For the first time in two years, the Cherry Hill Fire Department (CHFD) is hiring.
To kick off 2025, the department has opened its recruitment process to new candidates, and leaders are hoping to draw interest from people with a variety of life and work experience.
“Nationwide, there is a downward trend in the number of people who are interested in the fire service for a career,” said Cherry Hill Assistant Fire Chief Tim McGeady.
“We want to cast the widest net so that we can get the best possible candidates,” he said.
Interested parties as young as 19 may take the electronic examination, although they cannot be hired before turning 21, and age out of eligibility at 35.
All candidates must be U.S. citizens with a high-school diploma or equivalent, a valid driver license, and the ability to read and speak English. If hired, they must also obtain an emergency medical technician (EMT) certificate within a year of hiring.
The eligibility list from which new hires are drawn is typically two years long, and the current list from which the department sources potential hires will expire July 1. In the last two years, it has yielded 21 new Cherry Hill firefighters.
“How many we hire off of each list varies, depending largely upon attrition within the department,“ McGeady said. He added that Cherry Hill “expect[s] to hire [in the] double digits.”
“There’s no experience necessary,” the chief said. “You can have zero fire service experience and be equally as competitive as somebody who has volunteer experience or career experience with another department.
“You can walk in the door here having never put turnout gear on, never set foot inside of a fire station, and within 12 weeks you’re a full-time employee here, trained by the Cherry Hill Fire Department.”
Nonetheless, the process is competitive, McGeady said, and the best candidates are both highly motivated and well prepared.
It begins with an electronic written test, followed by a test of applicants’ physical abilities, and then an interview panel.
Applicants are scored on each component of the process; then the department creates a list of qualified candidates from those results.
They’re also subject to an extensive background check that the chief said is “every bit on par” with that used to vet law enforcement.
CHFD has current openings for firefighter/EMTs, and leadership plans to host an academy in the fall to train prospective staff for the variety of work they’ll be dispatched to resolve.
“There’s a fairly diverse set of things that we do here,” McGeady said.
“In terms of mutual aid, we go outside of Cherry Hill frequently; we [also] get involved in hazardous materials, technical rescues.
“You can have a fairly broad set of interests, and we offer a lot of that for people.”
The current roster of firefighters in the department comprises “people from very diverse backgrounds with a lot of individual skills,” the chief said.
“It amazes me and puzzles me at the same time that, for a fairly small department, we have such a deep talent pool,” he said.
“We have a culture that is desired by people outside of the organization, and I think that gets shared via word of mouth.”
Physical fitness, the ability to work a flexible, 24-hour schedule; and a desire to work a career in public service are all necessary traits for firefighters to have, McGeady said. However, the most important element feeding CHFD departmental culture is its team dynamic.
“People recognize fairly early on that their best contribution is going to be as a member of the team and not as an individual,” he said.
“The thing that makes them successful when they get here is the fact that they are team-oriented; [that] they’re able to utilize their individual skillsets and still operate as part of a cohesive unit.
“Culture plays a huge role in crafting and shaping what that looks like,” McGeady said.
Applicants interested in pursuing a firefighting career with CHFD are invited to complete the electronic written examination by 5 p.m. EST on February 14, 2025.
