FY2010 Arlington Fire Department Annual Report FY 2010 | Page 15

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Firefighter Hiring Process
In the summer of 2010, the Arlington Fire
Department pioneered an innovative
approach to fund the selection and training of
entry-level recruits. Opening the process to
all segments of our community by offering
the opportunity to test for Firefighter without
a pre-existing certification requirement and
charging a nominal application fee expanded
the pool of candidates, while providing the
funding source for the testing and additional
training involved with entry-level recruits.
The Department received 1,894 applications
and 1,674 individuals participated in the
written test phase. This process yielded a diverse and high-caliber pool of candidates and
enabled a broader range of applicants to pursue a career in service to Arlington.

Relocation of Fire Station #9
Fire Station #9 was Arlington‘s southernmost station when
it was constructed in 1980 on a two-lane road. Today, sixlane South Cooper Street is in the heart of Arlington‘s
busy retail corridor. Traffic on Cooper Street impacts
egress from the station, resulting in potential risks to
citizens and fire crews. Fire Station #9 will be rebuilt off of
this major thoroughfare to improve service delivery. Groundbreaking on the new facility
was held on August 5, 2010. When completed in the summer of 2011, the new Fire
Station #9 will be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified as a
―green‖ or ―sustainable‖ building.

Super Bowl XLV Preparation
The attention of the world will turn to Arlington in February
2011 for the Super Bowl. Since the Cowboys Stadium was
selected as the venue for the game three years ago, the
Arlington Fire Department has invested significant time and
effort in developing an excellent Super Bowl Operational
Plan with federal, state and local partners. An operational
exercise to test those preparations was held during the
Cowboys‘ home opener game on September 19, 2010.
Lessons learned during that exercise will be applied to the
final preparations.

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Working Together to Make Arlington Better.