Brandon Visyak used a stolen state firefighter badge in a ploy to rob a woman the first time he got caught impersonating a public safety officer.
Two years later, he again claimed to be a Cal Fire firefighter while he tried to get out of a traffic arrest.
Both incidents led to criminal convictions on charges that he illegally impersonated a California public safety officer. Neither prevented Cal Fire from offering him a job as an entry-level seasonal firefighter last summer. Visyak, 29, the son of a state fire captain, was sentenced last month for his second impersonation offense, and Cal Fire spokeswoman Janet Upton said Visyak has not been offered work this year.