Fire Department · Career
Kodiak Fire Department
Kodiak, AK · Kodiak Island County
Fire Captain position with competitive benefits, including full medical coverage and $50k life insurance. Requires EMT III or higher and CPAT within 12 months.
Kodiak Fire Department seeks EMT I firefighters with hourly rates starting at $23.91, requiring local residency and certifications.
Established by city ordinance in November 1940, the Kodiak Fire Department is the City of Kodiak's career fire and EMS agency. The department handles all fire protection and prevention inside the city and runs ambulance service area-wide, covering Fire Protection District 1, U.S. Coast Guard Base Kodiak, the Womens Bay fire service area, and otherwise unserved stretches of the island's road system, with mutual-aid agreements in place with the Bayside, Womens Bay, and Coast Guard fire departments.
Seventeen uniformed members and an administrative assistant keep the department staffed around the clock. Alongside suppression and a three-ambulance ALS transport operation, crews train for hazardous materials response, fire investigation, public education, and specialized rescue — confined space, trench, high-angle, water and ice, and building collapse. The department responds to more than 1,200 calls a year, averaging about 250 fire-related and 950 medical and rescue incidents.
The frontline fleet pairs two Pierce pumpers with a 105-foot Pierce aerial, a Braun light rescue, and three Braun ALS ambulances. The city has replaced the department's former 60-plus-year-old firehouse on Lower Mill Bay Road — a building that sat within the tsunami inundation zone — with a newly built emergency-services headquarters on Mill Bay Road.
MissionThe Kodiak Fire Department's mission is to PROTECT the citizens and guests of the City of Kodiak through fire suppression, rescue, hazardous materials response, advanced medical treatment and transport; PREVENT fire, fire loss, fire-related injuries, and death through fire prevention, public education, planning, and code enforcement; and SERVE the citizens through dedication, maintaining public trust, and timely incident responses.
Kodiak posts Firefighter/EMT and Fire Captain openings on the City of Kodiak's GovernmentJobs portal, and applications are accepted only while a posting is open. Firefighter/EMTs come on at one of three levels — I, II, or III — matched to State of Alaska EMT certification, with the hourly rate rising by level. Every candidate must pass the department's fitness test, a medical exam, and a pulmonary function test, and employees are required to live within 12 road miles of the fire station. The city is an equal-opportunity employer and encourages women and minorities to apply.
Requirements
- At least 18 years old
- High school diploma or GED
- Firefighter I certification
- State of Alaska EMT certification (level I, II, or III sets the hire level)
- Live within 12 road miles of the fire station and maintain telephone service
- Pass the Fire Department fitness test, medical exam, and pulmonary function test
Hiring process
- Apply through the City of Kodiak's GovernmentJobs portal while a posting is open
- Pass the Fire Department fitness test
- Pass a medical exam and pulmonary function test
Benefits
City of Kodiak firefighters are enrolled in the Alaska Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS), with an optional deferred-compensation plan.
- Employer pays 100% of medical, dental, vision, and prescription premiums, with dependent coverage available
- $50,000 basic life and AD&D insurance, fully employer-paid
- Twelve paid holidays; annual leave accrual starting at 4.62 hours and sick leave at 4 hours per pay period
- Tuition reimbursement and an employee assistance program
How do I find out when the Kodiak Fire Department is hiring?
The department accepts applications only while an opening is posted on the City of Kodiak's GovernmentJobs portal. Watch this department on Driftsmoke to get an alert as soon as a new Kodiak posting goes live.
Does the Kodiak Fire Department require paramedic certification?
No. Kodiak hires firefighters at the Firefighter/EMT I, II, or III level based on State of Alaska EMT certification, and the starting hourly rate rises with each certification level.
Who enforces the fire code in Kodiak?
The City of Kodiak fire marshal, operating under a deferred-jurisdiction agreement with the State of Alaska fire marshal that extends across the Kodiak Island Borough road system. The department runs a regular fire-inspection program for commercial occupancies and conducts residential inspections on request.