Wearing the usual 70 lbs of gear, recruits have to complete nine physical ability exercises in just 13 minutes.
"Each one of these exercises depicts different things that we do in a fire scene," Training Division Captain, David Odom, explained.
Like, connecting the hose to a fire hydrant, pulling a ladder off the truck to prep for fighting a fire, bringing the hose inside the house and getting a victim out to safety, walking on a soft roof trying not to fall through, or breaking a hole in the roof for a rescue.
"We're looking for someone that's strong of mind, strong of body," said Chief Mike Tobin of the Lansing Office of Emergency Management. "Someone that's determined to get the job done, someone that's not gonna give up when things get harder."
Odom added, "If your house is burning, I can't say I'm too tired, I don't want to save your mom or dad or your mother or brother, whoever. I can't say that to you."
The Lansing Fire Department is looking for those strong candidates to fill between 25 and 30 open positions.
"We've had 12-14 people leave the department through retirement," Tobin said. "We, unfortunately, lost a couple people due to injuries received on the job. And then, we have another class that has put their 25 years of service in. They're gonna be retiring by the end of June."
He said it hasn't been easy.
"The overtime is nice when it comes to the paycheck. But, after you continue to do if for a string of periods, it's stress on your mind, stress on your body," Tobin said.
An experience I got a taste of, even if it was several minutes over that 13 minute mark.
"I mean you did well. You shocked me," Odom said. "It's not an easy job and a lot of people dont realize how taxing it is."
The real physical ability test runs throughout next week.
The recruits who hit 13 minutes or under will then be contacted for interviews.
Tobin hopes to have the next group hired by the beginning of July.
