What do I need to become a firefighter ?
Asked by hypesterr
I am a sophmore in highschool, and its time that we start looking for possible career paths. I've always wanted to be a firefighter since i was little. What do i need to become one ? Is there any higher level of education that i need to go into before trying out or what ? Will it be harder for me since im a female ?

Best Answer:
The first that you need to do, as a female, is to develop your upper body strength, endurance and general body conditioning. Most fire dept.s require a difficult pre-employment physical agility test. For example, you will need to be able to drag a 170 lb. dummy a required distance, another example would be that you have to carry a rolled up section of fire hose on your shoulder and run up three flights of stairs to the top of a fire tower in a timed exercise. You may prepare yourself for future advancement by taking classes in fire science at the local community collage. Good luck to you.