Thunder Bay Fire Rescue launched the 2021 Firefighter recruitment process today with a few changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are pleased to announce that our recruitment process has officially begun,” said Fire Chief Greg Hankkio. “Our focus this year is to find operational savings through attrition, while at the same time maintaining adequate staffing levels within our professional fire service to meet the needs of the community.” 

He added that with this focus, forecasting efforts still indicate that in the near future additional probationary firefighters will be needed to maintain adequate staffing levels.

Changes to the recruitment process have been done to ensure precautionary and safety measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic are put in place to protect everyone involved. All changes will maintain the integrity of the recruitment process and will continue to ensure that a transparent, fair and equitable process is completed.

Stage 1 will now require all interested firefighters to submit a resume/application. After a detailed review process, applicants whose qualifications and experience closely match the minimum and asset qualifications of the Firefighter job description will be invited to Stage 3 of the process to write the written aptitude test.

Also, returning applicants will now only be invited to complete the Written Aptitude Test stage if they are a leading candidate from the Resume/Application Review stage. This is a significant change from the previous process, whereby all interested applicants completed the Written Aptitude Test.

Not all applicants will incur a written test cost to apply for a position. Only leading candidates will be responsible for testing costs. Previously, all applicants incurred a testing fee in order to apply.

For more information, and to apply, visit the Recruitment section on our Firefighter page.

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Contact: Martin Hynna, Division Chief - Training, 625-3157