The Ambulance Operator (AO)/ Intern)

In addition to full-time firefighters, the City of Hermosa Beach also employs Ambulance Operators (AO)/Intern. AO/Intern’s are part-time employees that augment the emergency medical services to the community. The program is much like an internship, while the community benefits from the extra help they provide, the AO/Intern obtains the experience, education, and training to help prepare them for a full-time career in the fire service. An Intern that brings the education and experience of a fire academy will be rewarded with the opportunity to be involved in technical training and eligible to earn valuable certifications to add to their resume. The department does its best to recruit and maintain a minimum of two AO\Interns per day. The necessary amount of personnel needed to staff Ambulance-12, the "Basic Life Support" ambulance.

Duties of an AO/Intern

The primary duty of the AO/Intern is the transport of patients that do not need paramedic skills to maintain the patient’s stabilization during the transport to the hospital for definitive treatment. Secondarily the Intern will augment full time staff in all aspects of non-emergency day to day operations including routine maintenance, fire prevention and participate in training. The AO/Intern will receive the training; responsibility and exposure to insure a well rounded entry level resume moving forward in his or her career after satisfactorily completing the requirements of the program. AO/Intern’s work one 24-hour shift per week, and work under the direction of the AO Coordinator and the on-duty Captain. The primary duty of an AO/Intern is to staff the BLS Rescue (basic life support ambulance). One of the requirements upon initial employment is that they are an EMT-1. AO/Intern’s that are assigned to the BLS Rescue respond on all calls and assist full-time personnel. During an emergency medical aid, Ambulance Operators may assist by performing such tasks as: taking vital signs, assisting with CPR, giving the patient oxygen, etc. These basic medical tasks allow the full-time Paramedics to increase the level of "Advanced Life Support "care. If the medical aid is "Basic Life Support", and the patient needs to be taken to the hospital, the AO/Intern’s assigned to the BLS ambulance, will transport the patient and provide EMT care if needed. This allows the ALS rescue (full-time paramedics) to be immediately available in the event that the next sudden call is an "Advanced Life Support" emergency.

Other duties include: Assisting with cleaning and maintaining the station and equipment, working along side of full-time personnel with fire inspections, assist with fire education and station tours, help with cooking duties, and any special project or studies they wish to accomplish during down-time.

REQUIREMENTS

• Class "C" California drivers license
• High School Diploma or equivalent
• California State Fire Marshal Approved Firefighter I Academy Certification
  (Not required but Highly desirable)
• E.M.T. 1A certification or higher
• CPR Card (Health Care Provider Card)
• Completion and proof of either the "L.A. / O.C. Chiefs' Physical Abilities Test", or the "Candidate Physical Ability Test" (At the time of appointment)
• CA Ambulance drivers license (okay to apply without, but need by time of appointment)
• CA DMV driving record print out (within 30 days of appointment)
• Ability to work one 24 hour shift per week

APPLICATION PROCESS AND COMPENSATION

Applications are accepted on a continuous basis and the Department wishes to maintain a staff of 21 positions. AO/Intern Firefighters are paid $100.00 per shift. There are three ways to obtain an application:

1. Send a self-addressed stamped envelope to:

   Hermosa Beach Fire Dept.
   540 Pier Ave.
   Hermosa Beach, Ca 90254
   Attn.: AO Coordinator: Carlos Lopez

2. Can be picked up in person at the same address as above.

3. Download the application here
4. Download the supplemental application here

We offer the AO/Interns application on-line for download. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have Acrobat installed on your computer we highly recommend it. Most all periodicals that are available on the internet are in this file format. The link below will take you to the Adobe website where you can download the latest version of Acrobat Reader for FREE!!!

Questions ? Call (310) 376-2479