· Minimum age is 19 years old.
· Maximum age is 32 years old, however, some communities have waived this age
limit.
· The State Civil Service entrance exam for firefighter is held every two years.
The next exam should be in the Spring of 2004 .
· Tewksbury is a member of the Civil Service System.
Residence preference is given to those who live in Tewksbury for the 6 months prior
to the exam .
· The entrance exam is a general knowledge exam. No prior studying is required.
· Most cities in towns in the state are covered under this Civil Service exam but there
are several smaller communities who give their own exams or hire in different ways.
· The highest test scores are chosen first .
· Preference is given to those individuals who had parents who were killed in the line of
duty .
· Preference is also given for U.S. Military Veterans of certain wars or conflicts such as:
Vietnam War, Gulf War, Panama and Grenada or others as they are designated.
· Information on these exams can be found by contacting the Department of Personnel
Administration, 1 Ashburton Place, Boston MA (617-727-3777) .
· Tewksbury requires all new hires to be Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT’s).
Being an EMT, or being enrolled in an EMT course, prior to employment is preferred.
New hires have one year to obtain their EMT certification.
· Before being hired a background investigation is conducted as well as a full medical
and interview.
· Once selected, new hires attend the 14-week Massachusetts Fire Academy's Recruit
Training Program in Stow. Some communities, such as Boston and Worcester have
their own training academies.
· Each city or town compensates their firefighters at different rates of pay depending on
their union contracts where applicable. The average pay for a first year firefighter in
Massachusetts is approximately $40,000 a year.
· The work schedule varies from department to department. Generally it is based on
42-hour work week averaged over an eight week cycle. Plan on working nights,
weekends, and holidays.
You can also visit the Civil Service webpage for examination information.
For More Information Contact:
Tewksbury Fire Department
21 Town Hall Avenue
Tewksbury, MA 01876
Tel: (978) 640-4410 FAX: (978) 640-4415
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