Fire Department · Combination
Tri-Community Volunteer Fire Department
Ooltewah, TN · Hamilton County
More than 120 volunteer, apprentice, and recruit members staff six response stations plus one support-services facility; the department responded to roughly 255 calls per month (about 8.3 per day) in 2024.
No active openings right now
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Department careers page ↗Tri-Community Volunteer Fire Department has served the Apison, Collegedale, East Brainerd, and Ooltewah communities of Hamilton County, Tennessee since 1952. What began as a small rural bucket brigade has grown into a seven-station organization covering more than 60 square miles and roughly 45,000 residents just outside Chattanooga, with automatic-aid agreements reaching into Catoosa County, Georgia and overlapping response areas with Chattanooga Fire Department.
The department is almost entirely staffed by volunteers, apprentices, and recruits who provide firefighting, technical rescue, emergency medical response, and public fire-safety education around the clock. That model has produced an unusual track record for a volunteer agency: Tri-Community was the region's first ISO Class 6 department in 1983, the only volunteer department in Tennessee to reach ISO Class 4 in 1996, and it has held an ISO Class 3 rating since 2016 -- a distinction shared by only a small share of departments nationwide.
Call volume has climbed steadily as the district has grown, running around 255 calls a month in 2024. To keep pace, the department supplements its volunteer roster with a small number of paid positions, including a career Driver/Operator role, while continuing to run its own in-house Fire Academy each winter and spring for incoming recruits and medical personnel.
MissionWe Volunteer Because Your Life Depends On It.
Tri-Community is primarily a volunteer organization, so most openings are for volunteer firefighters, apprentices (16-17), and EMR/EMT-level medical team members, alongside occasional paid openings such as a career Driver/Operator position. All applicants go through the same four-step process: an online application, a document email to administration, an in-person entrance exam, and an interview with the hiring committee.
Requirements
- Recruits and medical team applicants must be at least 18 years old
- Apprentice program open to ages 16-17 with parental/guardian consent and a 2.0+ GPA
- In-district volunteers commit to 4+ hours weekly at their assigned station
- Out-of-district volunteers commit to 8+ hours weekly; resident members living in a station apartment commit to 40+ hours weekly
- Attend at least 75% of weekly training sessions (Tuesday evenings or Wednesday mornings)
- Medical team members must hold, or be working toward, Tennessee EMR, EMT, AEMT, or EMT-P licensure
Hiring process
- Submit the online application (it does not autosave, so plan to complete it in one sitting)
- Email newapplicant@tricommunityfire.com with your name, phone number, a copy of your diploma/GED, and both sides of your driver's license
- Take the entrance exam at department administration, with results provided the same day
- Interview with the hiring committee at the Sanborn Drive administration building
Tri-Community runs its own Fire Academy each year from January through late April for incoming recruits, with class meetings on Sundays from 9am-5pm and Tuesdays/Thursdays from 6-10pm; medical volunteers without prior certification can complete the department's in-house EMR course.
How do I become a volunteer firefighter with Tri-Community Volunteer Fire Department?
Complete the online application, then email newapplicant@tricommunityfire.com with your name, phone number, a copy of your diploma/GED, and both sides of your driver's license. Administration will schedule an entrance exam and a hiring-committee interview at the Sanborn Drive office.
What are the age and time requirements to join Tri-Community?
Recruits and medical team members must be at least 18; an apprentice track is open to 16-17 year-olds with parental consent and a 2.0+ GPA. In-district volunteers commit to at least 4 hours a week at their station and 75% attendance at weekly training.
Does Tri-Community Volunteer Fire Department hire career (paid) firefighters?
Tri-Community is a volunteer department first, but it does periodically post paid positions, including a career Driver/Operator role, alongside its ongoing volunteer and apprentice recruitment.
When does Tri-Community's Fire Academy run?
The department's own Fire Academy runs January through late April, with class on Sundays from 9am-5pm and Tuesdays/Thursdays from 6-10pm.
What is Tri-Community Volunteer Fire Department's ISO rating?
Tri-Community holds an ISO Class 3 rating, held since September 2016, putting it in the top 5% of departments nationwide; it was also the first regional ISO Class 6 department in 1983 and Tennessee's only volunteer department to reach ISO Class 4, in 1996.