Early Birds Get There for an Interview and a Shot at a Job

From as far away as Northern California, would-be Orange County firefighters bundled in sweat shirts and sleeping bags gathered at Anaheim Stadium Monday night in hopes of clinching one of 2,000 job interviews the Fire Department will conduct.

As of 5:45 p.m. Monday, 55 men and two women were lined up on the sidewalk of Orangewood Avenue near the Stadium Way entrance to the ball park where applications will be distributed at 10 a.m. today, Orange County Fire Department spokeswoman Kathleen Cha said.

But filling out the application is merely the first step for those interested in the 30 to 40 positions the department will offer over the next two years, Cha said. The first 2,000 applicants to return the form will be scheduled for a written test April 18 at Rancho Santiago College in Santa Ana. That is followed by a combination of written and oral tests.

Jon Cloutier, a 19-year-old crew leader of a fire department in Redding in Northern California, arrived at the stadium entrance Sunday afternoon to be the first in line.

“I heard a lot of good things about this department,” he explained. “It’s got good benefits, good people and a good reputation.”

Sunday night, Cloutier camped out on the sidewalk with second-in-line Steve Pordi, 22, of Solana Beach. The two had pitched a tent on a strip of lawn between the sidewalk and the stadium parking lot but were awakened by a stadium security guard who told them they were on ballpark property and should go home.

Cloutier and Pordi just moved to the sidewalk. “We’re here to stay,” Cloutier said firmly.

‘Want to Move Up’

Farther down the line were Robert Moscato and Lawrence Gordon III, two 22-year-old firefighters from San Diego county.

“We want to move up in the world today,” said Gordon, “Move up to a better department with higher pay and more action.”

Having arrived at 4 p.m. Monday, Gordon and Moscato, who were at the tail of the line of 57 applicants, were surprised there weren’t more people waiting. “I was expecting 500 to 600 people already,” Moscato said.