Skip to main content
Home
  • Home
  • About us
    Back
    About us
      • Our people
      • Our fire stations
      • Fleet and equipment
      • How we respond to emergency calls
      • Community Risk Management Plan
      • In your area
      • Information and data transparency
      • What we spend
      • Our performance
      • Request information
      • Have your say
        Back
        Have your say
        • Complaints
        • Compliments
      • Developing our Service
      • Our environmental strategy
      • Equality and diversity
      • Work with us
      • Covid-19 response
      • Fire Authority
      • Fire, rescue and safety training (Red One)
      • Firefighters' pensions board
  • Newsroom
    Back
    Newsroom
    decorative image of the front of a fire engine
    News
    31 Jan 2023

    Industrial action

    Sallie McKay Roper
    Staff story
    20 Dec 2022

    Tips to stay warm and save money

    • Incidents
    • News
    • Events
    • Social media
  • Safety advice
    Back
    Safety advice
      • Safety at home
        Back
        Safety at home
        • How to stay safe
        • Smoke alarms
        • Home safety visits
        • Risks in your home
        • Advice for carers
        • Advice for parents
      • Business safety
        Back
        Business safety
        • Risk assessments
        • High rise buildings
        • Guidance for businesses
        • Landlords and holiday lets
        • Inspections and enforcement
      • Safety outdoors
      • Safety on the road
  • Careers
    Back
    Careers
      • Vacancies
      • Become an on-call firefighter
        Back
        Become an on-call firefighter
        • Application process (on-call)
        • On-call firefighter pay
        • On-call vacancies
        • How on-call firefighters benefit businesses
      • Become a wholetime firefighter
        Back
        Become a wholetime firefighter
        • Application process (wholetime)
      • The role of a firefighter
      • The role of a fire control operator
        Back
        The role of a fire control operator
        • Become a fire control operator
      • Support staff roles
      • Looking after our people
        Back
        Looking after our people
        • Embracing equal opportunities
        • Supporting women in the Service
      • Pay rates
      • Benefits
      • Request a careers talk
  • Education and young people
    Back
    Education and young people
      • Early years, reception and year one
      • Primary schools
        Back
        Primary schools
        • Fire and road safety resources
        • Great Fire of London
        • Primary school fire safety visits
      • Secondary schools
      • Fire starting behaviour in children
      • Young drivers
      • Join the fire cadets
      • Work experience
      • Fire station visits by youth groups
Search

People often search for...

When should I test my smoke alarm?
Home safety visits
Thatch fire safety
Report a problem with a fire hydrant
How safe is my heater?
Chimney fires

Contact

  • Contact us
Accessibility Tool
  • Zoom in
  • Zoom out
  • Reset
  • Contrast
  • Accessibility help

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Careers
  3. Fitness and practical tests
FacebookTwitterEmailWhatsappMessenger Share

Fitness and practical tests

As part of your journey to become a firefighter, you’ll have to pass a number of activities that will test your fitness and the fire in your belly!

It’s natural to feel nervous about them, which is why we’ve created an eight-week fitness schedule to help you get on track before your test.

Our ‘Have a Go’ days are open to potential applicants and allow you to come and ask questions and test out some of the practical tasks you’ll have to do as part of your role. Our recruitment fitness sessions for female applicants are dedicated spaces for women to test out the exercises in preparation for the real thing.

Bleep test

An important part of being a firefighter is having a good level of fitness. We assess this through the bleep test. This involves running between two points which are 20 metres apart before a ‘bleep’ sounds. As the test progresses, the time between each bleep gets shorter and shorter, meaning you have to run faster each time.

The pass rate for this is the eight shuttle of level eight (8.8).

Potential recruits doing the bleep test

Swimming test

Water rescues are also a part of the role, so it's at the same stage as the Bleep test that potential wholetime firefighters will do the swimming test.

In this assessment, you’ll have to:

  • jump into the deep end of the swimming pool
  • swim 50 metres in 70 seconds
  • climb out of the swimming pool, unaided and without using the steps.

Effective swimming strokes include breaststroke, backstroke, front crawl, back crawl, and butterfly.

This test is only for people applying for wholetime firefighter roles. 

Potential recruit doing swimming test

Ladder lift

The ladder lift is designed to test your upper body strength by mimicking the requirement to lift and lower a 13.5 metre ladder on top of a fire engine. For the test, you’ll have to lift a bar weighing approximately 30kg over your head to a height of 1.90 metres in a controlled manner.

Ladder climb

The ladder climb is about seeing how confident and co-ordinated you are while working at height. You’ll have to go up and down a 10.5 metre ladder and get on and off the ladder from the second floor of a drill tower – all while wearing the full fire kit!

Potential firefighter climbing a ladder
1 of 1

Equipment assembly

While wearing fire kit, you’ll take apart and reconstruct an item of equipment against the clock. This tests your dexterity and ability to follow instructions.

Equipment carry

Here you’ll be carrying equipment of various weights and sizes over 25-metre shuttles against the clock – while wearing fire kit. This is similar to what you’d do on the ground as a firefighter.  

You’ll have to cover the total distance of 550 metres in five minutes and 47 seconds or less. You will have to: 

  • Run out the hose reel for 25 metres
  • Walk or jog back 25 metres
  • Pick up and carry two x 70mm hoses (each weighing approx 15kg) for 100 metres
  • Hold one 70mm hose at shoulder height and walk 25 metres
  • Walk/jog back 75 metres
  • Pick up and carry the 100mm suction hose and basket (total weight approx. 12kg) for 100 metres
  • Walk or jog back 100 metres
  • Pick up and carry the pump simulator, which is a barbell (weight approx. 25kg) for 100 metres.
Someone carrying hoses
1 of 2
Potential recruit lifting weight
2 of 2

Breathing apparatus and confined spaces

As a firefighter sometimes you will have to navigate dark and confined spaces. In this test, you’ll follow a guideline through a building with small spaces, while wearing a mask so you have no visibility. You’ll be wearing a full fire kit including breathing apparatus (although you will be able to breathe normally). The course will involve navigating rooms, stairs, and a crawl tunnel against the clock.

 

Potential recruit in crawl tunnel exercise

Your exercise schedule

Find out more

Vacancies

Find out more

Preparing for the online tests

Find out more

Footer menu

  • Home
  • About us
      • Our people
      • Our fire stations
      • Fleet and equipment
      • How we respond to emergency calls
      • Community Risk Management Plan
      • In your area
      • Information and data transparency
      • What we spend
      • Our performance
      • Request information
      • Have your say
      • Developing our Service
      • Our environmental strategy
      • Equality and diversity
      • Work with us
      • Covid-19 response
      • Fire Authority
      • Fire, rescue and safety training (Red One)
      • Firefighters' pensions board
    • Newsroom
      • Incidents
      • News
      • Events
      • Social media
    • Safety advice
        • Safety at home
        • Business safety
        • Safety outdoors
        • Safety on the road
    • Careers
        • Vacancies
        • Become an on-call firefighter
        • Become a wholetime firefighter
        • The role of a firefighter
        • The role of a fire control operator
        • Support staff roles
        • Looking after our people
        • Pay rates
        • Benefits
        • Request a careers talk
    • Education and young people
        • Early years, reception and year one
        • Primary schools
        • Secondary schools
        • Fire starting behaviour in children
        • Young drivers
        • Join the fire cadets
        • Work experience
        • Fire station visits by youth groups

Translate the website

Footer contact

  • Contact us

Staff login

Always call 999 in an emergency

Follow us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
  • Follow us
  • Print this page

Footer bottom

  • Our website
  • Sitemap
  • Cookies
  • Privacy notices
  • Modern Slavery Act 2015
  • Accessibility

Disability Confident employer logoEmployers Network for Equality and Inclusion logoBritish Quality Foundation logoEmployers network for equality and inclusion logoFire pride and allies logo