Firefighter (Paramedic)

Firefighter (Paramedic)

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Martinsburg, West Virginia

Salary Range: $70623 - $91815 Per Year

Job Summary: Employee serves as a Firefighter - Paramedic for the Veterans Health Administration in Martinsburg, WV, adjacent Federal agencies, and designated mutual aid partners; maintains readiness for potential emergencies that call for the provision of advanced life support. Responds to emergencies as directed by supervisory staff and works within scope of all Standard Operating Guidelines and other applicable protocols.

Major Duties:

• ***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** Duties will include, but may not be limited to the following: Paramedic: performs emergency and Basic Life Support procedures; conducts a thorough physical examination to assess the condition of patients and plans treatment methods. Administers electro-cardiology methodology to include EKGs, defibrillation (manual), and use of emergency external pacemakers. Engages in advanced/invasive airway proceedings such as endotracheal intubation, nasal intubation, and CPAP applications. Assesses pediatric (infant; neonatal) patient conditions; performs childbirth in emergencies. Follows standard orders or those of a physician in administering medicines/solutions both orally and intravenously. Provides pertinent information to medical providers both in-route and upon arrival at medical facility. Uses and maintains emergency equipment, and properly disposes of biohazard materials. Intermediate Life Support: performs high-level airway procedures using esophageal or dual lumen airway devices; performs oral intubation via laryngoscopy; performs intravenous fluid start-ups and administers selected medications as protocols dictate. Handles emergency equipment, biohazard materials, and medical and expendable supplies according to protocols. Firefighter: performs firefighting and rescue operations using proper extinguishing solutions and methods of contamination. Wears protective gear when encountering agents such as poisonous gases, radioactive materials, and/or hazardous biological products. Performs crash/rescue (i.e., helicopters) and firefighting in environments wherein the existence of flammables and explosive makes work operations intense and hazardous. Directs water, operates or deactivates mechanisms and systems, performs standby, and participates in pre-fire planning and fire prevention exercises. Performs as hazardous materials first-responder, establishes a safe-perimeter and control area access while waiting for law enforcement personnel, and maintains typical hazardous materials response equipment. Provides assistance to the injured via the use of direct pressure and/or tourniquets to stop bleeding, check for blockages to the airway, performs CPR, immobilizes patients for transport, and other comparable functions. Miscellaneous Support duties: maintains the fire station and emergency response equipment (e.g., connections, valves, hoses, minor repairs to vehicles; tests ladders, vehicles and equipment). Performs alarm desk watch duties, monitor/receive alarms and alert personnel. Maintains logbooks and receives/relays pertinent information. May drive and operate significantly complex firefighting/emergency vehicles and equipment. Participates in all training required to attain and sustain work-related competency and obtains and maintains all required licensure/certifications. Assist in the training of other firefighters. Performs other duties as necessary. Additional Position Criteria: Employee is subject to periodic travel. Work requires an annual physical. Works requires participation in a Physical Fitness Program. Employee is subject to recall after a normal tour of duty in the event of an emergency and may be required to work overtime. DESIGNATED DRUG-TESTING POSITION: Applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Applicants will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive drug test result is received. Work Schedule: Rotating 48-hour shifts, 72 hours per week. Rotating shifts and time-off will be discussed during the interview process. Subject to Emergency On-Call. Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved

Qualifications: ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY: In accordance with 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), No person shall serve in direct patient care positions unless they are proficient in basic written and spoken English. You must be proficient in basic written and spoken English in order to meet the requirements of this position. ~AND~ SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTORS (SCREEN-OUT) - Selective Placement Factors (SPF) have been identified for this position. Selective Placement Factors (SPF) are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirements for the position. Applicants who do not meet the SPF are ineligible for further consideration. The SPFs for this position are listed below and requires ALL of the following (Copy of Professional Board and/or State Certifications must be provided with your application materials to receive credit): Valid State Driver's License Firefighter I and Firefighter II Certification Hazardous Material Operations Level Certification Emergency Medical Technician - Paramedic (EMT - P) Certification Fire Apparatus Driver/Operator ~AND~ SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Requires one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-8) in the Federal service that demonstrated the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position. Specialized experience includes: (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; and (7) providing emergency medical first responder (Paramedic) pre-hospital patient assessments by conducting systematic physical examinations to determine patient's condition and treatment. In addition to the above Professional Board and/or State Certifications, the hiring facility also prefers applicant(s) to possess a Fire Inspector certification.. (Resume(s) must clearly support the required experience to be creditable. See the duties section of this announcement for clear details. We will not make assumptions regarding experience.) ~AND~ MAXIMUM AGE REQUIREMENT: This position requires a maximum entry age for an initial appointment; applicants cannot have reached their 37th birthday by the date of appointment. Applicants who have passed the designated entry age limit, but who have previously served as a federal employee in a covered position, may be eligible to re-enter the fire service provided that they: (1) meet all applicable qualifications for the position and (2) will be able to complete a total of 20 years of covered and creditable Federal fire service by the time the firefighter reaches the age of 57. ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR A FIREFIGHTER - PARAMEDIC: As per the Office of Personnel Management qualification standards, includes: Requirements for Motor Vehicle Operation; Mechanical Equipment Operator; Performance Test; and Medical Requirements. (Explanations provided via External link: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0000/fire-protection-and-prevention-series-0081/) You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Communications Emergency Care Fire Management First Response Hazardous Materials IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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. 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; religious; 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. Physical Requirements: Moderate to heavy physical effort is required when reaching, bending, climbing, turning, or moving hands, arms and feed in the performance of firefighter duties. Employee is required to participate in a physical fitness program. Employee is required to work both inside and outside, frequently being exposed to adverse weather conditions and extreme heat while performing firefighting duties. Employee may be called upon to work in environments that are classified as immediately dangerous to life or health and, in some cases, may be required to work long hours under severe, stressful conditions. 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/.

How to Apply: All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 01/21/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12863324. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USA JOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed. Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. If initial application submission is updated and resubmitted with a new resume, only the most current resume will be reviewed for consideration. Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started. Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume: Prioritize most relevant and recent experience Use concise, results focused language Align language from the job announcement Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies Remove outdated or unrelated experience Use the USAJOBS resume builder Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/merit-hiring-plan-resources/applicant-guidance-on-the-two-page-resume-limit/ Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities (i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities), and/or disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. For more information on how to apply using this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator within the office, contact the facility Human Resources Department at (304) 263-0811. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 85 or more before any Veterans preference points) for this vacancy. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

Application Deadline: 2026-01-21