Forwarded on behalf of the CFD…

In the coming weeks the Charlotte Fire Department will begin the process of opening applications for an Accelerated Recruit Class. This recruit class will be made up of individuals who are current full-time firefighters. The decision was made to explore the option of an accelerated class not in whole due to a lack of recruitment data, but on planned expansion in the next 2 fiscal years, as we construct new stations (45 and River District) and continue to enhance response in newly developed or in-fill areas of the city (45 and L39). In addition, we will make strides to fill our known staffing gap, based on the Management Partners relief factor. The following criteria will be used for qualification:

• Career Full-time firefighter for the previous 3 years
• NC firefighter or equivalent
• NC EMT or equivalent
• Will provide the most recent 2 performance appraisals

For a recruit class of 16-24 this class is expected to be 13-14 weeks as opposed to 26-27 for our normal recruit class. We feel strongly that these employees need to go through a Charlotte recruit class to have a full understanding of what it means to be a Charlotte Firefighter. They will do a full “Ladders” class including pompiers, the PPE class will include the “Pipe” as examples. This is not just a skills verification like many departments are doing for a lateral transfer, but an accelerated recruit school taking into account their experience. Likewise, candidates would be able to go through both the accelerated and annual process at the same time, as long as they meet the qualifications.  We will continue our normal annual recruit process as usual for additional recruit classes.  Lastly, these new recruits would not have any pay or promotional advantage taking account for their previous experience. They would be required to meet all the current benchmarks as our current employees.  If you have any questions, please send them through the chain of command.

Be safe
Reginald T. Johnson
Fire Chief
Charlotte Fire Department