Recruiting Information

Background

The Town of Clayton Fire Department (CFD) is a professional combination fire department consisting of fulltime and part-time personnel. We respond to approximately 1,000 calls a year ranging from working fires, fire alarms, motor vehicle accidents, hazardous materials incidents, investigations, technical rescues, and public assistance calls. CFD covers the Town of Clayton District, Claytex District (county fire district), and also provides automatic mutual aid to surrounding districts. The current fulltime staff consists of the Fire Chief, Training/Safety Chief, Fire Marshal, Fire Lieutenant, 7 Fire Equipment Operators (Engineers), and 1 Administrative Support Specialist. The current active part-time staff consists of 3 Battalion Chiefs, 6 Captains, 1 House Captain, and 7-9 Firefighters assigned to each Captain. Majority of the personnel on CFD are part-time and CFD strives to maintain the combination setting. Part-time personnel are the ones which were once referred to as “volunteers”. These personnel are employed part-time by the Town of Clayton (TOC), given an hourly rate based on rank and qualifications, paid for their services ranging from call response, training, work details, special duty crews/details, and receive a paycheck every 2 weeks. A lot is expected of all personnel with CFD, in turn CFD puts a lot into all personnel.

Operations

The Operations Division consists of Fire Ground Operations and Special Operations. The Operations Division is overseen by 3 Battalion Chiefs which are supervised by the Fire Chief. The Training/Safety Division Chief, Fire Marshal, and Fire Lieutenant oversee operations during the normal work week and are also supervised by the Fire Chief. Each Battalion Chief has 3 Captains assigned to them and each Captain has 7-9 Firefighters (See Operations link below). The Special Operations Division is overseen by the Training/Safety Division Chief and special operations responses entail a variety of technical rescue disciplines (See Special Operations link below). Personnel are provided all personal protective equipment (PPE) needed to perform their duties and assigned to a respective station to respond to for calls. Personnel are also assigned work details which rotate through each station to ensure familiarization of all CFD equipment is accomplished. Part-time personnel must work a specific number of shifts as well as receive a set number of training hours each month. All new employees, regardless of fire experience/certification, must serve a 6 month Introductory Period per TOC Personnel Policy.

Training/Safety

The Training/Safety Division of CFD is overseen by the Training/Safety Division Chief, and has 31 in-house certified instructors that assist in the delivery of classes. The Training/Safety Division Chief also oversees the Safety Program for the fire department, conducts any accident/exposure investigations, and ensures certain standards, guidelines, and policies are implemented and followed. All required training is offered at CFD and other options are available for instances where personnel can not attend due to work, sick, etc. Certification classes are delivered by Johnston Community College (JCC) Fire/Rescue Instructors which majority of the time are CFD personnel which are also employed part-time by JCC. Required training for personnel consists of the following:

-NC Firefighter II Certification (approx 330hrs) within 18 months of date of hire

-NC Hazardous Materials Level I Operations (included in FFII training)

-NC Emergency Vehicle Driver Certification

-OSHA/NFPA Medical physical

-OSHA Fit Testing/Respiratory Protection

-OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen/Hazardous Communications/HazMat Refresher

-CPR/AED training

-Incident Command Systems

-240 hours annual training for new recruits (NC FFII training) and fulltime personnel

-120 hours annual training for other personnel (ultimate goal of 240hrs all personnel)

-Firefighter Safety/Survival-Rapid Intervention Team (RIT)

-Special Operations (Extrication, High/Low Angle, Confined Space, Trench/Collapse, Water)

-NC Driver Operator-Pumps Certification (for apparatus drivers)

-NC Rescue Technician/Technical Rescuer VMR, Ropes, Confined Space, and Trench (for Technical Rescue Specialty personnel)

-Fire Officer/Supervisory Training (for all Officers and/or Officer Candidates)

All required training is provided to personnel at no cost and personnel are paid for their required training hours which are tracked on a regular basis. Other training is obtainable by being affiliated with Clayton Fire Department.

Risk Management

The Risk Management Division is overseen by the Fire Marshal. The Fire Marshal schedules fire prevention visits with area schools and daycares, station tours with safety talks, conducts fire inspections of businesses, conducts investigations of fires, and attends various meetings/training sessions to assist in emergency preparedness for the Town of Clayton and Claytex District. Pre-Incident Surveys of businesses in our response district are conducted by CFD personnel on a regular basis.

Application Process for Part-Time Personnel

The Town of Clayton Fire Department schedules an application process once a year for part-time personnel (depending upon staffing needs and budget recommendations). The process is referred to as the November process but it begins in the August-September time frame due to the required components in the process. The process is advertised in the local newspaper, Town of Clayton website, and social media sites. The application process consists of the following steps:

-Applicants must be 18 years of age and have a high school diploma or equivalent (GED, etc) before the hire date.

-Complete in it's entirety a Town of Clayton Employment application and turn in to the Human Resources Department at the Clayton Town Center. A current NC DMV record will also have to be turned in during the hiring process.

-Attend the CFD Physical Agility Test

-Attend an interview (conducted during weekday business hours)

-Background check is conducted by the Town of Clayton

-Meet with CFD Administrative Support Specialist to complete paperwork

-Attend medical physical and blood draw

-Attend orientation training (conducted during weekday business hours)

-Pass pre-employment drug screening

-Attend Officer Orientation (conducted during evening hours)

-Get Fit Tested for SCBA mask

-Attend 1403 Rookie School at CFD (weekend training session)

-Serve 6 months of an Introductory Period

Application Process for Full-Time Personnel

The Town of Clayton Fire Department full time position application process is unique to the position applied for. The process consists of a physical agility test, practical and written tests (based upon position), and interviews. Open positions are advertised in local and area newspapers, Town of Clayton website, and other Fire / Rescue related websites (FireNews.Net, NCSFA.com). Requirements, certifications, and other information given in advertisement.

More Information

CFD Operations

CFD Special Operations

If you have any questions, please contact Training/Safety Division Chief Jason Dean at: Office 919-553-1520 or Email jdean@townofclaytonnc.org