Full-Time Firefighters Candidate Information

Important Dates

The Full-Time Firefighter recruitment process has a number of important dates that candidates will need to be available for should they progress throughout the process:

The online registration process opens at 12 noon on 27 February and closes at 4 pm on 10 March 2023. Candidates who are successful at this stage will be invited to undertake further online tests between 13 to 24 March 2023. Find out more about the tests here.

Fitness testing will be held on 4 and 6 April 2023.

Practical assessments, swim and bleep tests will be held between 17 to 26 April 2023.

The Service recognises that some of the fitness and practical elements of the recruitment process will be held during Ramadan. We are aware that the demands of some of the physical elements of the process may affect individuals who are fasting. We encourage applicants who are observing the month of Ramadan to contact us to discuss your individual needs and requirements during this time.

Interviews will be held between 15 to 19 May 2023.

Verification tests will take place directly ahead of medical examinations. Medical and fitness tests will be held during the months of June and July 2023.

The 10-week initial training course will commence on 26 September 2023.

Please note that all dates may be subject to change dependent upon Service need.

Job Description

Location

Posted to any Service location within the Humberside Fire and Rescue Service area.

Overall Purpose

To protect and rescue people and property from fire and other hazards in the most competent and effective manner to the highest possible standard of care and quality.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Emergencies

• Respond immediately and safely to all emergency calls and requests for assistance
• Deal with emergencies as directed and work effectively and efficiently as a member of a disciplined team
• Minimise distress and suffering, including giving first aid care

Health and Safety

• Recognise health and safety issues at work and take action to minimise or eliminate the degree of hazard or risk
• Ensure personal safety and that of others at all times

Dealing with People

• Establish and maintain the confidence of members of the public
• Develop and maintain links with the community
• Be sensitive to the needs of others with regard to fairness and dignity

Protecting the Environment

• Mitigating damage to the environment from hazardous materials
• Decontaminating people and property affected by hazardous materials
• Supporting people involved in hazardous materials incidents

Prevention and Protection

• Give general fire safety advice and guidance to people when requested
• Educate members of the community in the risks and hazards of fire and other emergencies
• Assist in the delivery of Service initiatives, programmes and strategies to reduce fire and other emergency calls

Personal Fitness and Hygiene

• Maintain the expected standards of physical and medical fitness necessary to carry out the duties of a Firefighter
• Maintain personal appearance, hygiene and cleanliness of uniform in keeping with our Service standards

Equipment

• Maintain all firefighting and emergency equipment in a state of readiness, including cleaning, repairing and testing as required to approved standards and procedures
• Check firefighting resources provided for Fire and Service use including hydrants and fixed installations

Driving, Manoeuvring and Redeploying Fire Service Vehicles

• Driving vehicles to incidents in a safe manner in line with Service standards
• Manoeuvring, siting and redeploying vehicles

Local Geography

• Ensure knowledge of local streets, roads and buildings situated within the Fire Station response area is up-to-date
• Be aware of the risks, possible hazards and water supplies to be found within the Fire Station area

Administration

• Complete basic paperwork and routine administration including recording of information
• Use information technology as required and in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998
• Keep personal records up-to-date

Training

• Take part in a continuous training programme by attending theoretical training sessions, exercises, practical drill sessions and other forms of training to maintain competence levels
• Attend training courses as requested

Undertake any other duties commensurate with the level of responsibility and expertise as may be required by the Chief Fire Officer/Chief Executive. Adhere to all policies and procedures of the Service.

Employee Specification

Key:

• A – Application
• I – Interview
• V – Verification
• R – Reference
• M – Medical
• PPA – Physical and Practical Assessment
• OPT – On-line Psychometric Test

Rates of Pay

Rates of pay for Full-Time Firefighters from 1 July 2021.

The Recruitment Process

The following notes are designed to give you an indication of the Recruitment Process, what to expect and what will be required of you. There are 5 main stages to the process:

• SIFT (on-line registration and assessment)
• Ability Tests (psychometric tests)
• Physical and Practical Assessments
• Interview
• Medical and Fitness test

Stage 1 – SIFT

The start of the recruitment process involves completing an on-line registration and assessment (the SIFT). This assessment is divided into four elements. The first element requires you to register your on-line application account and provide some personal details.

For the second element you will be presented with a Realistic Job Preview which comprises of a self-selection questionnaire covering 11 specific demands and challenges which you could face in the role of a Firefighter. It is designed to consider these demands and challenges in a transparent way to encourage you to think about whether the role is suitable for you. At this point, you can choose whether to continue with the application or not.

The third element is an Eligibility Screen which presents you with several questions that, depending on your answer, may preclude you from continuing with your application. Areas covered include:

• Be at least 17 years and 7 months of age at the time of application
• Possession of a full category B driving licence
• Declaration of criminal convictions (Spent convictions are those convictions that have reached a set period as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, and are removed from an individual's criminal record. Unspent convictions are those records that have not yet reached this defined time and will appear on a Basic Criminal Record Check).

Candidates who complete the above three elements satisfactorily will then be invited to undertake a Behavioural Styles Questionnaire. This is designed to measure the Personal Qualities and Attributes (PQAs) which are important for successful performance as a Firefighter. The PQAs are:-

• Working with others
• Problem solving
• Commitment to Excellence
• Dedicated
• Effective Communication
• Commitment to development
• Discipline
• Openness to change
• Confidence
• Resilience
• Professionalism
• Commitment to diversity and integrity

The Behavioural Styles Questionnaire consists of 96 statements and requires you to rate the extent to which you agree or disagree with them. If the same rating is given to several statements, you will then be asked to rank these in order.

If successful, you will then receive an invite to undertake the Situational Judgement Test. This test presents you with 20 typical scenarios that Firefighters could face in their role. You will read a description of the scenario and four possible actions that could be taken in response to the situation. You must rate the effectiveness of each action.

Candidates are reminded not to ‘overthink’ the answers to these tests. Even if you have some previous firefighting experience, perhaps as a volunteer or on-call firefighter, or even part of a company/organisation firefighting team; you are requested to respond from the perspective of the average ‘person’ on the street, not based on any previous technical firefighting experience you may have.

Stage 2 – Ability Tests (Psychometric tests)

Candidates who pass the Situational Judgement Test will then receive an invite to complete three Ability Tests. These tests are:

• Verbal Reasoning
• Numerical Reasoning
• Mechanical Reasoning

Each ability test will be timed, be multiple choice based and will last between 16 and 20 minutes each (dependent upon the test). The Ability Tests are described in more detail below, click here to access practice tests.

Numerical Reasoning: Questions will require you to interpret and analyse numerical information that is presented in either a graph, table or short passage. To correctly work out the answer, you will be required to calculate basic numerical equations that are equivalent to GCSE standard. The questions will be constructed in such a way that you will first have to consider how the problem can be solved and to identify the correct information necessary to do so, before performing the calculations. You will be allowed the use of a calculator.

Verbal Reasoning: Questions will be presented as short passages of information about a specific topic. You will be asked whether certain statements can be deemed true, false or not possible to say, based solely on the information provided. All prior knowledge should be disregarded for the purposes of these questions, as they aim to assess your innate ability to interpret and evaluate verbal information. They are not concerned with learned knowledge.

Mechanical Reasoning: Questions will comprise of images and contain very little text. You will be required to apply cognitive reasoning to mechanical, physical and practical concepts in order to solve related problems. Again, prior knowledge is not necessarily required as these tests assess innate cognitive ability.

Before the ability tests are undertaken, you will be asked whether you have dyslexia, which may mean that you require more time to undertake these tests. You will be asked to provide evidence of your dyslexia diagnosis completed by a qualified psychologist and recommended reasonable adjustments at the initial registration stage. Once this is confirmed, you will be allocated extra time (normally 25%) to complete the tests.

Please note, it is ESSENTIAL that you complete these tests yourself, without the assistance of any other person.

This is because at the end of the process, directly before physical tests and medical examinations are completed, verification tests will be carried out under supervision at HFRS premises to ensure your responses are consistent and comparable with the originally completed test results.

If your verification tests are not consistent with the original test results you will be removed from the process.

Stage 3 – Physical and Practical Assessments

The Physical and Practical assessments are split into two parts. Candidates will first be invited to undertake a bleep test to level 8.8. Those who are successful will then be invited to undertake the swim test (50 metres front crawl) and then a series of practical job-related tests.

Full and detailed information including videos of these tests can be found by clicking here.

Stage 4 – Interview

The top 60 candidates taking into consideration the results of the on-line testing process and those who go on to pass the Physical and Practical Assessment stage will be invited to attend an interview. The interview will consist of a number of individual panel interviews, each containing two officers who will ask you a series of questions aligned to the Fire and Rescue Services’ Core Code of Ethics. For more information on these, please visit https://www.local.gov.uk/publications/core-code-ethics-fire-and-rescue-services-england

Support regarding interview skills

HFRS has several resources available on the Organisational Development Sharepoint pages on our website that can help you prepare for interviews.

Some useful general guidance regarding interview preparation for firefighter interviews is also available at;

https://uk.indeed.com/career-advice/interviewing/firefighter-interview-questions

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/interviewing/firefighter-interview-tips

There are of course many other online resources to assist candidates ahead of interviews and you are encouraged to do your own research and preparation, should you be selected for interview.

Stage 5 - Medical

Candidates who score the highest at interview may then be invited to undertake a medical and fitness test at our Occupational Health facility in Beverley. The medical will cover a number of checks including eye sight, spirometry, audiometry and a general medical examination including a drug and alcohol test.

The fitness test comprises of a Maximal Oxygen Consumption Test (VO2 max) which measures aerobic capacity. This will be performed either on a static bike or treadmill (candidates choice) with the workload increasing in incremental stages until the required level is achieved. During the test, you will wear a face mask which is connected to a computer.

Employment Checks

Successful candidates will then be offered a place on our Full-time Firefighter Initial Training course subject to the following checks and documents:-

• Satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check
• Documents confirming your right to work in the UK
• Driving Licence
• National Insurance number
• Two satisfactory references

Some of these documents may also be requested at earlier stages of the recruitment process to confirm your identity.

Initial Training

New Firefighter recruits will commence a non-residential 10-week initial training course. No annual leave will be permitted during the 10-week training course.

The training will be held at our Training School in Immingham and will contain a mixture of theoretical and practical input, including examinations. The main topics covered include:

• Health and safety
• Pumps and ladders
• Team building
• Combination drills
• Working at height
• Breathing apparatus
• Road traffic collisions
• Hazmat
• Swift water rescue
• Prevention and Protection

At the end of the course, a ceremonial Passing Out Parade will then be held where your family and friends may be invited to watch you show off your newly acquired skills and competencies.

Station Allocation

You will be informed of your allocated Fire Station location, which could be anywhere within the Humberside Fire and Rescue Service boundary and may not be close to your home address, during the initial training course.