Brooklyn Park Establishes First Firefighter Cadet Academy

For the first time, Brooklyn Park Fire will start a Firefighter Cadet Academy, similar to the one in Minneapolis or St. Paul. Cadets receive paid, on-the-job training. The fire chief hopes a diverse applicant pool of Brooklyn Park residents apply.

Fire Chief John Cunningham says it’s rare to have the opportunity to work as a full-time firefighter in Minnesota. He hopes to be able to pick cadets from a diverse applicant pool, with applicants coming from within Brooklyn Park.

“We want to give residents the opportunity to have a career at the fire department,” said Cunningham. “By coming up with our own academy and training people from the ground up with no prior training or education, we can train them to be successful firefighters.”

The Firefighter Cadet Academy is part of the process to transition from a paid-on call department to a full-time one. Adding more firefighters to the department will also help meet the goal of re-staffing the East Fire Station. Cunningham hopes to have the firefighters hired and the station open by the end of 2020.

There are informational sessions at Central Fire Station on January 15 at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. and on January 18 at 9 a.m.

The job posting opens on January 16, 2020. Applicants must be 18 years of age, have a high school diploma or GED and a valid, unrestricted driver’s license. They will undergo a written test, physical ability tests, an interview, background check, as well as drug and alcohol testing.

Upon graduation from the academy and successful completion of on-the-job training, cadets will be promoted to the position of firefighter. The base salary of an entry-level firefighter is more than $56, 000 a year.

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Brooklyn Park