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 72 3 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 and extensive experience, Firefighter Recruits (Paramedics) 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 (Paramedics) must graduate from the Academy and be appointed to the class of Firefighter in order to retain employment in the job series.
- Competitive Salary
- Firefighter Recruit: $45.05 hourly, $3,604.00 bi-weekly*
*In addition to the salary, employees shall also receive an approximate one percent (1%) ongoing non-pensionable compensation pay.
Upon successful completion of the academy, eligible employees may also receive the following additional premium pays:
- Paramedic Pay: 14% of top step Firefighter classification upon completion of Santa Clara County Paramedic Accreditation process (currently $778.37 bi-weekly)
- Oral Bilingual Pay: 2.5% of top step Firefighter classification (currently $138.99 bi-weekly)
- Education & Training Pay (AA/AS - BS, Fire Science, Fire Technology, Fire Protection Technology): 1.5% of top step Firefighter classification (currently $83.39 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 Mapstm or map program mutually agreed to by the parties). Employees who reside outside of this area on their hire date must change their residence to a location that complies with this requirement within one hundred and eighty (180) days of their completion of probation.
To be considered, the following minimum qualifications are required by the final filing date of March 30, 2024:
Firefighter Recruit (Paramedic) applicants: Must be current on the Firefighter Candidate Testing Center (FCTC) Statewide Eligibility List (SEL) by the final filing date of 03/30/2024. For more information on how to be placed on the FCTC SEL, visit https://www.fctconline.org/becoming-a-firefighter/fctc-statewide-list/ . A passing score on the FCTC Written Test must be dated 03/31/2023 and 03/30/2024.
To view upcoming Cal-JAC CPAT and FCTC Written Test dates, click here ( https://www.fctconline.org/testing-information/upcoming-test-schedule/ ).
Candidates experiencing financial hardship may qualify for financial aid to pay for their FCTC testing fees. ( https://www.fctconline.org/financialaid/ )