Fire Chief

Summary

This position is located at the Tomah VA Medical Center, Tomah, Wisconsin. The Fire Chief performs a variety of administrative and supervisory tasks and functions to operate and maintain a fully trained and responsive fire department on the medical center grounds. The fire department is responsible for firefighting activities, emergency and first responder missions, hazardous materials response, decontamination, etc.

Duties

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Major duties:

• Conducts initial and refresher training classes in fire fighting, medical self help, safety and evacuation carries.
• Ensures all fire fighters are trained in the skills of driving, equipment operation and various fire fighting positions like hoseman, nozzleman, etc.
• Directs on the job training for employees, broadens employee training, and provides backup skills by cross training.
• Ensures all fire fighters are trained and qualified for current positions held and progressively trained for promotion to the next level of responsibility.
• Assigns work to subordinates and formulates, prepares, and implements SOG's for fire department operations.
• Determines shift requirements, prepares schedules, and assigns duties and equipment to cover pre scheduled duty hours, standby duty within the established tour and during hazardous operations.
• Explains work requirements, methods and procedures as needed, giving special instruction on difficult or different operations. Answers technical questions about the work.
• Plans, organizes, directs, trains, and supervises the Fire Department personnel, all fire protection service, and as required, performs firefighting and first responder tasks.
• Assists in managing the hazardous materials spill response and ensures department hazardous materials response readiness.
• Manages the installation ambulance service and managing the implementation and training requirements for Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) program for the installation.
• Protect residents on the campus whose physical or mental condition limits their ability to protect themselves in the event of a fire or emergency.
• Initiates personnel action requests relating to human resource issues such as anticipated vacancies, increases in workload, promotions, reassignments, or other status changes to assigned personnel.
• Resolves complaints of employees through contacting higher levels of supervision, the service, or other organizations.
• Implements provisions of personnel management programs where established procedures exist such as equal employment opportunity action plans; career development plans; training plans; time, leave, and overtime policies and practices, etc.

Work Schedule: Full time, 56 hr shifts, 112 hrs/pay period. The Fire Chief works a 56 hour week (40 hours during administrative period and a 16 hour work period during non-administrative hours).

Compressed/Flexible: Not authorized

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Fire Chief/PD04089O

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• All 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.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/04/2026.

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 11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS 9. 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. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

To be eligible for employment as, or promotion to a VA Fire Chief, each employee must have received the following certifications:

• Fire Officer IV in accordance with NFPA 1021.
• Fire Inspector II in accordance with NFPA 1031.
• Hazardous Materials Incident Commander in accordance with NFPA 472.

You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

• Specialized Experience: You must possess 1 full year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-9) in the federal service. Specialized experience is experience that demonstrates the particular competencies to perform successfully the duties of the position. Such duties may include (1) Oversees, plans, directs, and coordinates the day-to-day work of the Engine Companies; (2) Establishes and maintains Firefighter work schedules, daily logs, and other records of Fire Department work performed; (3) Performs duties of timekeeper for payroll processing. Prepares and submits written and electronic reports, and reviews crew member reports for accuracy and completeness; (4) Coordinates training needs with Firefighters. Establishes operating procedures and prepares guidance necessary to ensure the training program provides training in the full range of firefighting and prevention techniques; (5) Independently schedules coordinates and conducts inspections, test, maintenance, and minor repairs of Fire Department Equipment and Facility Fire Suppression and Detection Equipment; (6) Reviews work of subordinates, makes improvement recommendations, and provides input for performance evaluation; (7) Conducts general work planning daily, particularly in the areas of training and fire inspections. Reviews and revises schedule to meet unexpected changes and duty assignments; (8) Responsible for verbal and written reports of deficiencies, discrepancies, conflicts, or unusual situations which are identified and makes comprehensive recommendations for solutions.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Conflict Management
• Education and Training
• Fire Management
• First Response
• Influencing/Negotiating
• Manages Human Resources
• Manages Resources
• Partnering
• Planning and Evaluating

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 Effort: The Fire Chief must maintain an adequate level of physical fitness to react quickly and have the stamina to endure the physical exertion and stress of firefighting, they must complete 1 hour of physical activity per day per the NFPA 1500 and annually complete a Fire Department Physical Agility Test outline in NFPA 1500 and NFPA 1583. Fire Department personnel must complete an annual Firefighter physical with Employee Health to be cleared for duty. Incumbent must maintain physical condition to don personal protective equipment consisting of coat, helmet, boots, gloves, bunker pants, and self-contained breathing apparatus, which weighs 75 pounds. Incumbent must wear this equipment when responding to and during all emergency calls regardless of temperature. Incumbent is expected to enter buildings and atmospheres that are unsafe due to fire, oxygen deficiencies, etc. and perform very strenuous types of work carrying heavy equipment and victims. The requirements of the job are such that the incumbent must maintain alertness, self-control and emotional stability when working under conditions of stress, confusion, panic and where physical injury or death are present.

Working Conditions: Will include heavy physical exertion, extreme heat, smoke, and dust in enclosed smoke-filled places, in all types of weather. Incumbent is subject to overtime call-back and mandatory overtime to ensure mandatory compliance with minimum crew staffing requirements.

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/.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Additional information

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.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Benefits

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.