The incumbent serves as a crew chief of the Montana VA Health Care System Fire Department, as a direct report to the Fire Chief. The crew chiefs have complex responsibility, assist with and provide management and supervision, administrative, operations, fire prevention, training, and health and safety responsibilities for the fire and emergency services division.
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/18/2025. 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-08 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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. Applicants must possess and maintain the following certifications prior to employment: Firefighter I & II Fire Inspector I & II Firefighter Officer I Driver/Operator-Pumper Hazardous Materials Awareness and Operations Emergency Medical Technician Incident Command/NIMS Valid State Driver's License Must have or be able to obtain Hazardous Material Incident Command & Wildland Firefighter certification within 12 months of employment. Maximum Entry Age: Title 5 U.S.C. 3307 authorizes the head of any agency to establish a maximum entry age for the original appointment of individuals to the position of firefighter. For initial appointments, applicants cannot have reached their 37th birthday of the day of the appointment. Applicants who passed the designated entry age limit of 37, but previously served in a covered position may be eligible to re-enter the fire service provided they meet all other qualifications for the position, and will be able to complete a total of 20 years of covered and creditable Federal firefighter service by the time the firefighter reaches the age of 57. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience GS-08: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-7 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: (1) controlling or extinguishing fires as a member of an organized military, industrial, volunteer, or governmental fire department or brigade;(2) rescue operations;(3) detection, reduction, or elimination of potential fire hazards;(4) operation of fire communications equipment;(5) controlling hazardous materials incidents and/or(6) developing, implementing, or providing training in fire protection and prevention; Oversee the fire and emergency service operations, fire prevention, department safety and health, and training division duties with responsibilities to include leadership and supervision, employee and incident safety, program management oversite, timekeeping, purchasing responsibilities, Joint Commission Compliance, and incident scene management. Oversee fire department operations, fire prevention training, purchasing, and equipment inventory and serves as the incident commander on complex emergencies, directing activities and personnel, requesting resources, transmitting instructions to firefighters on the scene or other personnel as to the procedures to be followed. Must comply with and enforce extensive policies, VA Directives, and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Fire Management First Response Leadership 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: The FHM crew chief position is a primary rigorous shift position. Therefore, they must be fully qualified and complete the annual training and fitness requirements. The work requires, on a regular and recurring basis, considerable and strenuous physical exertion such as frequent climbing of multiple flights of stairs, running, lifting heavy objects over 50 pounds, crouching, or crawling in restrictive areas during fire and rescue activities. Fire personal protective equipment (PPE) is excess of 65 additional pounds and must be worn, and equipment carried. The wearing of this PPE significantly amplifies the physical strain experienced by the employee during physical exertion or during periods of hot or cold weather. Employees must comply with a mandatory physical fitness program. Work Environment: The work is performed both in and outdoors, with exposure to extreme temperatures and hazards. The crew chief works in all environments, and must maintain alertness, self-control, and emotional stability when working under stressful and challenging conditions. Enters hazardous environments that will be exposed to immediately dangerous to life and health (IDLH) situations to implement tactical objectives necessary to successfully mitigate the emergency. Must maintain the ability to don structure personal protective equipment consisting of: bunker coat and pants, helmet, boots, gloves, pants and self- 7 contained breathing apparatus in excess of 65 pounds combined, wildland fighting PPE for wildland responses, technical rescue PPE for confined space or auto extrication incidents, and medical PPE for medical emergencies. The crew chief will adhere to and enforce safety and environmental protection policies and procedures and techniques. May be required to work long and irregular hours. The crew chief works 72 hours shift and is needed to cover overtime. Primary employee hazards and risks include but are not limited to: Fire, extreme heat, smoke, carbon monoxide, products of combustion Chemicals and hazardous materials, asbestos, dust, flying debris Hostile citizens/threats, riots, terrorist incidents, knife threats or gun fire Bloodborne pathogens and infectious diseases Crush and high impact hazards from building collapse, falling trees, vehicle traffic Slips, trips, and falls, navigating extremely rough terrain and steep slopes Height fall hazards off buildings, fire apparatus, and ladders Exposure to extreme pressure from chemical cylinders, oxygen cylinders, SCBA cylinders Amputation hazards from machinery Exposure to hazardous energy, electricity and lightning Confined spaces and below ground compartment and spaces 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/.
Responsible for directing the day-to-day crew assignments, programs, training, inspections, and emergency responses. Oversee the fire and emergency service operations, fire prevention, department safety and health, and training division duties. Respond to all 911 emergency medical incidents, all code blue and rapid responses. Completes daily medical equipment and supply inventory. Operates medical center ambulance for veteran and helicopter flight crew transports, creates and secures landing zones, transfer veterans and flight crew to and from the emergency room with the ambulance. Serve as the primary care attendant, completes triage if multiple patients, assess patients, and complete patient care reports and VA incident reports. Knowledge of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards, VA regulations and directives, and fire department and occupational safety and health guidelines. Ability to use and maintain motorized fire apparatus, fire pumps, self-contained breathing apparatus, portable extinguishers and other fire prevention and suppression equipment. Knowledge of fire and life safety inspection procedures and techniques, including ability to detect hazards and to determine the action needed to eliminate the hazard. Responsible for overseeing training and certifications, approves leave and overtime; reviews and evaluates performance and training and serves as a timekeeper. Participates with committees; and manages complex programs for all fire protection personnel. Assists with planning, policy creation and revision, management of the fire protection, response, and prevention, auto extrication, hazardous materials emergency response, confined space rescue, emergency medical response, rescue programs, wildland fire, and other emergency services programs. Perform initial and on-going focused patient assessment and physical examination to determine priority of patient care based upon initial findings. Work Schedule: Various, 72 hours a week, rotating shift, including weekends Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Lead Firefighter (Basic Life Support)/PD13610A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized