In the Hot Seat: What Does it Take to be a Firefighter?

They’re tasked with keeping you safe.

In an emergency, your life could be in their hands.

But what does it take to be a firefighter?
 
And how do the requirements change in smaller communities in our region?

We put firefighters on the hot seat, to find out how they prepare for the worst case scenario.

Before firefighters jump into a raging inferno, they come to the Fargo Fire Department Training Center.

Nate Adams is one of Fargo’s newest firefighters.
 
“We’re training every day all day,” says Adams.
 
The two-story concrete building is a crucial piece to training firefighters.
 
Lidgerwood firefighter Kellen Jorgenson says “it’s really awesome. I love coming to train no matter what it is.”
 
Fargo firefighters are there all the time.

Trainees go through an eight week course, learning how to combat fires large and small, in homes, and in vehicles.

The skills honed here are used in the most dire of situation.
 
“Literally a matter of life. You need to make sure you keep your skills sharp, have your fellow firefighters’ back, and we have a great facility to use,” says Adams.
 
Some days, it’s not just Fargo firefighters training.

For Jorgenson, it’s a whole new experience.

He says, “Not very often at my home department do we do training with live fire. It’s probably about once every three months or so.”
 
Adams and another brand new Fargo firefighter, Justin Martin, worked at smaller departments before coming to Fargo.

Adams says he’s moved from a fire department of 30 members, to one with 130.
 
He adds, “You’re doing it every day, so you’re a little more accustomed to it.”
 
Martin says the approach is fundamentally different in Fargo, saying, “You know here it’s a career, and there you’re a volunteer.”
 
Firefighters at smaller stations say they simply don’t have the resources to train as often as they’d like, which makes partnerships with larger stations like the one in Fargo that much more important.
 
Fargo hosts firefighters from smaller departments every three months through the North Dakota Firefighter’s Association.
 
“The North Dakota Firefighter’s Association is a general training association for all firefighters state-wide. Provides a wide array of training for them to participate in,” says Jason Ness, Fargo Fire Training Captain.
 
Giving firefighters like Jorgenson a chance to get in-depth training, instead of simply focusing on extinguishing the flames.
 
He explains, “Just from watching the different smoke layers form. Feeling the heat and the horizons of the smoke.”
 
Firefighters praise the collaborative efforts of the association. They say every chance to team up is a learning experience.
 
“Many departments have limited resources. If we can all get together and share our resources, learn from each other. We learn from them. They learn from us. I think it’s the best way to provide safety in the communities,” says Ness.
 
It’s an experience everyone can take back home with them.
 
Ness says, “They apply them inside their communities when they respond to emergencies. It makes their communities safer.”
 
Working together to overcome obstacles, and keep their cities and towns and country roads safe when the time comes.

Firefighters from smaller departments are not legally required to train in Fargo.

They come on their own time.

Rural firefighters tell me at most they have old abandoned homes or trailers to train on.

They say the experience they gain in Fargo is invaluable.