Magyarországi tűzoltó dolgozhat Amerikában? Vagy el kell végeznie ott is egy külön tanfolyamot?

Habár nekem semmi közöm nincs a tűzoltókhoz, olyan érdekes kérdést tettél fel, hogy gondoltam megpróbálok segíteni neked mivel több mint 20 évig éltem az USA-ban.

Tehát Google-on körülnéztem ebben a témában, és egy amerikai tűzoltó tiszt emailben válaszolt is a kérdésemre ami valójában a te kérdésed volt.

A levelezésünket beillesztettem ide, természetesen minden nevet, email címet és olyan mondatokat kihagytam ami nem függ össze ezzel a témával.

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Hi,

I just read an interesting question on a Hungarian forum: how can a Hungarian firefighter could work at a US. Fire Department?

I don't want to hold you up too much with this question I was just wondering if you know the answer would you please, let me know so that I can pass it along?

Thank you.

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Hi,

I think I understand what you're looking for... the question that was asked on the forum was How can a Firefighter from Hungary come to work as a firefighter in the United States? Correct? Well, they would basically have to follow the same educational steps as anyone else. Once they had the requirements (EMT, fire academy, paramedic, etc) they could apply and test for jobs.

So, long story short, being a firefighter internationally doesn't give you the ability to begin working as a firefighter here. The standards and certifications are different so the Hungarian firefighter would have to go through each step here... likely the same as in Hungary.

Does that help?

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Hi,

Thanks for taking your time to reply my question.

So, basically you're saying that it doesn't mean how much training (firefighter school) and experience a Hungarian (EU) firefighter has, he would have to start from scratch once he is in the US.

How about legal requirements and conditions? Primarily here I am talking about US citizenship, permanent resident status, etc. For example, if US cizitenship is required, this is a no starter for a European.) So, when it comes to immigration stuff, work authorization, etc. how would one go about it, IF working for the US.F.D. does NOT requrie US citizenship up front?

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Hi,

Your experience as a Firefighter in Hungary would help you in a hiring process but the training standards aren't the same. You would still have to attend a local Fire Academy and get local EMS certifications. This is true even to work from State to State here in the United States. Your experience would likely make the process easier for you... but you still have to commit to the time.

So you would have to start from scratch but when you got to the final part of the hiring process, you'd likely have an advantage over other candidates because of your experience.

Now let's talk about the legal stuff. To be a firefighter in the United States you need to be a legal resident and have able to work legally. So you would at least need a working Visa. When you lived in Los Angeles, were you a resident alien or were you on a student visa? I've heard that the only way to get a permanent visa is to win the Green Card Lottery but I can't find any information on that on the State Department's website. But if you are in the US legally, you can work for a Fire Department. In fact, two of my co-workers were resident aliens and just became citizens... I've heard it's pretty common.

My advice would be to contact the State Department and/or Immigration and ask about obtaining a work visa so you can seek employment with a fire department. Depending on where you'd like to live, check in with the local fire departments and see what their requirements are. If they require a lot of schooling... you could get a student visa first and transfer it to a work visa before it expires. Sorry I don't have more information about it...

Good luck to you!

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Hi,

Thanks for the detailed explanation about the schooling part and your suggestions about different venues and the student visa, I will pass on all this info on this forum for that fellow.

What can I write to him, are good folks in demand at US fire departments?

Or it depends on which state we're talking about since the bad economy can drive lots of folks to become a firefighter these days, just like joining the army or the navy and there could be hiring freezes in certain states.

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Hi,

Firefighters are in demand here but there are literally hundreds, maybe thousands of candidates for every available job. So anyone wanting to be a firefighter here in the US will have to be an exceptional candidate and they will compete with another hundred exceptional candidates for each job. There are always periods of hiring freezes but there is constant hiring and movement nationwide.

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Egyébként javaslom neked, hogy szinte minden nagy városnak van saját tűzoltósága, ezek közül nagyon soknak van honlapja, ahol szinte minden információ ott van arról, hogy mi kell ahhoz, hogy sikeres tűzoltó legyél.

Google-ban így érdemes rájuk keresni:

Néhány példa:

New York Fire Department

Los Angeles Fire Department

Detroit Fire Department