 Hi, I'm Mike DeSuma. I'm the Public Information Officer here at the Columbia Eribson Fire Department. I'm here today to talk to you a little bit about the recruiting opportunities we have here at the department right now for new firefighters. Currently we're in the midst of our open hiring period where we're going to be testing applicants for our firefighter position on April 28th and 29th. So basically if you'd like to be considered for testing to be a firefighter, get your application in today. We're looking for people who are at least 18 years of age, have a high school diploma or GED and a valid driver's license, but most importantly we're looking for people who have a passion for serving their community and serving others. There's many different aspects of emergency situations we have here in Columbia and Richland County, fires, car accidents and we need people who are willing to jump on a fire truck and go help their fellow citizens in times of need. Basically the one thing we want to hit home to people is this is not just a job, it's an opportunity to have a lifelong career that's going to take you many many years here at the fire department. You can promote within our ranks and rise to new ranks of leadership and really learn a lot of valuable skills you can apply to other professions. It's definitely a challenging job, it's definitely an exciting job and if you think you're right for it we encourage you to apply. All you got to do to apply is go to www.columbiasc.gov and click on the job opportunities button. There you'll be able to search our career portal, search for a firefighter and you'll have the firefighter positions come up. If you're new to the profession you apply for the non-certified firefighter position.