Florida State Hospital Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Requisition No: 877327 

Agency: Children and Families

Working Title: FIREFIGHTER - 60004930

 Pay Plan: Career Service

Position Number: 60004930 

Salary:  $45,990.40 Annually 

Posting Closing Date: 06/15/2026 

Total Compensation Estimator Tool

The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) is the state of Florida’s social services agency. The agency oversees services for child safety, fostering, adoption, domestic violence, adult protective services, refugees, homelessness, mental health, substance abuse, childcare providers, human trafficking and public assistance. The agency’s mission is to work in partnership with local communities to protect the vulnerable, promote strong and economically self-sufficient families, and advance personal and family recovery and resiliency.

Within DCF, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health (SAMH) Program office is recognized as the single state authority for substance abuse and mental health services. The Office of SAMH is statutorily responsible for the planning, evaluation, and implementation of a comprehensive statewide system of care for the prevention, treatment, and recovery of children and adults with serious mental illnesses or substance use disorders.

Florida State Hospital (FSH) is a mental health treatment facility owned and operated by the State of Florida and is part of the Department of Children and Families. The department’s mission is to “work in partnership with local communities to protect the vulnerable, promote strong and economically self-sufficient families, and advance personal and family recovery and resiliency.”

FLORIDA STATE HOSPITAL IS A TOBACCO FREE FACILITY.

TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THIS POSITION RESPONSES TO THE QUALIFYING QUESTIONS ARE REQUIRED AND MUST BE VERIFIABLE BASED ON YOUR SUBMITTED APPLICATION.

Salary is commensurate with experience and based on a 96-hour biweekly work schedule.

This is a highly responsible and professional position serving as a Firefighter at Florida State Hospital. The ideal candidate will be a collaborative team player who works seamlessly across all sections within the program office. This role requires the use of independent judgment, a proactive approach to responsibilities, and exceptional attention to detail. If you are driven, organized, and thrive in a fast-paced environment, we encourage you to apply.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities include:

• Incumbent shall be able to perform all firefighting and emergency medical services duties and responsibilities as needed by the fire department. This position is assigned the rank of Firefighter and may be required to assume the duties of acting Shift Supervisor
• Responsible for participating in fire department emergency and non-emergency operations and activities, departmental and shift meetings, including but not limited to, communications, planning, training in the daily operation of the Florida State Hospital Fire Department. In the performance of their duties as Firefighter, employee will use departmental standards, methods and procedures in compliance with Florida State Hospital Fire Department Standard Operating Procedures, Florida State Hospital Operating Procedures and the Department of Children and Families in the day-to-day operation of the Fire Department.
• Will assist and conduct Life Safety Inspections to assure compliance with State of Florida Fire Marshal Administrative Code mandates, Florida State Hospital Operating Procedures and Fire Department Standard Operating Procedures, Life Safety Inspections will include, but not limited to: inspection of state owned buildings, routine checks and inspection of fire alarm systems, automatic sprinkler systems, fire hydrants, standpipe systems and other fire protection systems utilized at Florida State Hospital. Responsible for documentation of all fire drills/life safety activities and instruction of employees and residents in evacuation procedures, reporting of fires or emergencies, fire extinguisher operation and Fire Safety training programs.
• Responds to, mitigates of all emergency and non-emergency incidents involving firefighting, emergency medical calls, rescues and other incidents under the jurisdiction of the fire department and under the direction of their immediate supervisor, including for Mutual Aid. During on-duty shift assignment, personnel are to maintain operational readiness to respond by maintaining radio contact or standby at the fire station. On-duty personnel are not allowed to leave the fire department immediate response area without approval from the Officer in charge.
• Responsible for knowing the location of all buildings (occupied and unoccupied), fire hydrants, staff housing, ambulance loading and unloading locations at resident occupied buildings, location of alarm system panels, location of sprinkler system main risers, location of sprinkler and standpipe system fire department Siamese connections, elevators in all buildings including access to elevator control room, exits and exit stairways in all buildings, any special response procedures required for occupied or unoccupied buildings, and any special security precautions in responding to forensic areas of Florida State Hospital.
• Performs general housekeeping duties, cleaning and maintaining equipment, operation of transport van for non-emergency transports, completion of daily checks and documentation of vehicles and equipment. Performs functions assigned by supervisors to assist other departments at Florida State Hospital in normal delivery of services. Responsible for the keys and the security of the keys while on duty. Will assure that keys remain in their sole possession, safeguard, not copied or misused in any way until transferring to the relieving officer of the next shift. The authority and responsibility cannot be delegated to lower ranking personnel. With the changing nature of the fire and emergency medical services, only broad categories of responsibility are listed above, additional duties may be assigned to this position as necessary for the efficient delivery of emergency and non-emergency services to Florida State Hospital.
• Performs other related duties as required.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities required for the position:

• Ability to lift, pull, squat, carry loads, climb ladders, use hand tools, use of power tools, and similar hard labor, while wearing protective clothing and breathing apparatus, in moderate to severe heat and cold ambient conditions.
• Ability to read.
• Ability to follow instructions.
• Ability to operate a motor vehicle.
• Ability to act quickly and think clearly in emergencies.
• Ability to communicate effectively.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others.

Minimum Qualifications:

• In accordance with Florida Statute 633, any person employed in this class must:
  • Be a high school graduate or the equivalent, as the term may be determined by the Division of State Fire Marshall.
  • Not have been convicted of a felony or of a misdemeanor.
• State of Florida Current/Active Certificate of Compliance of Certificate of Tenure as Firefighter registered with Florida Bureau of Fire Standards and Training. 
• Maintain Current/Active State of Florida recognized certification as Emergency Medical Technician or Paramedic registered with the Florida Department of Health. 
• Emergency Vehicle Operator Course (EVOC) Certification of Completion for 16-hour EVOC course. 
• Current and Valid State Issued Driver's License.
• Selected candidates shall be required to submit to a pre-employment medical examination and a physical agility evaluation. The medical examination and physical agility evaluation shall be administered per State of Florida statutes and Bureau of State Fire Marshal rules and regulations, and Florida State Hospital codes, standard operating procedures, rules, and regulations. Employee will submit to an annual medical certification and as required by the department.

Candidate Profile (application) Requirements:

Candidate Profile (application) must be complete in its entirety.

• Work History - entered with the most recent/current listed first:
• Any and all State of Florida jobs
• Any and all Florida University jobs
• All periods of employment
• Periods of unemployment
• Gaps 3 months or more*
• Education
• Volunteer Experience
• Include supervisor names and phone numbers including current place of employment.
• *Gaps 3 months or more must be addressed – you will need to account for and explain any gaps in employment including unemployment. You can either list these in your application under Period of Employment or attach a word document listing your gaps.
• Experience, education, training, knowledge, skills and/or abilities as well as responses to pre-qualifying questions must be verifiable to meet the minimum qualifications.
• If claiming Right to First Interview, candidate MUST attach a copy of your official layoff letter when applying. This only applies to employees laid off from Career Service positions.

If you experience problems applying online, please call the People First Service Center at (877) 562-7287.

Benefits of Working for the State of Florida:

• Working for the State of Florida is more than a paycheck. The State’s total compensation package for employees features a highly competitive set of employee benefits.
• For a more complete list of benefits, visit www.mybenefits.myflorida.com.

DCF EMPLOYMENT DISCLOSURES

US CITIZEN REQUIREMENT Only US citizens and lawfully authorized alien workers will be hired.

SELECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEM REGISTRATION All selected male candidates born on or after October 1, 1962, will not be eligible for hire or promotion into an authorized position unless they are registered with the Selective Service System (SSS).  Verification of Selective Service registration will be conducted prior to hire.  For more information, please visit the SSS website: http://www.sss.gov.

RETIREE NOTICE If you are a retiree of the Florida Retirement System (FRS), please check with the FRS on how your current benefits will be affected if you are re-employed with the State of Florida. Your current retirement benefits may be suspended or voided, and you required to repay all benefits received depending upon the date of your retirement.

BACKGROUND SCREENING It is the policy of the Florida Department of Children and Families that any applicant being considered for employment must successfully complete a State and National criminal history check as a condition of employment before beginning employment, and, if applicable, also be screened in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 435, F.S., and Chapter 408, F.S.  No applicant may begin employment until the background screening results are received, reviewed for any disqualifying offenses, and approved by the Agency.  Background screening shall include, but not be limited to, fingerprinting for State and Federal criminal records checks through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and may include local criminal history checks through local law enforcement agencies.

Candidates requiring a reasonable accommodation, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, must notify the agency hiring authority and/or People First Service Center (1-866-663-4735). Notification to the hiring authority must be made in advance to allow sufficient time to provide the accommodation.

The State of Florida supports a Drug-Free workplace. All employees are subject to reasonable suspicion drug testing in accordance with Section 112.0455, F.S., Drug-Free Workplace Act.

VETERANS’ PREFERENCE.  Pursuant to Chapter 295, Florida Statutes, candidates eligible for Veterans’ Preference will receive preference in employment for Career Service vacancies and are encouraged to apply.  Certain service members may be eligible to receive waivers for postsecondary educational requirements.  Candidates claiming Veterans’ Preference must attach supporting documentation with each submission that includes character of service (for example, DD Form 214 Member Copy #4) along with any other documentation as required by Rule 55A-7, Florida Administrative Code.  Veterans’ Preference documentation requirements are available by clicking here.  All documentation is due by the close of the vacancy announcement.