is now in full alignment with NFPA teaching all 4 modules(A structure, B Haz.-mat, C Wildland, D Dept specific orientation) this is why FF-Crew only need Modules C & D.
With the increased hiring of OPEN LIST FC & FAE, a ācross-walkā of existing training certs & qualifications IDP is being used. I know of a person who came to the Dept from another agency with equivalent training and has been hired as a Open List FC without attending COA. This person has extensive training and has a IDP specific to them. They are being onboarded and mentored for several work periods by experienced FC in Sch A, Sch B, & basic Prevention training and not working āaloneā as the engine FC.
Finally, there have been too many to count open list FC hired in the camp program that have come from LG agencies both in & out of CA. I know of several 10+yr FC that have changed agencies and come to CF, only to be put through 14 weeks of training. This new training IDP referenced above is specifically designed to fast tract these experienced people coming to the dept.
edit
There are a total of 15 COA scheduled in 2023 for a total of 720 possible students through the pipeline. The 1st 2 COA as stated start 1/9/2023 for those with FFA already. That leaves 624 positions to be filled with a combination of 7 week(already have FFA, 11 week(4 week FFA, 7 Week COA) or 14 week( 7 & 7 weeks FFA & COA).
There are also an equal number of FFA scheduled with similar numbers.
The Academy calendar is now year round with a slight 2 week break for Christmas & New Years only.
2 Likes
It is is unnecessary to spend 6+ weeks at COA when hiring folks from the outside
I just got a job offer today and Iām in rank 2
5 Likes