Apply online for firefighter positions
By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Staff Writer
Firefighters wanted in Honolulu.
Applications may be obtained through these Web sites from midnight June 12 through 11:59 p.m. June 16: www.governmentjobs.com or www.honolulu.gov/hr (click on "Jobs"). Those who apply must take a written test Sept. 10 in Honolulu. They will be notified by mail about seven days before the test. Passing the written test qualifies applicants to take a test that involves watching a videotape and answering multiple-choice questions related to teamwork and human-relations skills specifically for firefighters. Those who pass the video test then take a physical ability test. Recruits go through 26 to 32 weeks of training before being assigned to a line unit. The recruitment will be advertised June 12 in Honolulu newspapers. Brochures — but not job applications — also will be available at all 42 Honolulu fire stations. More information is available at the city Department of Human Resources Web site at www.honolulu.gov/hr. Staff at the Department of Human Resources can answer questions. Call 523-4301 or 527-5770.
For the first time in more than three years, the city will accept job applications for firefighter recruits. Department officials expect 6,000 or more applicants, and for the first time will require that all applications be made online between June 12 and June 16.
That means no paper applications will be accepted, city officials said, but a special computer center will be made available to people who need computer access and assistance.
A new batch of applicants is needed at least every three years to fill openings routinely created by retirements and because test results are valid for only three years.
The job of firefighter recruit pays $2,803 a month. Applicants must have a high school diploma or equivalent and a valid Hawai'i driver's license, type 3.
As of last year, the Honolulu Fire Department had 1,094 men and women in uniform and 51 civilians.
In January 2002, the last time the city Department of Human Resources opened applications for firefighter recruits, 5,096 people applied over a 10-day period.
Of those, 179 were rejected. That left 4,917, of whom 3,401 took the written exam for the job. Fewer than half of them, 1,427, passed the exam. And about 120 of those joined the Honolulu Fire Department over the next three years.
For those without access to a computer or who need help filing online, the Department of Human Resources will run an
Online Application Center with 23 computers and staff help from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 12 and from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. June 13-16 on the City Hall grounds, across from the Mission Memorial Auditorium.
Free public Internet access is also available at 11 city parks, the seven Oahu WorkLinks (formerly Work Hawaii) offices, state libraries and University of Hawai'i public computer labs.
Changes in laws and regulations allow for a shorter application window and allow former Hawai'i residents, such as recent graduates of out-of-state colleges, to be eligible to apply.
