Background of National Fire Select Test

For the last 14 years, Fire & Police Selection, Inc. (“FPSI”) has successfully provided validated entry-level firefighter pre-employment assessments to fire departments across the U.S. Our tests have been used to screen hundreds of thousands of firefighter applicants. With a wide range of products to choose from, departments are able to select from numerous testing options that measure a variety of skills and abilities critical to the firefighter job. Some departments elect to use a reading ability test while others choose a personality inventory or mechanical aptitude test. However, there is no standardized, one-size-fits-all, written test on the market that provides an overall view of the candidates’ qualifications….until now!

FPSI recently conducted a national survey among fire departments across the country. The process identified the skills and abilities that are most critical for entry-level firefighters. With input from over 130 fire departments, these ratings were used to build a written test that properly weighs the most important qualifications for the entry-level firefighter job. With this type of input from fire executives across the country, this will be the first test of its type!

From this survey, Fire Chiefs across the country identified the following weights for the critical qualifications most commonly measured in the entry-level firefighter written test process:

This national entry-level firefighter written test, the National Fire Select Test™, will be used to screen hundreds of thousands of firefighter applicants across the country. Unlike other written tests available on the market, this test will tap into the "whole firefighter applicant" and measure a wide range of skills and abilities necessary to becoming a well-rounded, competent firefighter.

Because there is currently no national test of this comprehensive nature, applicants spend an inordinate amount of time and money chasing job openings from one fire department to the next. A more effective solution 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 required by multiple fire departments. Once an applicant has taken this single, standardized test, results will be made available to all participating fire departments. This approach minimizes the inordinate time and expense (e.g., airfare, gasoline, hotel, meals, etc.) candidates now incur traveling from one city to the next taking very similar tests. This opportunity is a win-win for both applicants and fire departments! Applicants save time and money testing for multiple positions around the country and fire departments save thousands of dollars in recruitment and the administration of written tests.

The idea of taking ONE STANDARDIZED TEST, and having that score recognized by multiple fire departments, is about to become reality! This Summer, FPSI will offer the National Fire Select Program written test for entry-level firefighters ONLINE! To ensure that applicants from all backgrounds have the opportunity to compete in the testing process, FPSI’s National Fire Select Program will be promoted across the U.S. in several minority-rich communities to assist fire departments in their recruitment among a more diverse applicant pool of qualified applicants.*

While the National Fire Select Test™ was originally administered in a paper-and-pencil format, this national administration concept has been so successful and received so much interest from applicants across the country that FPSI has elected to administer the test online in order to reach a broader base of applicants in a shorter time frame. This new approach allows FPSI to screen a larger number of applicants in various geographical areas in an attempt to reach an even more diverse pool of applicants.

FPSI will use the National Fire Select Test™ to directly test applicants around the U.S. and then make their names and scores available to participating fire departments. In other words, FPSI will take the test to the applicants and bring the scores to you!!!

See the growing list of participating fire departments. Click here to join with other fire departments across the country who will take part in this innovative testing process. Those departments who take advantage of this free offer will have access to the names and test scores of those applicants who participate in the test administration at no charge!

If you are interested in learning more about access to this free database of qualified firefighter applicants please feel free to call us directly at 888-990-3473.