Yes, Orange County, Austin Arthur was a firefighter/paramedic 

Rumor and speculation come with any political campaign. Currently circulating on social media is the resume-torching claim that Austin Arthur — facing incumbent Orange County Commissioner Nicole Wilson in a Nov. 5 runoff for the District 1 seat — was never a firefighter/paramedic as he states in his campaign website bio.

VoxPopuli checked it out, and, well, yes, he was. 

Arthur, 39, trained at Miami-Dade College, and was a Florida Certified Firefighter. He has a 2006 Certificate of Compliance from the Division of State Fire Marshal. According to information on Florida’s Bureau of Fire Standards and Training page, “a Certificate of Compliance is awarded to applicants who complete the required training, achieve a passing score on a comprehensive examination and meet the statutory requirements for certification as a Firefighter …”

A background check shows that Arthur held an active a paramedic license (#521978) from 2011 to 2014. He also held an emergency medical technician license (#521993) that was active 2008 to 2010. 

On March 9, 2012, Winter Park Memorial Hospital — then part of Florida Hospital and now part of AdventHealth — extended an employment offer to Arthur, pending clearance of a background check. He'd also applied to Lake Mary Fire Department and Orange County Fire Department, but neither made an offer.

Three years later, in February 2015, Florida Hospital’s Sean Albino in Payroll, emailed Arthur with instructions for getting his W-2, which shows that he got the job and kept the job.

The City of Apopka also confirmed to VoxPopuli that Arthur worked as a volunteer firefighter from April 2012 through March 2014. 

Arthur told VoxPopuli via text that he went into firefighting and emergency medical services because it was his father's profession, the person he admired “as the greatest man I have ever met,” but also because he needed steady income while he built his businesses — “especially in case it didn’t work out."

Arthur co-owns Stars and Stripes Marketing Services, which provides marketing, media and web creation and business development, with his brother Zander. For a time, he was also co-owner of the Winter Garden youth training facility Gymnastics USA, now solely owned by his brother.

But by 2015, the competing demands of running the businesses and being a firefighter/paramedic were "just too hard to juggle," he said, even with extra staff to help. He turned in his gear and let his licenses lapse.

Still, documents show Arthur spent a few years as a bona fide first responder, so this rumor gets the hose.