Recruitment

Serving Your Community

Few jobs offer you the opportunity to save a life. As a volunteer firefighter, you could be called upon to do it at a moments notice. This is why we need courageous and dedicated people with a strong desire to help others.

The criteria to be a volunteer firefighter is:

A citizen of the United States
A legal resident of the State of Nebraska
A resident of the City of Kearney of within a two mile radius of Kearney or five mile radius of Riverdale
At least 19 years of age or ask about our Explorer Program for under the age of 19.

Applying for the Department

To apply for membership to the Kearney Volunteer Fire Department, an Application for Membership must be completed and returned to Fire Station 1, 2211 Avenue A.

After the department receives the application, the applicant is interviewed by the Investigative and Review Committee to investigate the qualifications and interest of the applicant. The City of Kearney will conduct a driving and national background check and/or investigation. A Personal Information and Background Check/Investigation is included in the application packet.

If the majority of the Committee is in favor of the applicant, the applicant is voted on by the department at any regular or special meeting.

Because this job is so important, we make sure all of our volunteer firefighters are expertly trained and properly equipped. If you want to do something important for your community and are willing to take on a challenging job, come down to the fire station and talk to us.

New Member Requirements

Training Course Completion

New members to the department must successfully complete the Fire Department’s Firefighter I 23 week course. Generally this course starts first part of January and ends towards the end of June. This course provides the applicant basic firefighter training and general department operations.

Attendance

In addition to attending Firefighter I, the applicant must also maintain a 50% attendance at monthly business meetings, monthly squad meetings, and fire alarms sounded.