Supervisory Firefighter (Basic Life Support)

Summary This position is aligned in the Facilities Service Line – Tomah VA Medical Center Fire Department, at the Tomah VAMC (676) a Level 3 Complexity VHA Facility) located in Tomah WI. Incumbent works under the general supervision of the Assistant Fire Chief. The primary purpose of this position is to function as a General Schedule Supervisor over lower graded staff performing work to control and extinguish fires, rescue persons endangered by fire, and reduce or eliminate potential fire hazards. Responsibilities Major duties: Oversees, plans, directs, and coordinates the day-to-day work of the Engine Companies consisting of 4 personnel. Establishes and maintains Firefighter work schedules, daily logs, and other records of Fire Department work performed. Performs duties of timekeeper for payroll processing. Prepares and submits written and electronic reports, and reviews crew member reports for accuracy and completeness. Coordinates training needs with Firefighters. Establishes operating procedures and prepares guidance necessary to ensure the training program provides training in the full range of firefighting and prevention techniques. Independently schedules coordinates and conducts inspections, test, maintenance, and minor repairs of Fire Department Equipment and Facility Fire Suppression and Detection Equipment. Reviews work of subordinates, makes improvement recommendations, and provides input for performance evaluations. Preapproves Fire Department Leave Request, initiates call backs for staffing coverage/requirements. Conducts general work planning daily, particularly in the areas of training and fire inspections. Reviews and revises schedule to meet unexpected changes and duty assignments. Responsible for review, assessment, and recommendations concerning Fire Department records of fire prevention inspections, air packs, extinguishers vehicle, hose, fire equipment, daily workloads, safety meeting and pre-fire planning. Responsible for verbal and written reports of deficiencies, discrepancies, conflicts, or unusual situations which are identified and makes comprehensive recommendations for solutions. Trains subordinates and other Medical Center personnel in building evacuations, the use of extinguishers, use of alarms, assembly points for emergencies, and resolves training schedule conflicts with Supervisors and Managers. Directs the Fire Prevention Branch in the daily application of sound fire prevention practices on the installation. Prepares facilities inspection and testing inspection schedules for all buildings, facilities, fire alarm systems, sprinkler systems, hydrants and water systems, detector systems and other extinguishing systems that are tested by the fire prevention personal. Inspects maintenance of all suppression and detection systems on the grounds. Conducts Initial Investigations of all emergency incidents. Schedules and conduct fire drills and fire inspections and independently performs fire inspection duties in areas where hazards are expected to be encountered. Performs pre-incident planning by familiarizing themselves with the various buildings interiors and to locate any possible hazards as well as established fire protection systems. Conducts inspections on built-in fire protection features such as, but not limited to fire barriers, smoke barriers and fire doors. Perform and lead crews in annual fire system testing on building systems such as fire alarms, smoke and heat detectors, fire doors, sprinkler alarms and other items covered under the Elements of Performance for Joint Commission. Responds to all emergency calls on Tomah VA Medical Center property as well as requests for Mutual Aid by surrounding communities if approved by management to extinguish fire, provide Basic Life Support and/or technical rescue to those in need. Upon arriving at the scene of an emergency, incumbent assumes the role of Incident Command until relived by a senior Fire Officer and begins fire suppression activities while concurrently leading the overall activities of firefighting crews. Implements the department incident command system, mutual aid plan, or emergency preparedness plans as needed. Assigns Firefighter/EMT to respond to emergencies. In the absence of available Firefighter/EMTs, the Captain provides first aid, CPR, and performs as an EMT, following TVAMC protocols and directives outlined is MCP MS-03. Work Schedule: Full time, 72 hr shifts, 144 hrs/pay period. Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Firefighter (Basic Life Support)/PD02842A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) – See “Additional Information” below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/02/2024. This is a one graded interval position. There is currently no position in the normal line of progression that is one grade lower than the position being filled. As such, 1 year of specialized experience at the second lower level is creditable for inservice applicants. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS 9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS 7. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS 9 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS 8 or the second lower level GS 7 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Such duties may include (1) Effectively controlling and extinguishing fires, operates various nozzles and hose lines, makes connections to, and operates fire hydrants, performs forcible entries, ventilates structures, carries, raises, and lowers ground ladders, performs, or assists in rescue operations, uses a variety of hand tools, hydraulic tools, portable fire extinguishers, and performs salvage and overhaul; (2) Responds to all emergency calls on Tomah VA Medical Center Grounds as well as requests for Mutual Aid by surrounding communities to extinguish fire when requested and approved by management; (3) Operate pumps, foam generators, and other specialized firefighting equipment, determining proper pressures for the type of nozzle or equipment, size of hose, and distance to be covered; (4) Provides medical care as a Basic Life Support/Emergency Medical Technician-(EMT) following TVAMC protocols and directives as outlined in MCP MS-03 in providing basic life support; (5) Independently performs fire inspection duties in areas where hazards are expected to be encountered. Incumbent inspects medical and psychological facilities, multiple story buildings, administrative buildings, public assemblies, industrial shops, warehouses and residential quarters for fire safety violations and other conditions contributing to more extensive fire hazards; (6) Performs initial and on-going focused patient assessment and physical examination to determine priority of patient care based upon initial findings, which may include providing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), using the automated external defibrillation (AED) and the use of the LUCAS device. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Decision Making Interpersonal Skills Planning and Evaluating Technical Competence Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Effort: The Supervisory Firefighter/EMT (Captain) must maintain an adequate level of physical fitness to react quickly and have the stamina to endure the physical exertion and stress of firefighting, they must complete 1 hour of physical activity per day per the NFPA 1500 and annually complete a Fire Department Physical Agility Test outline in NFPA 1500 and NFPA 1583. Fire Department personnel must complete an annual Firefighter physical with Employee Health to be cleared for duty. Incumbent must maintain physical condition to don personal protective equipment consisting of coat, helmet, boots, gloves, bunker pants, and self-contained breathing apparatus, which weighs 75 pounds. Incumbent must wear this equipment when responding to and during all emergency calls regardless of temperature. Incumbent is expected to enter buildings and atmospheres that are unsafe due to fire, oxygen deficiencies, etc. and perform very strenuous types of work carrying heavy equipment and victims. The requirements of the job are such that the incumbent must maintain alertness, self-control and emotional stability when working under conditions of stress, confusion, panic and where physical injury or death are present. Working Conditions: Will include heavy physical exertion, extreme heat, smoke, and dust in enclosed smoke-filled places, in all types of weather. Incumbent is subject to overtime call-back and mandatory overtime to ensure mandatory compliance with minimum crew staffing requirements. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Managements website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. Education There is no educational substitution at this grade level. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicants criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.