A National Firefighter Test

When little Johnny dreamt of becoming a firefighter he figured all he would need to do is to stay in shape and pass a test. Doing so would certainly afford him a position as an entry-level firefighter with some of the finest fire departments across the country. Little did Johnny know that there would be so much competition for his dream job. A firefighter position with only 10-20 job openings that often attracts hundreds to thousands of candidates.

Because there is no standard test, applicants spend an inordinate amount of time and money chasing job openings from one fire department to the next – many times their efforts are duplicated. What makes sense is to have one standardized written test – a national firefighter test – that an applicant could take to ensure that he/she has the critical skills and abilities to perform as a firefighter. Once an applicant has taken this one, single test, the results can be made available to all fire departments. This concept would minimize the time and expense (e.g., airfare, gasoline, hotel, meals, etc.) candidates bear – having to travel from one city to the next taking very similar tests.

Well, this dream is about to become a reality! In the spring of 2009, Fire & Police Selection, Inc., (“FPSI”) administered the first standardized National Fire Select Test™ for the entry-level firefighter position. The second test administration is slated for summer of 2009. This national entry-level firefighter test will measure a variety of skills and abilities identified by fire chiefs across the country as being critical to successful job performance.

The test components will include reading ability, mechanical aptitudes, mathematical reasoning, writing abilities, personality traits in addition to other constructs identified as critical to job performance. Applicants will pay a single fee to take this test one time, and the scores will be available for 12 months to agencies across the country, that have entry-level firefighter job openings.

An applicant living in California – for instance – can take a written test in Oakland and may be considered for job openings in Nevada, North Carolina, Texas, Washington, or Florida without ever leaving his/her home state.

You don’t have to take a driver’s test every time you decide to enter a different state or a different city; won’t it be great when the same is true for firefighter applicant testing? Interested entry-level firefighter applicants can obtain more information about the national entry-level firefighter test by visiting our website!