Assistant Fire Chief

Description:

The Assistant Fire Chief is in the Fire Protection Section of the Safety and Occupational Health Service working a 48-hour shift, 72-hour work week. The
Fire Protection Section is responsible for fire prevention, fire protection and fire suppression activities for the partially wooded 400-acre Perry Point Medical Center campus consisting of approximately 180 buildings with 1.6 million square feet of floor space and a two-mile shoreline along the Susquehanna River.

Requirements:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/17/2026.

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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-08. 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.

Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) for Fire Protection and Prevention Services (0081)

Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 and above): Experience that demonstrated the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position. Such duties may include (1) controlling or extinguishing fires as a member of an organized military, industrial, volunteer, or governmental fire department or brigade; (2) rescue operations; (3) detection, reduction, or elimination of potential fire hazards; (4) operation of fire communications equipment; (5) controlling hazardous materials incidents and/or (6) developing, implementing, or providing training in fire protection and prevention.

Requirements For Motor Vehicle Operation
For those positions requiring employees to drive motorized firefighting equipment, candidates must possess and maintain a valid State motor vehicle operator's license of the appropriate classification or kind. Applicants also may be required to pass a practical road test and provide information on their driving record. See 5 CFR 930 and the "General Policies and Instructions" section of this Manual for additional requirements for motor vehicle operators.

Mechanical Equipment Operator Qualifications
For those positions requiring the operation of specialized firefighting pumping equipment, mounted pressurized systems, dispensing devices, and/or rescue tools, applicants may be required to demonstrate the ability, before appointment, to operate the specific equipment to which they will be assigned, or similar related types of hydraulic equipment.

In addition to meeting the OPM IOR requirements you must meet the specialized experience below:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-08 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Working knowledge of pertinent provisions of laws and regulations, NFPA, OSHA, Joint Commission standards and codes, Interpreting and applying the various codes and standards to the applicable occupancy, working knowledge of firefighting principles and practices, implementing an effective fire prevention and fire suppression program.

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

• Compliance Inspection
• Fire Management
• Leadership
• Managing Human Resources

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 Requirements: A substantial amount of time is spent walking, standing, crouching, climbing or sitting. During fire ground operations, most of the time is spent standing, with frequent exposures to extreme environmental conditions. Required to participate in a physical fitness program.

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/ .

Preferred Experience:

• Has over ten years of firefighting experience and five or more supervisory firefighter or lead firefighter experience.
• Extensive knowledge of NFPA Standards 1, 10, 13, 14, 25, 30, 45, 99, 101, 291, 1500, 1561 and 1962.