FDNY/Firefighter exam preperation?

*We don't have to limit this to the FDNY, I just chose them because I live in NY.*

With the FDNY hiring process beginning with its written exam in a few months or so, it's never too early to prepare.

To anyone out there who is a firefighter, know someone who is, or knows about the job, can you post any information you have as to how to prepare for the written exam, and also the physical?

I'm hoping more information is posted for the physical portion (hint hint ), but also enough for the written exam as well.

Is anyone else going out for the FDNY/any fire department besides me?

Morning bump.

I took the test out here in Jersey. For the written part I pretty much just printed the study guide from the website. The written part was easy, just reading comprehension and simple math. The physical part was obviously....PHYSICAL. They had a print out on the website of EXACTLY what you had to do, and the time limit for each part.

I don't know how they do it in NY, but in Jersey you 1st take the written part of the exam. If you pass that, THEN you take the physical portion of the test a couple months later.

What a coincidence, my brother is actually going for the exam. I don't see him that much, but I know he bought the books for it, found them on amazon.

He's also going to buy  this sort of weight pack from ****'s sporting goods, to get ready for the physical part of the exam.

Bookmarked*

BK, the website should have a video or a good written description of both physical and the written test. But I will tell you from a close friends experience, you should practice running stairs with a weighted jacket. I heard that was one of the tougher parts.

I'm definitely going to look into investing a weight vest to train with. (HBD again Pro!)

I'm going to take any practice exams that are offered, but it's the physical portion that I'll need the most work in. Right now I'm sitting at 5-10", 150lbs . Time to start training hard...

we have a firefighter NTer here from florida i believe?

I'm taking fire classes right now at my local CC and later getting a bachelors, but all fire teachers are either retired or active, and seems like most of the time its the written test, and then a few months later is the physical.

Practice on your cardio Ive been told, because that's where most people fail, people's legs start cramping up from all the climbing and dummy pulling...so run up the mountains a few times and take the training seriously, you dont want to fail from a stupid cramp

Thanks for the info so far guise.
Anyone have more details about the physical part. Like how many stairs in how much time? How much does the vest weigh? Is there a running portion?

For the written part, didn't they completely change the exam because of law suits? Wouldn't that make all those practice books obsolete? I thought this is why the test keeps getting delayed.

In the gym, how would I go about training for size, but at the same time, not letting cardio (for stamina purposes) affect my potential mass gain?

Found this on YouTube:

Remember seeing this a few years back.. same exam now I believe.. NY1 reporter demonstrates the physical. I signed up for the test too for the hell of it. Good luck!

FDNY Physical Exam

I've been reading fdny forums and dudes are saying it's a must to get a 100% to even have a chance at getting called. I've been working out and should definitely be fine for the physical part by march. January I'm going to take a 3 hour course that shows you the proper technique for the physical portion. Anyone recommend any books to study for the written?

I'm taking the CPAT for San Antonio coming up in March.  We were told that a total of 50 people would be hired from a pool of about 300 that made it through to the CPAT.  25 will start in August 2012 and another 25 in January of 2013.  I'm thinking they go in order by rank and I was #28 after the written exam.  They told us if we were ranked 200 and up, there was very little chance of actually getting into the Academy.
For the CPAT, ours is 8 events and has to be completed in 10:20 or less.  I'm pretty sure we have to wear a 50 pound vest for the duration of the CPAT and we wear another 25 pounds just for the stair climb.  I went to an orientation last week for the CPAT and they just showed us some videos on the CPAT and the Academy and let us know about workshops that we have to attend to prep for the CPAT.  I'll be doing 1 workshop within the next 2 weeks and will let ya'll know how that goes if anyone is interested.  I think the CPAT is the same for everyone, but in case it's not, here are the 8 events we have to do:

• Stair Climb 
• Hose Drag 
• Equipment Carry 
• Ladder Raise and Extension 
• Forcible Entry 
• Search 
• Rescue 
• Ceiling Breach and Pull 

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Dam this was a perfect thread for me to stumble upon Im a junior in college right now and recently ive been considering becoming a career firefighter. Could yall possibly give me some of the facts like how much on average you would make a year as a firefighter and what process you have to go about even to do the writing part and then get called back for the physical portion?

Originally Posted by So Uptempo

Dam this was a perfect thread for me to stumble upon Im a junior in college right now and recently ive been considering becoming a career firefighter. Could yall possibly give me some of the facts like how much on average you would make a year as a firefighter and what process you have to go about even to do the writing part and then get called back for the physical portion?

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Nyc? If so just forget it, test signup is closed and won't be open for at least 4 years. Maybe someone else can give you info on another state though or upstate ny possibly.

As for the written exam, I thought it was fairly easy.  It was a basic assessment of your ability to follow directions and think logically.  
One section gave you a map and you had to select the fastest route from A to B.  Other questions asked the same thing but told you that certain streets were blocked off.  Grammar questions were included.  Spelling as well.  They misspelled works like their, they're and there.  Also words like grammar, they would only put one m.  Another section consisted of a picture with jumbled up shapes and you had to select the shape that was actually in the picture.  This section gave me the most trouble because some of the pictures looked just like a bunch of lines and curves.  Another section gave you a set of rules and you had to apply those rules in scenarios.  For example, they'd tell you that you males cannot wear rings unless it's a wedding band and on the left hand, males cannot wear earrings at all and females cannot wear colored nail polish. Then it'd give you 4 people and you had to select the person that was breaking the rules that were just listed.  This portion of the exam consisted of 100 questions.

The next portion of the exam was 150 questions and I guess questioned our behavior and consistency answering those types of questions.  These questions were centered around alcohol use, stealing, drugs and the workplace.  They were basically the same questions asked over and over but in different ways.  Have you ever stolen anything?  Do you know anyone who has stolen anything?  Have you stolen from work?  There are situations were it is ok to steal from work.  A grocery store clerk and steal an apple if they're hungry and no one sees them.  For all 150 questions, we had to answer that we either Strongly Agree, Agree, Don't Know, Disagree or Strongly Disagree.  

I got a raw score of 92 with no veterans points and was ranked number 28.  Over 2000 people took the exam here and the cut off was a score of 85 to get through to the CPAT which was about 300-400 people I think. 

Originally Posted by So Uptempo

Dam this was a perfect thread for me to stumble upon Im a junior in college right now and recently ive been considering becoming a career firefighter. Could yall possibly give me some of the facts like how much on average you would make a year as a firefighter and what process you have to go about even to do the writing part and then get called back for the physical portion?

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I think I just gave a good rundown of the written exam and what the physical exam will consist of for my city.  I can answer more questions if you'd like.  All I did was register for the exam, studied and then took it.  If your score is high enough, you move on to the CPAT.  For my city, I believe the pay is $2300 while in the Academy as a cadet, $3900 while a probationary firefighter through the 18th month, then $4300 after that through the 60th month.  You get an extra $185 per month for an Associate's Degree, $290 for a Bachelor's Degree and $310 for a Master's Degree.  15 vacation days through your 10th year with 12 holidays per year. 

Originally Posted by mikejs210

I'm taking the CPAT for San Antonio coming up in March.  We were told that a total of 50 people would be hired from a pool of about 300 that made it through to the CPAT.  25 will start in August 2012 and another 25 in January of 2013.  I'm thinking they go in order by rank and I was #28 after the written exam.  They told us if we were ranked 200 and up, there was very little chance of actually getting into the Academy.
For the CPAT, ours is 8 events and has to be completed in 10:20 or less.  I'm pretty sure we have to wear a 50 pound vest for the duration of the CPAT and we wear another 25 pounds just for the stair climb.  I went to an orientation last week for the CPAT and they just showed us some videos on the CPAT and the Academy and let us know about workshops that we have to attend to prep for the CPAT.  I'll be doing 1 workshop within the next 2 weeks and will let ya'll know how that goes if anyone is interested.  I think the CPAT is the same for everyone, but in case it's not, here are the 8 events we have to do:

• Stair Climb 
• Hose Drag 
• Equipment Carry 
• Ladder Raise and Extension 
• Forcible Entry 
• Search 
• Rescue 
• Ceiling Breach and Pull 

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One of the brave from Houston here! 3rd/4th largest department in the nation!



My dude, that San Antonio CPAT is cake if you are in at least decent shape. The toughest part is the beginning 3 minute stair climb with the 50 lb vest. Here's a hint: show up in business clothes if you have to attend one of their mandatory orientations. I went to one and showed up in jeans and t-shirt like everyone else and we were GRILLED by the main academy instructor. He's all about professionalism, which I now understand. I was unfortunately dropped from the hiring process after the CPAT & fingerprinting. which was my own fault. They didn't contact me for 6 months (they tell you they won't contact you for months and to always be ready) and then out the of the blue they call me up to schedule my oral interview. They asked if anything had changed in the last 6 months and I told them my job had. BIG MISTAKE! You sign a paper sometime in the process telling you to update the recruiting department if there are ANY changes ie address, phone number, employment, residence, etc. I totally forgot to do this because I was also in Houston's process. You have to keep up with your own stuff because they will not remind you. They are always looking to cut people, even for BS mistakes like mine since there are so many qualified applicants. Lucky me, I was hired a month later by my hometown and first choice Houston!

Here is some knowledge I'll pass along, feel free to ask any questions or you can PM/e-mail me at hoopsboy7@gmail.com Always happy to help. It truly is the best job around!

Written exams do not consist of ANY fire department knowledge at all! It is all civil service exam questions testing you overall knowledge. I'm not sure why guys get the impression they have to study fire stuff to pass the test. Most of the time the test is the same that sanitation, police and other departments take if they must test. Think of it like a dumb SAT or ACT. I scored a 99 with Houston and was ranked 187. Military guys usually get an extra 5-10 points before even taking the test.

Written exams are all different. Some are written by the department themselves and other are bought from companies. San Antonio was the hardest one I took, and I still scored a 93 (the visual memorization page you study for all of like 5 minutes killed me).

Keep copies of EVERYTHING you turn in because the city is liable to lose it along the lengthy hiring process. If you have been arrested, owe child support or have something to hide, they will probably find out about it. They do local, state, national and/or FBI background checks. Plus you will probably have to take a lie detector test/polygraph.

Be in shape before you take the CPAT. Don't make a fool of yourself. The national CPAT is cake. In Houston, the 1.5 mile run kills most applicants.

If you made it to the academy, be in great shape when you show up, don't think the academy is going to do it for you. Guys quit or get kicked out early because they can't keep up. Houston's academy was 9 months, four 10 hour days a week. We PT'ed EVERY morning starting at 5:45am. Then you have classroom, skill instructions or tests for the rest of the day. The live burns are a whole new level. I was a college athlete and it still was the most difficult physical thing I have ever done. And that doesn't even compare to a real working fire in some cases.

Be ready to get shout at and bossed around, so if you don't handle authority well, this isn't the job for you. Things calm a bit once you hit the station, but you are the rookie. Remember your place.

Once you get in, almost everyone stays in and retires. I work 2 out of every 8 days with a stretch of 5 days off at a time. I get paid extra for my bachelor's degree. I have made life long friends that I can count on for anything. My pension is guaranteed by the state and it doesn't fluctuate like a 401k. I have plenty of time to work a 2nd and 3rd job. There are really no negatives except those "oh %@+#" situations you sometimes have to deal with.

Good luck!

Thanks for the overnight info fellas.

AyoDun, can you post the link to the FDNY forum?

I've been following this thread http://www.firehouse.com/.../showthread.php?t=121675

Does anyone have a workout routine to get ready for the CPAT? I'm real skinny and want to be in good shape by the time I take the CPAT.

Originally Posted by PremeOne

I've been following this thread http://www.firehouse.com/.../showthread.php?t=121675

Does anyone have a workout routine to get ready for the CPAT? I'm real skinny and want to be in good shape by the time I take the CPAT.

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 This is the site and exact thread I have been following also.
This book is said to have http://www.amazon.com/Get-Firefighte.../dp/1569756260 has good information on what exercises to do and what to eat to prepare for it. 

There is also a class you can take that train you http://firefightersworkout.com/

Hopefully someone has an actual routine they can post in here for free though.

In terms of training I would think simulation would be your best bet. If you can afford a weighted vest, get one. If not, do squats. This will help you get use to and stabilize the weighted vest. Otherwise just do exercises that mimic the movements you’ll be doing during the physical test. Personally, I’m just sticking to my normal gym routine to pack on mass. In a couple months I’ll start upping my cardio and maybe invest in a weighted vest.

If anyone comes across any good info please post it here or pm me.

Well AyoDun my question was not about the FDNY in particular just being a firefighter I guess anywhere in general. My ideal location would probably be Washington DC. If anyone knows the difficulty of becoming a firefighter there as well as what pay is like annually please let your boy know?

my dad is a firefighter right here in jersey, i took and passed the written last year and took the physical early this year (Oct for the written, May for the phys)

he told me that it takes a while for them to hire new people, and that its hard because its such a wanted job. it took him 2 years to get a position in the department back in the mid 90's

i know over here in jersey if you pass the written and physical they combine the two scores so that women have a chance to get in, because before it was just
pass the written and do really good on the physical.

best advice i can give is the same my dad gave me, do really well on the written and try to get THEE BEST time on the physical and the process should not take very long