FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Welcome to the Frequently Asked Questions thread. Here, we aim to provide answers for the most commonly asked questions related to the Recruitment process of the FDLC. If you have a question that hasn't been covered in this thread, please reply to this thread with your question and a member of the FDLC will get back to you as soon as possible.When does recruitment open and close?
Recruitment typically opens and closes depending on the need for new personnel and the capacity of staff able to both recruit and supervise new employees. Most months typically have an active recruitment drive, however under specific circumstances may remain closed for up to several months. Please note that certain job postings may be available more frequently than others. You can keep up to date with the status of each listing through its main post located in our Employment Section.
How long on average does it take to graduate as a Firefighter/EMT?
This can depend on the availability of both the candidate and R&R Staff. Typically, for both bureaus, the application review stage of the process should take no longer than 24 to 48 hours. If we have reason to believe that an application may take longer to review under any circumstances, a notice will be sent out either publicly or to the specific individual depending on the situation.
The interview process relies on matching availability and can therefore sometimes take a few days to get arranged, however we do our best to avoid prolonging the wait as much as possible. If you are unable to find a suitable date and time with your assigned application handler, we may get another member of R&R to handle it in order to speed up the process. Once your interview has been completed, it may take up to 72 hours to receive a response.
While realistically the physical and psychological assessments alongside the academy would take up to several months, due to the fact that on LC-RP all three aforementioned assets are entirely NPC'd, on an OOC basis you will be moved straight on to the pre-Probationary Stage.
The pre-Probationary Stage requires candidates to review the provide material depending on the Bureau that they are going into, and then fill out a short online assessment so we can get an idea of your understanding on Firefighting/Medical roleplay. The test will then be graded by the Training Bureau and depending on your results, you will then be moved onto the role of Probationary Firefighter/EMT and will be able to jump into roleplaying with the faction immediately after. The test can take a few days to complete, once again depending on when the candidate is available to fill it out, when they send it in and on the availability of the Training Bureau to grade the examination.
With that said, we aim to get everybody graduated and fully set up within two weeks of the application being sent in. We kindly ask that you apply at a time that is convenient for you as we will not tend to allow more than two weeks in the application process (not including the examination from the Training Bureau) unless there are extremely specific circumstances.
What if I want to be both a Firefighter and an EMT?
The good news is that there are two available options for those wishing to do both Medical and Firefighting roleplay.
The first option is to solely join the Bureau of Fire Operations, as Firefighters in real life are trained to a certain degree medically. However, this usually extends no longer beyond basic first aid and being trained in both cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and using the automated external defibrillator (AED). While typically Firefighters are still sent to medical calls in order to provide first aid and support to those on scene from the Bureau of EMS, primary medical care always goes to EMS Staff due to them having a higher level of certification - therefore going down this route may not always be the best option if you either want a good balance of Medical/Firefighter roleplay, or if you want to do more advanced medical roleplay.
The second option is to apply for one out of two bureaus, and then later down the line, you will be granted the opportunity to create a secondary character in the opposite Bureau. For example, if you apply to the FDLC's Bureau of Fire Operations, after passing the Probationary Period you will be able to request usage of a different character in the Bureau of EMS Operations, allowing you to therefore involve yourself in Firefighting and Medical roleplay, albeit on separate characters.
In the FDLC, we allow for players to have a certain amount of characters if so desired in order to allow them to explore different sections of the FDLC (i.e administrative, field) without breaking the level of immersion that we aim to set. Activity is not separated between both bureaus, however if you do have a character in each bureau then we kindly ask you to try and provide some sort of balance between both bureaus.
How does the training process work if the academies are NPC'd? What if we don't know how to do Firefighting/EMS Roleplay?
We believe the best way to help people learn the true style of Firefighting/EMS roleplay is to emerge them in as much as possible during the Probationary Stage. Throughout past experiences, we've found that academies usually leave the students feeling more confused. Academies can focus on very specific processes and situations, but the reality of it is that, out on the field, you get ever-changing circumstances. To go over all of the circumstances within an academy would be almost impossible, and otherwise take a long time.
Something that we have also found is that a lot of players don't tend to properly take in the materials provided in the academy. This is through no fault of their own, as we understand that roleplay academies can seem quite tedious and uneventful in contrast to how training goes in real life.
We want players to feel confident that they know what to do in every situation, and we want you to rest assured that we will do everything we can to help you out. You're encouraged to ask questions and speak up if you feel unsure. We were all new to Firefighting/Medical roleplay once - some of us still are, and no matter how much experience you have under your belt, there's always something new to learn.
Before your Probationary Stage, you will be given a brief online assessment to fill out after reading the EMS/Firefighting materials. This assessment will be graded by the Training Bureau, and feedback may be provided if they feel you need improvement in certain areas before going out onto the field.
During your Probationary Stage, you'll be constantly partnered with members who have graduated. We have a numerous amount of guides available to read at all times and there's usually always a member of the faction around at all times to answer questions through our internal communications. When on patrol, your supervisor will keep an eye and provide feedback along with constructive criticism on areas that they feel need improving.
I'm banned from XYZ faction - am I still able to apply for the FDLC?
As mentioned in our primary recruitment threads, we do not encourage you to apply straight away if you are actively under a temporary or permanent ban from another official faction. However, being banned from another official faction does not mean that you are automatically barred from joining the FDLC. These are assessed on a case by case basis and we encourage you to send in an appeal to Recruitment & Retention Command, who will review the situation alongside the Department Executives and attempt to reach a verdict as soon as possible. This can take quite a while as it involves communication between various individuals, some of which will not be a part of the FDLC.
There is currently no format for the ban appeal - however we advise that you include details such as the faction you are banned from, how long the ban is in place for (if applicable), when the ban was placed and the details as to why the ban was placed down. This applies for both IC and OOC bans.
Please note that we will be checking with the mentioned faction to get their side of the story as well alongside any pieces of evidence that they may be able to give us surrounding your ban.
Outside of Firefighting and Medical roleplay, what sort of roleplay does the faction offer?
The faction offers a lot of roleplay opportunities outside of pure Firefighting or Medical roleplay.
We have a number of roles available that don't directly include either of the aforementioned and are more administrative focused roles. These are known as our "Civilian Positions", and currently include Recruitment & Retention and Public Information. This is likely to extend into further roles in the future as the faction continues to build and grow.
For those working under the Bureau of Fire Operations/Bureau of EMS Operations, we offer a range of units that you will be eligible to join under certain requirements. While these still involve Firefighting/Medical roleplay, they offer a different aspect of it. At the moment, this includes our Marine Unit, Squad (which is sort of similar to Search & Rescue), Hazardous Materials (HazMAT) and Hazardous Tactical (HazTAC) etc.
We also aim to provide a similar style of work life to how Fire Departments operate in real life. In real life, all members of a singular station spend a LOT of their time together and are usually considered as a family. We really want to help express this side of working in a Fire Station and focus on creating an environment where you don't have to be on a call to find roleplay. This is included, but certainly not limited to, frequent drills, station shopping trips, helping to host open days, cooking/eating meals together, housework, equipment checks and so on. We want people to feel like there is always something to do and not be stuck with the boredom of being at a station, or on a call, by themselves.