City expects a big
wave of firefighter
applicants

Would-be recruits have only
one week to sign up online

The job can be dangerous. It starts at $2,800 per month, and the odds of scoring high enough in the physical and written exam to make the cut are daunting.

No matter. More than 6,000 people are expected to apply to become firefighter recruits during a five-day application period later this month.

And this year, the city Department of Human Resources will accept only online applications at www.honolulu.gov/hr or www.governmentjobs.com, midnight to midnight, June 12-16.

The number of people who apply is usually high because the city accepts applications only once every three years. In 2002, the last time the city accepted applications, 5,096 people applied during a 10-day period.

Human Resources Director Ken Nakamatsu expects a higher response this time despite the shorter application period because people do not have to apply in person and because more people are eligible.

Former residents, such as recent graduates of out-of-state colleges, can now apply. Applicants need only prove "that they lived here at one time," Nakamatsu said.

Previously, only residents were eligible. Applicants must also have a high school diploma or equivalent and a valid Hawaii state driver's license. There is no minimum or maximum age requirement.

However, response from prospective female firefighters is lower so far than the city had hoped. It is extending the reservation deadline to Friday for one of two workshops on June 11 aimed at encouraging women to consider a career as a firefighter.

About 200 women have signed up for the workshops, half of what the city can accommodate, Nakamatsu said. Reservations can be made online at www4.honolulu.gov/ cityhallonline or by calling 527-5571.

The competition for firefighter jobs is tough. In the three years since the city last accepted applications, only 120 of those who passed the written and physical agility tests became Honolulu firefighters.

The city hires new firefighters only as older ones leave the department through retirement or other reasons, and turnover is low. "Once they become firefighters, very few leave," Nakamatsu said.

As of June 30 last year, there were 1,094 uniformed employees of the Honolulu Fire Department, he said.

Those who were on the waiting list but not hired within three years must go through the entire application and examination process again.

This year, the city has added a video test to measure teamwork and human relations skills specific to firefighters.

How to apply Go to www.governmentjobs.com or www.honolulu.gov/hr (click on "Jobs"). For those without access to a private computer, the city will operate an Online Application Center with 23 computers and staff help June 12, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., and June 13-16, 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Free public Internet access is also available at 11 city parks, seven Oahu Worklinks (formerly Work Hawaii) offices, state libraries and University of Hawaii public computer labs. On the job: Firefighter recruits earn $2,803 per month. Training lasts 26 to 32 weeks.