Disqualification Information              

The Shreveport Fire Department will not answer questions concerning as applicant’s potential eligibility with respect to the following questions. All applicants will be thoroughly verified for eligibility prior to being offered the position of Fire Fighter. If you feel that you meet the minimum requirements to be considered for a position, you are encouraged to apply. 

The following disqualifiers, as established by the Shreveport Fire Department, shall automatically render as applicant ineligible to continue in the hiring process. All disqualifying factors should be applied without regard to basis of age, sex, race, creed, color, national origin, religion, political affiliation, marital status, disability, or any other protected classification. The disqualifiers are categorized and include general, criminal, driving record and drug use. Additionally, misdemeanor behavior prior to age seventeen will not disqualify an applicant.

General Factors

• Any discharge from the military other than honorable.
• Making any false statements during any part of the Hiring Process.
• Unsatisfactory work ethics which include the inability to maintain steady employment for any reason; exception (Not due to qualified medical disability or military service) .
• Failure to provide all required documentation and adhere to scheduled appointments or any other part in the Hiring Process may result in disqualification.

Criminal Factors

In establishing the selection process, the Shreveport Fire Department applies the standards of criminal activity prohibited by the laws of the State of Louisiana and the United States. These laws apply in the selection process whether the act was committed in the State of Louisiana or elsewhere. In regard to crimes admitted, but not adjudicated, the current Criminal Code in use at the time of conviction will be used to determine the type of offense. A felony is defined as any crime which carries a potential penalty of imprisonment with hard labor. Felonies dealing with use and possession of drugs will be considered under a separate section.

In all cases of criminal activity, seven general guidelines for disqualification apply in which the applicant must: 

1. Neither admit the commission of nor have been convicted of any violent felony regardless of age, or any non-violent felony after the age of sixteen; or
2. Neither admit the commission of nor have been convicted of any misdemeanors within the past two years; or
3. For the preceding ten years or for the number of years dating back to the applicant's seventeenth birthday (whichever is smaller) neither admit to nor have been convicted of no more than three misdemeanors.
4. The applicants must not be knowingly living with anyone, other than an immediate family member, who has been convicted of two or more felonies, or who has been convicted of three or more misdemeanors carrying a potential sentence of six or more months of imprisonment within the last two years, or who is currently a fugitive from justice, which is defined as any person who has committed a felony or a misdemeanor for which they are subject to arrest and prosecution. (Immediate family will be defined according to general order 301.6 section IV subsection I.)
5. At the time of application, an applicant must not be on probation for any crime.
6. Battery will be reviewed on case-by-case basis.
7. No domestic violence conviction within three years.

Driving Record

• Failure to have a valid driver’s license
• Driver’s License suspension within the past 12 months due to a moving violation
• DUI or Reckless Driving Conviction within the past 3 years 
• Conviction of a misdemeanor hit and run
• Extensive traffic convictions (e.g. 3 within the past 24 months)

Traffic Violations

Traffic Violations may be considered a disqualifier when the applicant has:

1. been convicted of Driving While Intoxicated within five years preceding the date of application.
2. been convicted of three or more moving traffic violations within twenty-four months preceding the date of application.
3. has any outstanding traffic warrant(s)
4. has admitted to or been convicted of Hit and Run driving within three years preceding that date of application
5. been convicted of driving while under license suspension within the last two years.
6. has a current suspended driver's license
7. a driver's license that will be subject to suspension for any pending reason.

Probation, Parole and Pardon

If an individual is convicted of a felony and successfully completes his or her probation, that individual will not be hired as a Shreveport Police Officer. An individual convicted of a felony and who receives a full pardon will not be accepted as a Shreveport Police Officer unless the individual can prove to the satisfaction of the Shreveport Police Department that he did not commit the offense. A "full pardon" means one which restores the right to carry a firearm.

Drug Usage

All drug offenses which constitute a misdemeanor will be considered after age seventeen. All felony drugs offenses will be considered after age sixteen. Drug usage/dealings will be a disqualifier when any of the following conditions are met:

• Any use of Opiates or any illegal hallucinogens
• Any substantiated illegal act, including the possession, sale, manufacture, or distribution of any narcotic controlled substance or dangerous as defined by state or federal law
  
  
  • All applicants shall be subjected to a Medical/Drug Screen. See Selection Qualification Step #10.  
• Any illegal use of a drug or substance within 24 months before submitting an application or anytime thereafter ( except for the use of marijuana that was expressed in bullet 3)
  
  
  • Medicinal Marijuana use is prohibited by the Shreveport Fire Department 

Prior Fire Department Employment Factors

An applicant who has been rejected or terminated by another fire service/EMS agency because of conduct which would be contrary to the rules and regulations of the Shreveport Fire Department and which would result in that person's termination will be disqualified from the selection process. Likewise, an applicant who admits to such conduct as a prior fire/EMS employee will also be disqualified.

Conduct which would constitute a violation of the Shreveport Fire Department's Rules and Regulations, but is a legal, verifiable, and standard practice at the agency where the applicant is or has been employed, will not be considered as a disqualifier.

Withdrawal Factors

Actions by an applicant will be considered a formal withdrawal from the selection process when the applicant:

1.   withdraws his or her name from consideration for employment as a Shreveport Firefighter. (have applicant sign a withdrawal form)

2.   fails or refuses to supply the requested documents within the time period allowed.

3.   fails or refuses to continue in the selection process.

4.   fails or refuses to appear for a scheduled step within the hiring process.

5.   fails or refuses to report after being approved for hire

The City of Shreveport is a drug-free work place. As part of the Hiring Process for this position, applicants selected, as finalist will be subject to mandatory pre-employment alcohol and drug testing. Additionally, Firefighters are subject to periodic random drug screenings.