Some questions abou Crash fire and rescue

[jporter1994]

Good evening Marines,

I was looking at enlisting with the MOS of Crash Fire and Rescue and would like as much background info as possible.

I do have some specific questions though.
1. Would you earn your 240 in the Corps to be able to work at a civilian fire department afterwards?
2. I am currently a cadet with the explorers program at my local fire station. Will that help me anyway other than prior knowledge?

I thank you in advance for any help you can give me.

[devildweeb]

Im suprised no one has answered this yet but here it goes. The biggest misunderstanding is that CFR is a fire department for the Corps. It is not they are the ones when a bird goes down or people are stranded on mountains that rescue them. They are retrieval of property and personnel mostly. Anyone with more knowledge on this MOS please chime in or you could ask your recruiter.

[jporter1994]

I would much rather be in the firefighter MOS. I asked some quick questions to the Marine recruiter that came to my school about the firefighter MOS (88XX I think?) and he said that that's all fine and good, but he said that any MOS's in the 7,000's are gauranteed. So I decided to look at crash fire and rescue because it was gauranteed.

[jporter1994]

And thank you for answering by the way, usually someone has answered by now. Not that I'm complaining...

[Zulu 36]

CFR IS indeed a fire fighting outfit, for aviation.

CFR handles all of the military aircraft crash firefighting, rescue, and/or recovery generally at or near a Marine air facility. Structural fire fighting on regular bases are normally handled by federal civil service fire fighters, although many may be cross-trained for crash work too. CFR may handle structural FF on combat zone bases.

You should be able to get more info through a Google search. We used to have a CFR Marine on the site, but he is taking a sabbatical right now.

[devildweeb]

CFR IS indeed a fire fighting outfit, for aviation.

CFR handles all of the military aircraft crash firefighting, rescue, and/or recovery generally at or near a Marine air facility. Structural fire fighting on regular bases are normally handled by federal civil service fire fighters, although many may be cross-trained for crash work too. CFR may handle structural FF on combat zone bases.

You should be able to get more info through a Google search. We used to have a CFR Marine on the site, but he is taking a sabbatical right now.

Thanks for the more educated answer zulu. I knew they did the aviation side I just wasnt sure how to word it without sounding like a complete dumbass haha.

[Burke7051]

Good evening Marines,

I was looking at enlisting with the MOS of Crash Fire and Rescue and would like as much background info as possible.

I do have some specific questions though.
1. Would you earn your 240 in the Corps to be able to work at a civilian fire department afterwards?
2. I am currently a cadet with the explorers program at my local fire station. Will that help me anyway other than prior knowledge?

I thank you in advance for any help you can give me.

The 7051 MOS, Aircraft Rescue & Firefighting Specialist, is a great field to get into. I loved it. Unfortunately, the Corps rarely uses the 8811 MOS (Firefighter) anymore. However, Aircraft Rescue & Firefighting is a real good experience, and it helps out on your resume when you get out due to the aspects of the job and the situations you encounter. Just be prepared for extremely long shifts, and I mean really, really long shifts and work hours. I don't know if your aware or not, but if you get into the MOS, you have to go to Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas. The DoD has it's fire academy there, and every branch of the service's firefighters go there. I had a lot of fun when I was there. As far as the 240, you could get it, and I know a lot of civilian fire departments will accept it, then again some don't. It just depends on where you test / apply. My department accepted it, but they made me take all the tests and certifications over again. The Explorers might help you, but remember, you are always placed where the Corps needs you the most, so don't bank on firefighting alone.

I also recommend taking a look at http://www.firehouse.com/ if you haven't already, they are a treasure trove of information for you. I also suggest you look at these 2 links:

http://usmilitary.about.com/library/milinfo/marineenjobs/bl8811.htm

and:

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/enlistedjo2/a/7051.htm

Good luck and hope I helped man.

[jporter1994]

Thank you. You helped a lot! Thank you all for all of your information!

[Burke7051]

No problem man. There are some Marine bases that use Military Firefighters still, but they are getting fewer. As one of the previous posters stated, most bases now are using DoD contracted civilian firefighters. I'm pretty sure we are the only branch doing this, but I could be mistaken. If you have any other questions or anything, feel free to ask or PM me.