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FARMINGTON – For a chance to be included in the firefighting program at Foster Technology Center, candidates must first face a panel of veteran firefighters with questions who make sure they have “the right stuff.” In this series of photographs by Steve Mitman, Delani Littlefield of Strong, bravely faced the fire fighters’ grilling this week. The class and the interviews, are held in the training room of the Farmington Fire Station.
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According to Deputy Fire Chief Clyde Ross of the Farmington Fire Department, the intense interview process has been used for a number of years to give prospective students an opportunity to sell themselves as good candidates for the program. “Students who do well in the program are motivated, involved in their community, and have set goals for themselves,” said Ross.
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“We are looking for students who will be a good match for the demanding program. We want them to be successful here next year,” explained program instructor John Churchill.
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The candidates are all asked the same 10 questions and scored on a rubric. Ross, who is also a retired teacher explained, “We are looking at body language, how they present themselves, confidence, and how they ‘think on their feet.’ This type of interview is a life-skill that all graduates will need to master if they want to do well as adults.”
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Littlefield had a big smile on her face outside the fire station after her interview. “I feel good about the interview. I was prepared; I practiced answering questions in front of a mirror this weekend,” she said. The students will find out if they will be accepted into the program on Thursday.
fingers crossed for you Delani! You looked like you were prepared in the pictures..
How many of the grillers faced the same grilling when they were 15-year-old high school students? Would they have been deemed as having “the right stuff” at that young age? Come on, this is just silly posturing. This isn’t the FDNY. (BTW, go Delani — we need more kids like you!)
It might not be the FDNY, but Farmington is a particularly well-disciplined department. All the interview is supposed to do is instill that firefighting, as a rule, takes a certain degree of seriousness and discipline. I don’t personally think it’s at all off-base to be sure that the kids entering the program are ready for that type of atmosphere. The interview is not meant to exclude anyone.
Personally I think that some of the kids currently in the program could benefit from a little reinforcement of what is expected of them (especially with regard to the way they conduct themselves) as firefighters. This is not just “silly posturing,” and personally I wish that the interview was a little tougher. It needs to be instilled that firefighting, even at age fifteen, can be a dangerous. And firefighters (volunteer OR career, as the professionals and public servants we are, are held to a higher personal standard as a rule. The same should go for students who are applying to learn the job. I’d invite anyone who doesn’t understand why this is absolutely necessary to come take a ride with me for a day.
This isn’t the FDNY?
Maybe not, but if my house catches fire, I’d like to think the firefighters would have the same attitude and training as the FDNY. This may seem silly to you, but it’s damn important to these kids and, if my house catches fire, it’ll be damn important to me as well!
Thank you everyone for all of your support! I am happy to announce that I have been accepted into the Foster Tech. Firefighting program!! :) :) I appreciate everyones support and enthusiasm.
Sincerely, Delani Littlefield
Delani,
Congrats! Not only will you make a fine fire-fighter, but you are a polite young person, as well. Kudos to you, and to those who have influenced your life!
Shannon
Congratulations Ms. Littlefield, you should be very proud of yourself.
Mr. Mackenzie, as far as this being “silly posturing”, maybe if a few MORE 15 year olds were actually held accountable for their behaviors, and some demands were made on what they did with their time we would not a lot of the issues that we have going on in our schools today. My brother was part of the Wilton Fire Dept from the time he was a young kid in their junior program, and now is one of the chiefs at a department up past Bangor. It is a honorable profession, but a necessarily disciplined one. I’m glad to see that they choose their heroes carefully.