Ride-Alongs

Ride-alongs provide individuals with the opportunity to visit a fire station and accompany crews on fire apparatus during a designated shift. These experiences are scheduled from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and will not occur on holidays unless specifically authorized by the station officer. Ride-alongs are strictly observational in nature; participants are not permitted to engage in any emergency operations.

Requirements

Ride-along requests must be submitted through Thornton Fire’s website at least two weeks in advance of the desired date and are subject to the following requirements:

  1. The individual is enrolled in a fire-science or EMT program and/or is involved with a Fire Explorer Program or currently working with a TFD recruiter or sponsor and is interested in a fire service career and 
  2. The individual is a minimum of 18 years old and
  3. The individual must not be currently involved in an active Thornton Fire recruitment process

Please note that if you are an active candidate in Thornton Fire’s process for employment, you are not permitted to do a ride-along at this time.

Application Process

  1. Riders who meet the above requirements will need to fill out the Online Application Form. 
  2. Please note that only requests made through Thornton Fire’s website will be processed.
  3. Once the rider has been deemed eligible and meets the initial criteria, they will be notified via email to complete a criminal background check, which must be done no more than 30 days prior to the selected ride date and must be paid for by the applicant.
  4. Once the background check has been submitted and approved, the rider will receive Thornton Fire’s Hold Harmless Agreement and HIPAA Compliance Agreement forms via email to sign and return before the ride-along
  5. Once fully approved, the designated ride-along coordinator will schedule the ride-along.

Please be aware that Thornton Fire does reserve the right to deny any request. If your request is not approved, you will receive a timely notification of the reason. 

Conduct Standards

To participate in a ride-along, riders will be held to the same Conduct Standards as Thornton firefighters. The participant shall wear appropriate clothing, including a white or dark colored shirt with a collar, dark blue/black colored pants, and sturdy boots or shoes (no open-toed shoes).  Shirts with advertising, logos, language or pictures considered offensive will not be allowed. No open shoes, dresses, jeans with holes or shorts will be allowed. Additionally, facial jewelry is not permitted at any time while participating in the Ride-Along Program with the Thornton Fire Department.

Riders are limited to one ride per year.