The San José Fire Department's (SJFD) core mission is to serve the community by protecting life, property, and the environment through prevention and response. SJFD is a high-volume, all-hazards fire department providing fire suppression and rescue services that protects approximately 200 square miles, Advanced Life Support and Basic Life Support services as well as specialized operations including Urban Search and Rescue, Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting, and a Hazardous Material Unit with a Decontamination Unit. SJFD deploys resources from 34 fire stations, protecting areas within city limits and some unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County by contract. SJFD currently has 720 authorized sworn positions across nine ranks, offering many opportunities for career advancement.
Click here for information on the SJFD Department.
Click here for information on Benefits.
Click here for the California Equal Pay Act
To apply, please complete an application via the City of San José's website at: https://www.sanjoseca.gov/citycareers .
Please note that applications are currently not accepted through CalOpps or any other third party job board application system. To apply, applicants must complete an application via the City of San Jose's website at www.sanjoseca.gov/citycareers .
This is the trainee level class in the Firefighter series, responsible for becoming proficient in the understanding of lifesaving and firefighting methods within the SJFD. Through a specific program comprised of general and specialized education, focused training including extensive hands-on experience, Firefighter Recruits will learn diverse tasks, policies, procedures and standards within the SJFD. Incumbents will learn techniques in emergency medical services, rescue work, firefighting and other emergency services. Duties may involve considerable physical exertion and potential risk to health and safety. Work is rigidly structured, highly supervised, and incumbents are continuously evaluated and receive feedback regularly. Firefighter Recruits must graduate from the Academy and be appointed to the class of Firefighter in order to retain employment in the job series.
This recruitment may be used to fill multiple positions in this, or other divisions or departments. If you are interested in employment in this classification, you should apply to ensure you are considered for additional opportunities that may utilize the applicants from this recruitment.
In addition to the salary, employees shall also receive an approximate one percent (1%) ongoing non-pensionable compensation pay.
- Competitive Salary
- Firefighter Recruit: $45.05 hourly, $3,604.00 bi-weekly*
Upon successful completion of the Firefighter-Recruit Academy:
Upon successful completion of the academy, eligible employees may also receive the following additional premium pays:
- Paramedic Pay: 14% of top step Firefighter upon completion of Santa Clara County Paramedic Accreditation process (currently $733.69 bi-weekly)
- Oral Bilingual Pay: 2.5% of top step Firefighter (currently $131.02 bi-weekly)
Education & Training Pay (AA/AS - BS, Fire Science, Fire Technology, Fire Protection Technology): 1.5% of top step Firefighter (currently $78.61 bi-weekly)
Employees hired on or after January 1, 2017, must reside within 120* minutes travel time from the nearest City of San Jose fire station (non-traffic period as calculated by Google Maps or map program mutually agreed to by the parties).
*effective July 1, 2024, the travel time will change to residing within 180 minutes of the nearest
To be considered, the following minimum qualifications are required by the final filing date of August 2, 2024:
Firefighter Recruit applicants: Must be current on the Firefighter Candidate Testing Center (FCTC) Statewide Eligibility List (SEL) by the final filing date of 08/02/2024. For more information on how to be placed on the FCTC SEL, visit https://www.fctconline.org/find-a-job/fctc-statewide-list/ . A passing score on the FCTC Written Test must be dated between 08/1/2023 and 08/2/2024.
To view upcoming Cal-JAC CPAT and FCTC Written Test dates, click here ( https://www.fctconline.org/candidates/upcoming-test-schedule/ ).
Candidates experiencing financial hardship may qualify for financial aid to pay for their FCTC testing fees. ( https://www.fctconline.org/grants/ )