Volume 25 · Number 3 · Spring 2008
Dirty Work and Dream Jobs: Jonathan Francisco
(Photo: Karin Higgins/UC Davis)
Senior exercise biology major/nutrition minor from Los Altos
Job: student firefighter
Jonathan Francisco “throws ladders,” “pulls hose,” “hits the hydrant” and, essentially, prepares to put his life on the line if need be. He is one of 15 student resident firefighters who work alongside 22 career firefighters at Station 34 on the Davis campus in one of only three such programs in the nation. The students work 52 hours a month, in addition to training sessions, and in return get to live at the station and acquire experience that makes them highly desirable candidates for professional firefighting jobs after graduation. The 15 were selected from some 150 applicants after undergoing a rigorous physical abilities test, intensive interview process and a three-week firefighting academy. Now they work right beside the pros responding to fires, medical emergencies (most are EMTs) and hazardous materials calls both on campus and, when needed, in neighboring communities.
The danger: Francisco went on his first call to a second-alarm house fire last summer. “We could see the smoke rising as we took [Highway] 113 over and hear the radio chatter of people on the scene, so it was kind of nerve-racking,” he says. “But when I got there, I just started doing the things I had been trained to do. You work with your captain and with a bunch of hard-working people — I knew I was going to be fine.” The students are always paired with career firefighters and never given tasks they haven’t been trained to do.
The secret to going down the fire pole successfully: “Not holding on too tight,” says Francisco. Because the student firefighters get paid only for overtime work, when a call comes in they will race to “jump the pole” — to slide down from their upstairs living quarters to grab the last spot on the engine. Gripping the pole too tightly can lead to skin burns and produces a telltale squeaky sound all the way down.
The benefits: The student firefighter position has the reputation of being the best job on campus. Why? “You get to work with some of the best people you could ever meet. Firefighters don’t make the greatest pay in the world, so everyone is doing it because it’s something they enjoy. And you get to ride around in a big red truck helping people when they need it most!”
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