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Engage with Us

Fire fighter showing group of kids a fire truck

Community Open Houses

You’re Invited! Held in the Spring, Summer and Fall, open houses are chance for community members of all ages to meet your firefighters, view the apparatus and tour the fire station. Through a number of hands-on activities, you’ll learn about fire safety, child injury prevention, hands-only CPR and much more.

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Youth Safety Talks & Visits

Community education is a key component to the work of Hillsboro Fire & Rescue. Fire safety talks and station/school visits are designed for student groups grades K through 12 and youth organizations interested in learning the basics in fire safety and injury prevention.

Requests must be received at least 2 weeks prior to the requested visit date. Although we make every effort to accommodate requests for safety talks and visits, we are unable to accommodate every request.

Contact our Community Engagement Division to schedule a safety talk and visit.

Ride Alongs

Interested in a career in the fire service? A ride along is your chance to climb into the passenger seat alongside crews with Hillsboro Fire & Rescue. During your visit you will spend time with the crew, tour the fire station and learn about how our crews respond to emergency calls for service.

Details, Expectations & Requirements

Participants must be a minimum of 16 years of age. Applications for riders under 18 years of age must be approved by the Fire Chief and supported by a signature from a parent or legal guardian.

HF&R will conduct a background check and you must pass to ride along. Applicants may be deemed ineligible for reasons including but are not limited to pending or past criminal action, legal action against the department, poor health or other condition that cannot be reasonably accommodated.

Only one participant is allowed for each scheduled ride along.

Ride alongs are scheduled for 2 hours, Tuesday through Friday between 8 am and 5 pm, excluding holidays. Please note: your ride along may run past the 2-hour time frame, depending on call activity during your time with the station crew.

Once approved and scheduled, participants will report to their assigned station promptly at the assigned time.

A government-issued ID must be shown to HF&R personnel upon arrival to your assigned station.

Dress code: Riders must be dressed in an appropriate shirt, pants or jeans, and closed-toed shoes. Open-toed footwear, tank tops, shorts, hats/ball caps, and ripped, torn, or stained clothing are not permitted. Clothing with large or prominent logos or insignia are not permitted.

Cell phone use of any kind is not allowed except for emergencies.

HF&R personnel have the discretion to end the ride along at any time if expectations are not followed.

Job Applicants: To ensure fairness and transparency, applicants in a current recruitment process with HF&R are NOT eligible to participate.

Job Shadows

Job shadows are an opportunity for students interested in learning more about the fire service to go behind the scenes of Hillsboro Fire & Rescue (HF&R). During your visit you will spend time with our Community Engagement, Fire Administration, and Fire Prevention Divisions and learn about how our crews respond to emergency calls for service.

Details, Expectations & Requirements

Participants must be a minimum of 16 years of age. Applications for participants under 18 years of age must be approved by the Fire Chief and supported by a signature from a parent or legal guardian.

HF&R will conduct a background check and you must pass to participate. Applicants may be deemed ineligible for reasons including but are not limited to pending or past criminal action, legal action against the department, poor health or other condition that cannot be reasonably accommodated.

Only one participant is allowed for each scheduled job shadow.

Job shadows are scheduled for 4.5 hours, Monday through Friday between 8 am and 12:30 pm, excluding holidays. Please note: your job shadow may run past the 4.5-hour time frame, depending on call activity during your time with the station crew.

Once approved and scheduled, participants will report to their assigned station promptly at 8 am.

A government-issued ID must be shown to HF&R personnel upon arrival to your assigned station.

Dress code: Participants must be dressed in an appropriate shirt, pants or jeans, and closed- toed shoes. Open-toed footwear, tank tops, shorts, hats/ball caps, and ripped, torn, or stained clothing are not permitted. Clothing with large or prominent logos or insignia are not permitted.