Ryan Caterino never imagined his dream of becoming a professional firefighter could die. 

It was 2024, and the then-29-year-old was riding a high: after more than a decade in emergency medical services and three years of preparing and training to become a professional firefighter, everything was falling into place. He had passed the fire service’s notoriously grueling physical and written exams and landed an interview with his first-choice department in Kalispell.  

He walked out of the interview with a conditional letter of employment in hand. 

The idea that he might still be cut never even crossed his mind.  

“I had just met up with someone else who was going to be in my academy for lunch,” Caterino said. “As soon as we got done eating, I got the phone call: ‘Hey, this is Fire Chief Jessica Kinzer. You failed your VO2 max, so we can’t proceed with employment.” 

Caterino was in shock. He had just signed a lease. Kalispell was the place he planned to build his life. The dream he had been working toward since he was 18 was just within reach.  

But the numbers didn’t lie. As the final step in the hiring process, Caterino had been required to meet with Dr. Dan Paine, an exercise physiologist at Logan Health, for a VO2 max test. Caterino ran on a treadmill at an increasingly frantic pace while breathing into a mask. Paine analyzed Caterino’s oxygen intake and carbon dioxide output to produce a number that the Kalispell Fire Department uses when considering new hires. Caterino needed to hit 12, and he was well below.  

“In that moment, I asked him, ‘How badly do you want to be a firefighter?’” Paine said. “He said, ‘Very badly.’” 

Caterino grew up in Southern California. A proficient rock climber but poor student, he envisioned a future career as an emergency medical technician on search and rescue missions in the mountains. His high school teachers suggested he set his sights on something more attainable: perhaps as a flagger on a construction site.  

Their lack of confidence only fueled Caterino’s motivation. After graduating, he immediately enrolled in EMT courses and was hired onto an ambulance crew. At 18, Caterino worked his first 24-hour shift in the gritty streets of Los Angeles, and he knew he had found his calling. 

“I don’t know how to put it into words,” Caterino said. “You just know when you’ve found your place.” 

Three years into his time at the ambulance service, Caterino experienced the first of what he referred to as a “forced reset” in the form of an ended relationship. He moved to Colorado to be closer to the mountains and worked as a welder, but he soon returned to California and to emergency services, running the medical department for the Los Angeles Angels baseball team.  

And then, a second forced reset: Caterino’s father was diagnosed with leukemia. His parents had retired to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and without a moment’s hesitation, Caterino once again packed up his life and relocated to Idaho to be near his family as they navigated cancer treatments. But after leaving his job and moving more than 1,200 miles, Caterino’s father received word that it had been a false positive.  

Relieved by the news, Caterino started his new life in Coeur d’Alene. He secured a job in the emergency room in town, but also volunteered with the Worley Fire Protection District, a small volunteer fire department serving the rural city of Worley, population 250.  

It was in Worley that Caterino discovered his passion for firefighting, and with it the realization that he wanted to pursue the work professionally. 

Firefighting is a demanding profession. The job requires physical fitness, sound decision-making skills and the ability to work in a team over long shifts and at all times of day.  

The application process to join a department full-time as a paid firefighter is a direct reflection of the commitment required for the job, challenging candidates physically and mentally and often taking up to a year to complete.  

First, there’s the written exam, which tests everything from reading comprehension to mathematics to mechanical reasoning to memory and recall. The candidate is also tested on personality and morality, the soft skills that make a difference when living in close quarters with crewmates for 48 hours at a time.  

Then, the Candidate Physical Ability Test, or CPAT, is a 10-minute, pass-or-fail gauntlet with eight grueling events meant to simulate the physical duress experienced when responding to an emergency – climbing stairs with 70 pounds of gear, dragging hoses, forcing open doors, and carrying equipment and people. 

Caterino took both challenges in stride. He passed the CPAT and scored an 84.7 on the written exam — it’s an unspoken rule that any applicant who scored above an 80 will be granted an interview.  

Over the three years that he applied for firefighting jobs, he took every interview he was offered, but his eyes were set on Big Sky Country, and Kalispell in particular. Caterino had fallen in love with Montana years earlier, on a drive from Bozeman to Coeur d’Alene, and felt it would someday be home. While in Idaho, he would frequently take day trips to the Flathead Valley for a change of scenery, and he knew this was the part of Montana he wanted to build his life in. 

When the Kalispell Fire Department posted an open position, Caterino applied. He was offered a first-round panel interview and then moved on to the second-round interview with the fire chief. He was given a conditional letter of employment, with one condition that Caterino had not seen at the other departments he applied to: the VO2 max test. 

VO2 max, shorthand for maximum volume of oxygen, is a term commonly thrown around by marathon runners and triathletes. At the most basic level, it is an indicator of how well the body converts oxygen during strenuous exercise. 

“VO2 max is probably the single most important measure for longevity, for fitness,” Paine said. “It’s really the capacity of the heart and lungs to do work.” 

Jared Brenden, a firefighter and personal trainer who owns the Armory Athletic Club, understands just how strenuous the requirements are for firefighters in the line of duty. At the Armory, he often works with first responders training to meet fitness requirements. 

“I've personally been a competitive athlete for my entire life, and it's a completely different ball game as a firefighter,” Brenden said. “People can do workouts all day, but when you put 70 pounds of gear on, and you’re wearing a full suit that’s essentially like a sauna suit, and you’re require to breathe out of a bottle on your back, it’s a whole different world.” 

Around the country, many fire departments don’t require VO2 max tests, and especially not the highly accurate tests like Paine conducts at Logan Health. Many of the firefighters he works with have never taken a VO2 max test before, even if they’ve been in the service for decades, but departments in the Flathead Valley are increasingly relying on the test as a marker of future success, especially for first-time hires. Kalispell, Whitefish and Big Mountain all send candidates to Paine for VO2 max testing. 

That crucial test is the last step in the hiring process — after both candidate and department have invested considerable time and money — seems odd, but Paine said it’s unusual for candidates to pass every other exam and then fail the VO2 max test. He estimates that less than 10% of candidates fail. 

But it does happen, and the numbers don’t lie, as Caterino learned. 

“I think it took a couple hours for it to set in. It sucked. I was sad. I was crying,” Caterino said. “Eventually, I came to the realization the hard way that an out-of-shape firefighter is a liability, not just for the people that they work with but for the community that they’re called to serve. So I dedicated myself, after getting cut from Kalispell, to relentlessly pursuing growth physically, mentally, professionally and spiritually.” 

That day, Caterino researched gyms in the area and contacted Brenden and hired him as a personal trainer. He trained with Brenden at least three times a week for the next six months and attended classes and worked out outside of those days.  

 “The first day we trained together, I made him run one mile and he looked like he was going to die. Then at the end of it, he was able to do the super intense workouts that we have here,” Brenden said. “He genuinely cared about achieving the goal. He was going to do whatever it takes to get there. As a personal trainer, I don’t love when people make commitments and then don’t follow them. Ryan, he never skipped a workout.” 

At the time, Brenden was a volunteer with West Valley Fire, so Caterino joined him to keep his skills sharp and stay on top of his training.  

As Caterino built fitness and dropped weight over the next several months, he periodically returned to Paine’s office to monitor his progress. His VO2 max score was increasing, but he still hadn’t hit the elusive 12.  

And then, less than a year later, the Kalispell Fire Department posted another job opening. Caterino went through the entire application process again. He retook the written exam and passed the CPAT. He interviewed with the department and the fire chief again. He secured a second conditional letter of employment.  

Finally, he went back to see Paine one last time. 

At his last progress check, Caterino had registered an 11.5 So close, but still not a 12. With that gap in the back of his mind, Caterino ran on the treadmill at Logan Health for his official test, less than a year after he had first failed, hoping that the months of work would pay off. 

And it did. Caterino passed the VO2 max test, clearing the final hurdle to at last join the fire academy. He’s now 31, and for the last year has worked on the B shift at Kalispell’s Station 52. 

“It’s the best job ever,” Caterino said. “For me, the fire service isn’t about the nobility that comes with the job, or the cool red trucks or running into a burning building. What drew me into the fire service is the brotherhood and sisterhood. It’s the kitchen table talk on shift and the bonding and the relationships that are built amongst the crews. It’s a unique line of work where the people you work with, you suffer together, you grow together and you have fun on the job together. It’s genuinely a family.” 

“Realistically,” Caterino added, thinking back to the year he spent pursuing his dream in the wake of being cut, “I wouldn’t have all that if I didn’t fail.” 

Reporter Elsa Ericksen can be reached at 406-758-4459 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.