Law School and the Fire Service

Today’s burning question: I am an active duty military firefighter and have been in the fire service for 8 years. Over the next year I’ll be making the transition back to civilian life. My biggest obstacle is what I want to do. The first thing is to go to school and get an education. I really want to go to law school but I also want to stay a part of the fire service. Perhaps the best solution is to work as an attorney in the fire service. My question to you is what would be the best undergraduate major for a fire service attorney that would prepare me to excel in law school? Can I remain in the fire service as an attorney? Where should I start or be at? Any help or reference would be greatly appreciated.

Answer: I stayed in the fire service through law school and beyond – so it is definitely do-able. The challenge will be finding a fire department job in a community that has a law school. It can be done!!!!!

First you should concentrate on getting a job in the fire service upon your discharge. Many fire departments give veterans’ preference in hiring so you should be in good shape there. Second is getting your undergrad major. In terms of getting into law school, your undergrad major really does not matter. You can get into law school with any major.

In regards to choosing a major, what anyone thinking about law school should consider is your intended area of practice when you are done. If you intend to practice criminal law – go for a degree in criminal justice, political science, maybe even psychology. For business law, business, accounting or economics… you get the idea.

Following that logic – if you want to focus on fire service law, a degree in fire science would seem to be a good choice. Leadership, public administration, or even emergency management might also be considerations. If you are considering a career in fire prevention or investigation, engineering might also be an option.

There are some elective classes I would recommend to those interested in law school, and they are simple to find in the course catalogue because they end with LAW, as in business law, criminal law, and my favorite… fire law!!!!!

Good luck. We need more fire lawyers!!!!!

About Curt Varone

Curt Varone has over 45 years of fire service experience and 35 as a practicing attorney licensed in both Rhode Island and Maine. His background includes 29 years as a career firefighter in Providence (retiring as a Deputy Assistant Chief), as well as volunteer and paid on call experience. He is the author of two books: Legal Considerations for Fire and Emergency Services, (2006, 2nd ed. 2011, 3rd ed. 2014, 4th ed. 2022) and Fire Officer's Legal Handbook (2007), and is a contributing editor for Firehouse Magazine writing the Fire Law column.
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