Incumbent serves as Firefighter/Emergency Medical Technician in the Fire Protection Section of the Safety and Occupational Health Service working a 48-hour shift, 72- hour work week. Primarily fire protection responsibility includes a 450-bed Medical Center that is part of the VA Maryland Health Care System, consisting of three medical centers and several outreach centers.

Duties

Duties may include: Responds to all fire alarms or other emergencies. Operates the Medical Center ambulance for response to medical emergencies. Responds to hazardous material incidents. Functions as driver/operator. Operates rescue boat for the purpose of searching the shoreline and conducting rescue operations for persons and vessels in distress. Operates fire alarm and communications center of the fire station. Uses fire department radio communications equipment to effectively relay verbal or written information. Conducts monthly fire drills of both patient and non-patient occupied buildings to test employee knowledge of the fire plan and to identify those areas in need of improvement. Inspects fire detection and suppression systems including quarterly flow tests of wet and dry sprinkler systems. Work Schedule: 72 HR Weekends, Holidays. Position Description/PD#: Firefighter (Basic Life Support)/PD23264A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized. Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/31/2023. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Performs non-invasive procedures following State and National Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Basic Life Support (BLS) Protocols. Responsible for the efficient and safe operation of all fire apparatus. Ventilates the involved structure to release gases and control the fire. Uses fire department radio communications equipment to effectively relay verbal or written information. Functions as driver/operator. Drives an ambulance or passenger vehicle to transport patients between units. Professional Certifications: BLS ( Basic Life Support) Certification as Firefighter II in accordance with NFPA 1001 Certification as Operations Level Responders in accordance with Chapter 5, Core Competencies of, in NFPA 472. Certification as driver/operator in accordance with NFPA 1002. Emergency Medical Technician certification in the state in which the VA fire department is located or the national registry certification. (Meet and maintain requirements per MIEMSS for EMT Basic). Must maintain a states motor vehicle license. Newly employed VA firefighters, must obtain Fire Inspector II in accordance with NFPA 1031 within 24 months of employment. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: CommunicationCompliance InspectionFire ManagementFirst ResponseHazardous MaterialsVehicle Maintenance Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Physical Requirements: Moderate to heavy physical effort is required when reaching, bending, climbing, turning, or moving hands, arms, and feet in the performance of firefighting duties. Incumbent is required to participate in a physical fitness program. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.


Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address VA Maryland Health Care System 10 North Greene Street Baltimore, MD 21201 US
• Name: Nikki Watson
• Phone: 410-605-7000
• Email: [email protected]