Hundreds of firefighter hopefuls take the plunge

-- Alex Coolman

The latest batch of prospective Newport Beach firefighters took to the

water near Newport Pier on Wednesday morning as part of a department test

to ensure water-safe candidates.

The department invited 400 would-be employees to plunge into the water

at around 9 a.m. and swim a 200-yard loop back to shore, said Randy

Scheerer, division chief of the Newport Beach Fire Department.

By the time the test was over, though, only 322 candidates remained.

Several people were no-shows, Scheerer said, two people had to be

rescued, and one candidate actually collapsed on the beach from

exhaustion.

The point of the pass-fail test, Scheerer said, was to ensure that

anyone who ends up a firefighter is a competent swimmer.

“Since we have so many docks and areas around the water [where fires

could occur], we want our firefighters to be water-safe if they should

fall in,” he said.

The swim was part of a three-phase test, which also includes a written

portion and a dry-land physical element. When it’s all over, Scheerer

said, the department will hire between 15 and 20 new employees.