Firefighter

The firefighter exam is a selection process, not a single standardized test. Each career fire department, or the civil- service commission or merit board that hires for it, decides which tests it uses, sets its own passing standards, and ranks candidates on an eligibility list. The job announcement is the authority for your department: it names the written test, the physical ability test, the minimum qualifications, and the dates of each stage. What stays remarkably consistent from department to department is the set of abilities measured, and that is what this guide is built around.

The Hiring Process

Most departments move candidates through the same sequence of stages. The order varies (some test physical ability before the written exam, and some interview only the top-ranked candidates), and failing any stage usually ends that application.

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Minimum

Cognitive and

CPAT or agility test

Panel scoring

Medical and

Recruit training

qualifications

judgment

psychological

Common minimum qualifications include being at least 18 years old (some departments require 21), a high school diploma or equivalent, a valid driver's license, and, in a growing number of departments, EMT certification or a current CPAT card at the time of application. After a conditional offer, candidates complete a background investigation, a medical examination, a drug screen, and often a psychological evaluation before entering the recruit academy.

The Written Test

Written tests are multiple-choice and most commonly use four answer choices, with no penalty for a wrong answer. They are usually given at a testing site or as a proctored computer test; some are presented partly on video. Departments choose among vendor exams and their own civil-service exams:

TestType	WhatItCovers	FormatNotes
FireTEAM(Ergometrics ,	Video-based human relations (choose the best and ,	Scorescanbesharedwithseveral
deliveredthroughNational	sometimestheworst courseofaction) mechanicalaptitude , ,	participatingdepartments;each
TestingNetwork)	presented on video firefighter-specific math and reading , ,	departmentsetsitsowncutoff
	ability
NationalFirefighterSelection	A 105 -item cognitive measure (verbal comprehension and	About2½hoursplusinstructions;
Inventory(NFSI I/O ,	expression problemsensitivity deductiveandinductive , ,	severalparallelformsareused
Solutions)	reasoning informationordering mathematicalreasoning , , ,
	number facility) and a 50 -item behavioral measure (stress
	tolerance teamorientation motivationandattitude) , ,
Civil -service and	Anymixofreading math mechanicalreasoning , , ,	Commonly100to150questionsin2
departmentexams	observationandmemory mapreading spatialorientation , , ,	to3hours;detailsareinthejob
	andjudgment	announcement

Thesevenwritten-Testareasinthisguide

Area(Section)	TypicalQuestionTypes
1 VerbalReasoning .	Vocabularyincontext analogies deductiveconclusions informationordering report , , , ,
	grammarandspelling
2 ReadingComprehension .	PassagesfromSOPs trainingtext andincidentreports:mainidea detail inference applying , , , , ,
	arule
3 Mathematics .	Fractions percents rates measurement areaandvolume waterflow tankandpressure , , , , , ,
	problems
4 MechanicalReasoning .	Levers pulleys gears belts hydraulics pressure stability tools , , , , , , ,
5 ObservationandMemory .	Studyascene floorplan ormemoforasettime thenanswerfrommemory , , ,
6 SpatialandDirectionalOrientation .	Street maps with one-way streets routes headings floor plans rotated views , , , ,
7 SituationalJudgmentandHuman .	Best and worst actions in firehouse fireground and public-contact scenarios; behavioral , ,
Relations	inventories

Scoring and the Eligibility List

Each question is scored right or wrong, and your raw score is usually converted to a scaled score or percentage. Departments set their own passing standard; many civil-service systems use a cutoff of about 70 percent, and some vendor exams report a score that each department compares with its own cutoff. Passing is only the first hurdle: candidates are ranked, so every additional correct answer can move you up the list. Many jurisdictions add veterans' preference points, and some add points for residency, EMT or paramedic certification, or language skills. Where the interview is scored, the final ranking often combines the written and interview scores, and the list remains in effect for a set period, commonly one to two years.

Because candidates are ranked, the goal is the highest score you can earn, not the minimum pass. Answer every question: most firefighter exams have no penalty for guessing.

The Oral Interview and the Physical Ability Test

The oral interview is a structured panel interview, usually three to five raters, lasting about 15 to 30 minutes, in which every candidate answers the same behavioral and situational questions and is scored against a rating guide (Section 8). The Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT), developed by the IAFF and IAFC, is the most widely used physical test: eight events performed in a fixed order while wearing a 50-pound vest, completed within 10 minutes and 20 seconds, and scored pass/fail (Section 9). Some departments use their own validated agility test instead.

Process at a Glance

Aspect	Details
Whoadministers	Individual fire departments civil -service commissions merit boards or testing vendors on their , , ,
	behalf
Writtentest	Multiple-choice most commonly four options; vendor or civil -service exam named in the job ,
	announcement
Length	Variesbytest;commonlyabout100to150questionsin2to3hours
Scoring	Department-set cutoff (often about 70 percent); passing candidates ranked on an eligibility list
Physicaltest	CPAT(8events 10:20limit pass/fail)oradepartmentagilitytest , ,
Interview	Structuredpanelinterviewscoredwitharatingguide
Beforehire	Backgroundinvestigation medicalexam drugscreen oftenapsychologicalevaluation , , ,
Wheretoconfirmdetails	Thejobannouncementandthedepartment'sortestingvendor'scandidateinformation