Scott Hobbs - Firefighter / Paramedic

For Firefighter/Paramedic (FF/PM) Scott Hobbs, joining the fire service was a childhood dream that never went away. He started kindergarten right next to his local fire station in Orange County and was enamored by the flashing lights and roaring sirens that would go back and forth throughout the day.

FF/PM Hobbs’s desire to be a firefighter was sealed the moment his kindergarten class visited the school’s neighboring fire station. He remembers the experience vividly – seeing the rigs that would fly by his classroom window up close, meeting the friendly firefighters that welcomed him in. FF/PM Hobbs knew exactly what he wanted to do, from that day at the station to high school.

As he started understanding the significance of having a career, he realized that his parameters for a job were simple – find something that he loves and do good work that positively impacts others.

Enter, the fire service.

FF/PM Hobbs began his journey as a reserve firefighter years later at the very same station that he visited as a kindergartener. After volunteering his time filling in as backup and assisting with calls, he went through the Orange County Fire Authority Reserve Academy to gain more experience and take courses he would need as he progressed in his career.

A relentless student of his craft, FF/PM Hobbs took an EMT course and worked for a local ambulance company during this time. His desire to learn about all aspects of firefighting mirrored his passion for the fire service. “I was always taking steps to build my resume while testing for different stations,” FF/PM Hobbs reflected.

He put himself through paramedic school and took his first job at 27 years old with a department in Arizona to get his foot in the door, but his sights were always set on the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD).

After the LAFD’s hiring freeze ended in 2014, FF/PM Hobbs’s breakthrough came, and he left the rural Arizona region he was in for the bustling metropolitan city of Los Angeles. FF/PM Hobbs became an LAFD firefighter in 2016 and has been on the job for eight years, five and a half of which have been at LAFD Fire Station 20.

Battalion 11, which includes Fire Station 20, is the sixth-busiest district for EMS calls. FF/PM Hobbs rarely experiences a dull moment, with medical incidents ranging from fentanyl overdoses to pedestrian-car collisions up and down Sunset Boulevard.

“Personally, the biggest challenge has been wanting to fully understand and learn every aspect of the job,” he emphasized. In his dual roles as paramedic and firefighter, he must be well-versed in both careers. “I can’t be better at one than the other,” he added.

Of equal importance to FF/PM Hobbs is ensuring that the next generation of firefighters and paramedics are well-equipped with the tools and knowledge they need to be successful. In addition to his standard duties, he works as a paramedic preceptor, training both LAFD paramedic school students and paramedic students who work for private ambulance companies.

LAFD Fire Station 20 has two rookie firefighters on shift, making it a positive learning environment for soon-to-be career firefighters just coming onto the job. The two rookies currently assigned to Fire Station 20 both noted how FF/PM Hobbs goes out of his way to ensure that they feel supported and seen, a stark difference from the isolation and disdain that some rookies experience from more senior firefighters.

“A lot of them don’t have that proficiency yet, so their proficiency comes from our knowledge and teaching and exposing them to the job,” FF/PM Hobbs shared. “I’ve always tried to open up different avenues for our young probationary members.”

Although his role as a paramedic keeps him busier than his role as a firefighter, FF/PM Hobbs recalls his first brush fire assignment, where he and his crew were out for 14 days. “It tries and tests you a little more than a 24 or 48-hour shift,” he chuckled.

But his favorite calls, medical or otherwise, are those where he walks away knowing his team gave the task at hand their all. “It’s not so much what was done on the scene, but how it was done,” he shared.

“I’m still in the early stages of my story, but fortunately being here with these guys, the first few chapters are starting off on the best foot possible,” he said of his crew at LAFD Fire Station 20.

Sometimes at 3 a.m., when he’s having trouble sleeping after a particularly tough call, he remembers the excitement that he felt as a young kindergartener, drawn back to the moment he first stepped foot into a fire station all those years ago. The reminder of the childhood dream that he worked hard to bring to fruition invigorates his love for the fire service all over again.

“Having the exposure to [the fire service], and knowing what this life is like, I couldn’t imagine myself trading it in for anything,” he said.