The Tests and Some Tips

The firefighter written exam is made up of two test parts, Parts 1 and 2. When a candidate passes Part 1, the Part 2 of the firefighter written exam will then be scored. The passing score of both test parts is valid indefinitely.

When a candidate fails in Part 1 or Part 2 of the written tests, they can take the entire written test again after two years when they took their last written test date.

The test

Part 1 of the test actually measures mathematics (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, ratios, square roots, decimals, fractions and percentages). It also measures the candidates’ reading comprehension.

Part 2 measures job-related personal characteristics that have been demonstrated as indicators of success for a firefighter.

The test is not intended for the candidate to study for. His high school education and personal experiences have given him the training in reading and mathematics. If the candidate feels he needs improvements in these areas, he can always study for them.

Format

The questions in the Firefighter written test are either multiple-choice or a true or false types. This would mean that the question gives you a set of answers which you can choose.

You are to choose the one answer that is the best one, the one most nearly or most often correct, or the one usually true for you.

Some of the questions may sound basic, obvious and some that may be short of wizardry. But the guide should be that you do them all, the basics and the obvious ones. Here are more guides on how to do them.

Read the questions thoroughly

You do this before marking your answer. It could be that your second or third or fourth answer choice might have some keywords or a recognizable phrase that you can latch on.

If you skim the question and come across some familiar words and phrase that you can associate together, that could be them. However, it may not be. Don’t trust a quick scan. Again, read the question thoroughly.

Answer those you know first

To save on time and not linger on anything that eats away your time, finish off those that you know the answers. Skip those that you are in doubt of, or cannot grasp right away.  

Since you went by your answers quick enough, you have enough time now to go through the unanswered question once again when you finish the others. This time, try to dig deeper and try to see what the questions asks.

Again, leave out those you cannot answer again. You can go back to them a third or fourth time whichever is feasible.

First impulse myth

There is this myth that the first answer and resist any later desire to change it. This is false because as you may read the question further down, you may jog your memory and get the right answer.

Changing your first answer can be good, because there is nothing sacred with your first answer. Multiple choice questions can be confusing but a thorough reading clears things and you might get an inkling of the answer as you do.