Kankakee Fire Department

THE CITY OF KANKAKEE, ILLINOIS FIRE DEPARTMENT 

The City of Kankakee is now accepting applications for the position of firefighter/paramedic with the Kankakee Fire Department. Please read these application requirements carefully, paying particular attention to deadlines and required documents.

Please Note: We anticipate exhausting our current hiring list (which expires in Aug., 2021) in the spring of 2021 and we are creating a new list for potential hiring during the summer or fall of 2021. If the current list is not exhausted in the spring or summer of 2021, it will expire on Aug. 24, 2021 and then the new list will start.

Starting Salary: $63,180 (as of 5/1/20)

City Population: 26,052

Sworn Personnel: 48 full-time plus 2 administrative assistants  

All Applicants Must Meet the Following Requirements Established by the Kankakee Board of Fire and Police Commission:

• U.S. citizenship or permanent residence;
• No felony convictions in accordance with State Statute 65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-6.3(i);
• High school diploma or G.E.D. equivalent;
• Valid state-issued driver's license (will be required proof of identification at all phases of testing); 
• At least 21 years of age at time of hire AND must be UNDER 35 years of age on the application deadline date (January 5, 2021)*
  • Unless otherwise exempt by State or Federal law; Such maximum age limitation shall not apply in the case of 1) any person previously employed as a full-time firefighter in a regularly constituted fire department of (i) any municipality or fire protection district whose obligations were assumed by a municipality under Section 21 of the Fire Protection District Act, or (ii) a municipality whose obligations were taken over by a fire protection district, or 2) any person who has served the fire district as a regularly enrolled volunteer, paid-on-call, or part-time firefighter for the 5 years immediately preceding the time that the district begins to use full-time firefighters to provide all or part of its fire protection service.  Furthermore, to qualify for either of these exceptions set forth above, the applicant shall have been actively working as a firefighter within 2 years of the date of his/her application to this District.  Proof of date of birth will be required at the time of application (References: 70 ILCS 705/16.06b; 65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-6);
• Must be a certified Firefighter II or Basic Operations Firefighter through the Illinois Office of the State Fire Marshal at time of hire; 
• Must possess a certified Paramedic license through the Illinois Department of Public Health at time of hire;
• Must present a valid CPAT and Ladder Climb certification at time of application, with an issue date within 1 year of the date of the written examination: January 19, 2021;
  • Additional information on the CPAT and Ladder Climb Certifications is available in the "Summary of the Hiring Process" section of the application. 
• Complete a mandatory on-line written exam between  Tuesday, January 19, 2021 and Thursday, January 21, 2021;
• Must meet the requirements of a background check and pass an oral board interview, medical (including drug and alcohol screening), and psychological test;
• Pay a $45.00 non-refundable application processing fee;
• Application deadline is Tuesday, January 5, 2021 at 4:00 PM (CST). 

Required Documents (to be submitted at time of application):

• COPY of US citizenship -or- permanent resident card (acceptable documentation may include a US birth certificate, a valid US passport, or naturalization document (permanent resident card); 
• COPY of valid driver’s license (if your license was renewed with a sticker, copies of the front -AND- back are required);
• COPY of high school diploma or GED certificate (acceptable documentation may include copy of high school diploma, high school transcript with graduation date, dated GED certificate, college transcript showing high school and high school graduation date, or signed letter on high school letterhead);
• COPY of CPAT and Ladder Climb certification with an issue date within one (1) year of the written exam date (January 19, 2021); CPAT/Ladder Climb certification must be issued from January 19, 2020 through January 19, 2021.

Preference Points will be awarded as determined by the Kankakee Board of Fire and Police Commission for the following: 

• Military Veterans:  Applicants who served in the United States military for at least 1 year of active duty and who were honorably discharged.  Proof of such service must include a copy of Military Form DD-214 (long form) as proof of active service and evidence of honorable discharge submitted at time of application to qualify (5 points);

• Residency: Applicants with current residency in the City of Kankakee for no less than 6 months prior to the date of the written exam (January 19, 2021).  Copy of your utility bill dated no less than 6 months prior to the date of the written exam, copy of your driver's license, or copy of a voter's registration card indicating Kankakee address submitted at time of application to qualify (0-5 points); 

• Explorer Post/Cadet Program:  Applicants with continuous participation in the Kankakee Fire Department's Explorer Post for at least 2 years prior to the date of the written exam (January 19, 2021) (0 to 5 points).

Mandatory Next Steps in the Hiring Process:  

Following completion of all application materials and review of minimum qualifications, successful applicants will be invited to participate in remote on-line written exam testing starting at 9 AM on Tuesday, January 19, 2021 through Thursday, January 21, 2021 at 4 PM.  The test will only be available during this time period.  Candidates will need to have access to a laptop or desktop computer.  All candidates will receive an email approximately one week prior regarding their status in the process, along with further instructions for taking the on-line written exam. NOTE: Please be sure to check your email spam folder. Many email account providers automatically send our emails there in error (i.e. Google, Yahoo, etc.).   

All candidates that pass the written exam will be invited to participate in an optional orientation session on Thursday, January 28, 2021 at 9:00 AM via Zoom.  A Zoom link will be emailed after the written exam.  Please mark you calendar. 

Important Disclaimer for Potential Applicants:

As part of this application form, you will be required to submit various documents, records and/or additional forms. Be sure to allow sufficient time to gather this documentation and fully complete the application before the deadline. In other words, do not wait until one day before the deadline to collect and submit additional required documentation. In order for your application to be accepted, all materials must be submitted as outlined above and received prior to the deadline.

The City of Kankakee is an equal opportunity employer and ensures against discrimination in employment on the basis of a person's race, color, sex, age, religion, disability, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, military discharge status, source of income, housing status, or gender identity.