How many times must a firefighter test before he or she can actually become a firefighter? One? Five? More? Potential recruits must take a new written test at each department they apply to and repeatedly pass standard physical ability tests because each department conducts its own aptitude tests on applicants. The time involved makes it almost impossible for an applicant to apply for all the positions he or she is interested in.

Departments also face some drawbacks inherent to this method of recruitment. They must create valid tests, supply the personnel to administer these tests and to interview applicants, and provide the facilities to host the written and physical ability tests — all of which detract departments from their primary mission of serving the community.

The DuPage County (Ill.) Fire Chiefs' Association and the College of DuPage designed a solution to save all parties both money and time in the testing process. The college's Firefighter Applicant Testing program is a cooperative testing program that combines the low prices of mass testing with the autonomy most fire departments desire.

Basic math

It made sense to the fire chiefs' association and the college that when you test together you save money, but there weren't any existing local programs that they could base theirs on. With input from about 30 local fire department representatives, the fire science technology steering committee, and the college's Business and Professional Institute, we decided on a program in which every candidate takes a standard written examination and physical ability test, allowing the departments to then customize the application, the interview and the orientation process.

The program takes away from the individual fire departments the burdens of administering the tests, supplying the facility, paying employees overtime for the testing, and providing proctors. The program also ensures that departments are complying with Equal Opportunity Employment laws. Basically, the testing program takes care of all of the logistics and keeps the candidate until testing is complete.

The program does not require applicants to have any previous fire service experience. Departments submit a roster of recruits about one month before the test dates, and usually advertise for open positions a month or two prior to that. Those on the roster receive a letter with information on their written examination, a map of the location, and the date and time of the test. The contact person at the department will receive a roster of the applicants for verification, along with exam information on each candidate.

The college hosts tests each spring and fall for the personnel who are submitted by recruiting fire departments. The written test is administered first, usually during a single day, and includes listening comprehension, reading comprehension and mathematical computation. The physical ability test is given a month later and includes a face mask drill, hose advance, hydrant opening, fan carry, ladder raise, shoulder-load carry and dummy drag.

“The written questions apply to the service, but don't require a background in it to be answered,” says Chief George Beverly of the Lockport (Ill.) Fire Protection District.

All applicants are notified if they qualify or not. Results also are mailed and faxed to the department and posted at the college. Those who pass are sent information for the physical ability testing with assigned dates, times and locations. The combined results and billing explanation are sent to the department via certified mail about two weeks after the physical agility test. If necessary, a debriefing meeting also can be held at the request of a participating agency.

“It was very practical. You had to be able to read, follow verbal commands, and do math,” says firefighter/paramedic Alex McGlynn of the Lockport (Ill.) Fire Department, who took the test in the spring of 1999. McGlynn describes the physical ability test as a revised version of the Combat Challenge. “I'd done other tests, and this is the best process around, the way they handled it, and it moved smoothly. After all, it helped get me hired!”

Point, counterpoint

The written test is administered at the college's student resource center. Approximately 200 people are tested during each session, and the college will schedule additional dates if the candidate pool is too large. The written test normally takes around two hours to complete.

The physical ability test is administered at the Carol Stream (Ill.) Fire Protection District's facilities. The test takes about five minutes to complete, and time from check-in to check-out is about 20 minutes, so each candidate is given a specific time to be at the test site. The college schedules candidates at five-minute increments so that candidates aren't waiting around for hours.

“I think they do an outstanding job,” Beverly says. “The test has been very good for us, and I've heard no complaints from applicants.”

The minimum cost per candidate for both the written and physical agility exams is $25 when the candidate tests for three or more departments and $55 if the candidate tests for only one department. When the college first offered the test, the program had almost 1,000 candidates; the program now averages between 400 and 600 semi-annually.

Most testing departments are in DuPage County, though several other surrounding-area departments are taking advantage of the opportunity offered by the college. We try to stay in the area because of the program's strong community links.

There are other mass-testing programs, but they are markedly different from those at the College of DuPage. There are several corporations that test nationally, but they usually do it on a one-for-one basis, each applicant testing for only one department. While this allows departments to avoid much of the hassle in testing recruits, they do not get the same discounts available to participants of the College of Dupage program.

All of these benefits did not come without some drawbacks. One of the problems has been coordinating the many conflicting time restraints to schedule people to come in at the same time.

Another concern is that some departments don't wish to give up their control over the testing — they simply don't want to test with the consortium. Program administrators try to work with them. If they want to get to know an applicant better, or have him or her to test just for them, we can do that. We offer the testing out of the normal cycle. The program also has worked to keep commissioners in the loop, sending college representatives to meetings to explain the process before departments sign on and welcome them to come watch the testing and meet the applicants.

As far as where candidates appear on a final list, they could be at the top of the list from the college, but when they get done with the fire department processing, they could be ranked anywhere. After oral interviews, lie detector tests and psychological exams, candidates usually get rated differently and could end up anywhere on the final list.

The College of DuPage is pleased with the way the program has turned out. The program is self-sufficient, supporting itself on the fees from each fire department that tests. These fees pay for test proctors, tests, grading, postage and new equipment purchases.

For further information about the Firefighter Applicant Testing Program, contact Fire Science Coordinator Darryl J. Haefner, College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn, Ill. 60137, call 630-942-2107, or e-mail haefner@cdnet.cod.edu.

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Darryl J. Haefner joined the fire service in 1964, as a volunteer firefighter with the Lemont (Ill.) Fire Protection District. In 1974, he became a career member of the Bolingbrook (Ill.) Fire Department, rising to the rank of lieutenant before retiring in May 1998. Haefner was hired at the College of DuPage as the part-time fire science coordinator. In 2002, he became the first full-time coordinator of fire science technology in Illinois. Haefner has been teaching fire science classes since 1979 at Bolingbrook Fire Department, Joliet Junior College and the College of DuPage, where he spearheaded the development of the Firefighter Applicant Testing Program.