firefighter physical exam...

[xkevinx]

Hey....

I figured this would be the place to ask... I'm nineteen years old, in very good physical shape, and am considering a career in firefighting. There's only one problem....

A birth condition left me without three fingers on my left hand. Now, before I say anything else, It's never (and I mean never ) held me back in the past. I play guitar, I can type faster than anybody, hell, I even play piano. I have no problem holding anything at all...i'm missing the bottom three (so it looks like i'm making one of those finger-gun things)and it's never caused a problem....okay I'm rambling.

Somebody tell me this doesn't disqualify me from service... I know it disqualifies me from pretty much 90% of active military service (which I think it total bullcrap...it's only a minor problem). Anybody have any answers for me? Does this disqualify me when I have to take the "physical exam"?


Thanks in advance.


-kevin

[OregonLawMan]

I admire what you are doing and not letting any physical issues get in your way. I can't speak for any department nor am I the final say. There are more experienced people on this board to answer this question. However, I have seen officers with amputated legs than can perform their job duties. As far as the hiring process, I would contact the department and see if you physical disability would have any affect in you getting hired. There would be nothing worst than making it all the way to the medical exam and the doc saying sorry bud, you don't qualify.

Worst-case scenario! If they say you aren't qualified, then don't be discouraged. You haven't come this far in life to let a little BS get in your way. If you can perform all the duties that are need, then I see no reason that you shouldn't be hired. Just remain confident that departments will look past your situation and hire you for what you can do and how you will perform. If they don't like it, then it is their loss, not yours. Good luck with everything and keep us posted.

[KYEMT325]

I agree with Oregon on this one...don't let yourself go through a long process just to find out you weren't qualified to begin with. Personally if you have a disability and you can adapt to it without having any significant problems, I would think you were covered by the ADA on that one...but sometimes it works against you too.

And don't let a little BS get in your way if they won't hire you where you live...go somewhere else. Myself for example...you might be able to appreciate my example although it's a long one.

I have a slight red-green color deficiency. NO, this doesn't mean that I'm colorblind (there's actually VERY few people who are totally colorblind by definition, and 13% of all men are color deficient). OK, now you would think "so what?" right? Wrong...depending where I want to apply in this country, I can be automatically disqualified from a process based on this, although it really has nothing to do with the job. I have found a rule of thumb on the color deficient thing is...if you are west of the Mississippi River, they disqualify you, but if you're east of it, you're ok...very odd indeed. I can be a cop in NYC with no problems, but can't even apply for LAPD. I like NY better anyways ;-) so who cares about that?

I really think it has to do with the mindset of the department and area in which you are applying. If they don't understand your disability, they will use it against you. Anyone who is NOT color-deficient doesn't understand what I see...they think I can't see colors. Some people think because it's a red-green color deficiency that I can't tell the difference in red and green lights on the street....WAY WRONG! I see red just like anyone else does...however the green light is much brighter to me than it is to you, so I'm more likely in the bright sunlight to be able to see that green light because it's brighter to me. And those darn color vision tests...I would've never known I had a problem if it hadn't been for that. The Ishishara color vision test, which is standard in the west, I can't pass it. It really makes no sense, and the colors are so dull that I can't find those numbers....but the Farnsworth D-40 test, which actually distinguishes between levels of color deficiency (and therefore, a more conclusive test), I can do fine on it because it's based on true colors and not faded colors blended together.

OK, enough of that...as I said, if you don't have the problem, you can't possibly understand that it's not a hindrance to me at all. Just saying that if something gets in your way, there's ALWAYS a way around it. If you have to move to reach your goals, go for it, you're young and can do things like that. Just don't end up doing a job you hate because you have been discriminated against in 1 department...keep trying and good luck to you.