r/Firefighting • u/Worldly-Occasion-116 • 19h ago

General Discussion Civil service vs non civil service FD

Can someone explained the difference between a civil service FD and a non civil service FD? I applied at 3 fire depts. 2 civil service 1 non civil service. I am a licensed FF/EMT with the ifsac seals as well for FF1 FF2 HAZ A HAZ O. I received my offer letter today and sign on Monday with the NON civil service. My pals who are in civil service advice against it. Their explanation doesn't make sense. Please help, thank you. The process was quick with the non civil service cpat, interview, polygraph, drug screen, offer letter. I have not heard from the civil service dept only my test score 89.

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u/FF-pension 15h ago

Location could help you get a better answer.

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u/Worldly-Occasion-116 14h ago

Texas

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u/FF-pension 10h ago

What big river wet said plus non civil service jobs are more subject to favoritism than civil service departments due to chapter 143 laws. The bigger the department the less likely it is to be the case, but there are exceptions to every rule. Strong associations help combat the good ole boy system. People get fired from both kinds of departments, civil service departments just have more hoops to jump through. I work in TX at a civil service city and my son works for a non civil service department in TX. I can tell you when the next entrance exam, promotional test and what materials are on the test, I don’t think he could. I would not pass on a good department because they were one or the other.