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1. What is COVID-19?

According to the CDC, A novel coronavirus is a new coronavirus that has not been previously identified. The virus causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is not the same as the coronaviruses that commonly circulate among humans and cause mild illness, like the common cold.

A diagnosis with coronavirus 229E, NL63, OC43, or HKU1 is not the same as a COVID-19 diagnosis. Patients with COVID-19 will be evaluated and cared for differently than patients with common coronavirus diagnosis.

2. What are the symptoms of COVID-19?

Reported illnesses have ranged from mild symptoms to severe illness and death for confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases.

The following symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure.

• Fever
• Cough
• Shortness of breath

3. Who are the people at high-risk?

According to the CDC, early information out of China, where COVID-19 first started, shows that some people are at higher risk of getting very sick from this illness. This includes:

• Older adults
• People who have serious chronic medical conditions like:
• Heart disease
• Diabetes
• Lung disease
  

4. General preventative measures for the public?

The best course of action to combat the COVID-19 virus is to follow the CDC’s recommendations for prevention, which can be found here. This includes:

• Washing Hands.  It’s important to wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
• Clean and Disinfect Frequently: Clean your working area, and other frequently touched objects and surfaces with cleaning sprays or wipes.
• Avoid Touching Eyes, Nose and Mouth: If you can, please avoid touching your face as much as possible.
• Stay Home if You Are Feeling Sick: If you are feeling ill, take similar precautions that you would with any other sickness and please stay home.

5. What is South Metro doing for preventive measures?

South Metro Fire Rescue continues to monitor the COVID-19 situation to ensure that the safety and preventative measures to limit exposure to our personnel and citizens is our top priority. 

We know it’s a very fluid situation that has been evolving daily. South Metro is proactively taking heightened precautions for our personnel and staff at this time, including:

• Closing SMFR admin building to non-essential personnel until April 3^rd (or until further notice).
  
• South Metro Fire Chief Baker signed a disaster declaration.  By implementing a local disaster emergency declaration, the Fire Chief has increased authority to activate the necessary response and recovery aspects of any and all applicable local and inter-jurisdictional disaster emergency plans and have emergency funding as needed. To read the full disaster declaration, click here
  
  
• MetCom (South Metro Fire Rescue’s dispatch center) is actively monitoring if a patient calls and states they have similar symptoms to that of the COVID-19.  Most patients with confirmed COVID-19 have developed fever and/or symptoms of acute respiratory illness (e.g., cough, difficulty breathing, fever).
  
  
• If Metcom determines that a scene may have someone with these symptoms, they will advise crews that they should wear appropriate PPE before entering the scene. This includes wearing gloves, mask, eyewear and gown.
  
  
• South Metro has determined that we will be rescheduling all station tours, engine demos and ride-a-longs, community events and public education classes to a later date to minimize exposure. We do remain committed to our citizens, however, and will work with them to ensure that we reschedule any event, tour, demo, etc. to a later time.
  
  
• Operations is also actively working with our crews on additional protocols for limiting exposure as well, including having a dedicated Decon Unit to help decontaminate medic units if there is a known risk of transport

6. Are events/station tours/engine demos/etc. affected?

South Metro has determined that we will be rescheduling all station tours, engine demos and ride- a- longs, community events and public education classes to a later date to minimize exposure. We do remain committed to our citizens, however, and will work with them to ensure that we reschedule any event, tour, demo, etc. to a later time.

7. What happens if our crews are exposed to COVID-19?

If our crews are affected, we will take the necessary steps and recommendations from the CDC to see if any of our crews are high or low risk of exposure and monitor them as needed.

8. Is the South Metro Fire Rescue’s Fire Marshal’s Office Continuing to Operate During COVID-19 Pandemic?

Although the South Metro Fire Rescue administration office has been temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the South Metro Fire Marshal’s Office continues to be committed to protecting the lives and property of our community during this time. The Fire Marshal’s office will continue to operate and provide services to the community – with some alternations to business operations.  This includes:

• The Development and Construction team continuing to conduct plan reviews, issuing permits, and conducting field inspections via South Metro’s normal processes. All members can still be reached by email and phone, as they normally would, and we even have some options to conduct virtual meetings with customers needing some additional assistance with their projects. There may be some slight disruptions to services that inherently come with team members working remotely, but South Metro is striving to limit any diminished services. However, this is a dynamic situation and future decisions may be made to limit exposure of South Metro personnel and the community.
  
  
• South Metro has temporarily suspended code compliance (existing building) inspections. However, the Fire Marshal’s Office will still investigate any code compliance complaints/concerns any of our operations personnel or community members identify. If you have any questions pertaining to routine fire and life safety systems inspection, maintenance, and testing (ITM) processes while balancing COVID-19 concerns, please contact the South Metro Fire Marshal’s Office for guidance. Each case is different, and our team members will be happy to assist with navigating you through next steps.
  
  
• South Metro Fire Rescue’s investigations unit is staffed normally and will respond to all calls for service. We are still processing open records requests for incident, property assessments, and investigation reports through our normal means via our website request form (https://www.southmetro.org/467/Open-Records-Requests).

If you have any questions or concerns for the Fire Marshal’s Office, please contact our office at 720-989.2230 and a team member will be back in touch with you as soon as possible.

 

9. Should I still call 911 if I have symptoms similar to that of COVID-19?

South Metro’s mission is to serve our citizens and we will continue to be there for you.  We do ask, however, during this time that if you have non-life-threatening flu-like symptoms to please contact your primary care physician (PCP) prior to calling 911.

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1. How do I become a Firefighter or Firefighter/Paramedic at South Metro Fire Rescue?

The minimum qualifications for all candidates must meet is:

• High school diploma or general equivalency diploma (GED) 
• Must be 18 years of age by the date of hire
• Valid FireTEAM test scores 
• Valid CPAT certificate
• Possess or be able to obtain a Colorado driver’s license Possess and maintain an acceptable driving record in accordance with SMFR’s Driving Records Policy
• Must be able to pass a pre-employment background check, criminal history review, physical, fitness/wellness assessment, medical evaluation, drug screen and psychological exam. 

2. Do I need to have a valid EMT-B certificate to start the hiring process?

An EMT-B certification is not a requirement in order to apply. If a candidate is selected for hire without an EMT-B certificate, the candidate must attend and successfully pass the EMT-B course hosted by South Metro Fire Rescue. A candidate that does not pass the EMT-B course will be eliminated from the hiring process.

3. When does the Recruit Academy start?

When South Metro Fire Rescue has an open recruitment for an academy, a hiring timeline will be posted along with the start date of the academy. Please sign up to receive email notification of our job announcement by selecting to receive email alerts. To sign up, please visit our job postings page and click on notify me.

4. Can I schedule a ride along with the department?

Yes. From the home page of our website, click on services then scroll down to Community Services. Please note once a hiring cycle starts, ride alongs will be discontinued until the close of the hiring cycle.

5. How am I notified during the hiring process?

All communication throughout the hiring cycle will be sent to the email address that you provided to the National Testing Network when the FireTEAM test was taken. Please be sure to enter your email address correctly on your application and check your email frequently, including your junk or spam email folder. All applicants will be notified of their status via email at each phase of the hiring cycle. 

6. Is South Metro hiring only firefighters or can firefighter/paramedic apply?

Please refer to our Careers page. This provides the most up-to-date information on what each academy will include whether it's for firefighters only or a mix of firefighters and firefighters/paramedics. 

7. How can I obtain a CPAT?

Candidates are required to have a valid CPAT certificate through the date of hire. There are numerous testing sites in Colorado. Please see the links below for some agencies that offer a CPAT test. *Be advised that all tests need to be accredited through the IAFF.

Aims Community College                             National Testing Network

8. When should I take the FireTEAM test and obtain my CPAT?

Please be advised that your FireTEAM scores are valid for one year. A CPAT will also expire after one year. Please ensure they align with our hiring timelines. If we don't have have any current openings, your test scores and CPAT may expire by the time we open our hiring process. 

9. How do I get alerted when you post for a new position?

1.             Under the Careers tab on top, select Current Job Opportunities.

2.             On the top of the screen, you will find a search box titled “Search to Activate Job Alerts for Future Opportunities”.

3.           In the search box, enter the keyword or title of the position you are interested in. The system will show 0 opportunities and a message in red that states there are no matches for your criteria.

4.            To the right of the message in red, you will find a blue bar that shows an envelope and a title next to it that states “Activate job alerts for this search”. Please click on that bar.

5.            If you never applied with us before, please register to receive job alerts.

6.            If you already have an account with us, please click on the Sign In link to complete your job alert.

7.            After you Register or Sign in, complete the job alert by clicking on the Create blue button.  

8.            You will be redirected to the main screen that will have a message highlighted in green stating “You have successfully created a job alert”.

10. How do I prepare for the fitness evaluations if I become part of the hiring process?

Please follow this link from SMFR's Wellness Division to get more information regarding a fitness program and an explanation of the VO2max test.

https://wellness.southmetro.org/public-posts/smfr-candidate-fitness-program-8-weeks/

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1. Is it true that Retirees have access benefits to EAP?

YES, Retirees have been approved with complimentary access to SMFR EAP benefits. Click on the “Peer Support & EAP Benefits” link for information on accessing this benefit.   

2. Is there a list of “PEER Support Group Members” that retirees have access to?

YES, Retirees have also been approved with complimentary access to "SMFR PEER Support Members” at any time. Click on the “Peer Support & EAP Benefits” link for information on accessing this benefit. 

3. Is there a comprehensive list of “Health Care Options” that retirees have access to?

YES, there is a web link for existing Retirees and future retirees that provides comprehensive list to “Health Care Options”. Click on the “Health Care Options” link on the Retiree We Portal for information on accessing this list. 

4. Is there any additional information retirees can access with regards to “Pension & Investment Options”?

YES, retirees can access this information by clicking on the “Pension & Investment Options” link on the website.

5. It has been rumored that Social Security Benefits may change or could be lowered for firefighters when retired?

YES, retirees can access this information by clicking on the “Social Security Benefits” link on the website

6. Is there a retiree protocol for wearing SMFR Uniform for funerals?

YES, retirees can access this information by clicking on the “Retiree Uniform Protocol” link on the website.

7. Is there a way a retiree can purchase uniform replacement coat or pants?

YES, retirees can access this information by clicking on the “Retiree Uniform Protocol” link on the website.

8. Is there a SMFR Retiree Facebook Page?

YES, retirees can access and submit a request to be a member of the “South Metro Fire Retiree Facebook Page” 

9. Does SMFR provide access to the Wellness Center for retirees?

At the present, there is no benefit for access to the Wellness Center. This will be evaluated in the future.  

10. Will the Retiree Bi-Annual Alumni Luncheon resume in the near future?

YES, this event will continue in the near future and retirees will be notified once it resumes. 

11. Does SMFR provide a Retiree ID Badge upon retirement?

YES, this will be provided upon retirement through the newly created retirement checklist. Employees will be required to provide their existing ID Badge in exchange for the Retiree ID Badge. 

12. Can a retiree access the Daily Staffing or Training?

At the present, there is not a system to provide this securely. However, you can reach out to the specific station via phone or contact the On-Duty BC’s.