Summary of Recruitment Process

The selection process consists of the same written tests, fitness tests, interview and medical that are used for regular Wholetime Firefighters.


1. Application Process

Application packs can be obtained from the Human Resources department or alternatively from your local retained fire station. Returned application forms will be checked to ensure eligibility, and that there is a demand for the cover times offered. You will then be invited to the selection tests, which take place every few months at the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service Training Centre in Whitley Wood, Reading, Berkshire. The closing date for receipt of application forms is 7th December 2011.

Current testing and medical dates for applications are as follows:

Written Ability Tests:
• 20th October 2011, 9th November 2011, 23rd November 2011 and 5th January 2012

Physical Tests:
• 7th December 2011
• 10th January 2012

Medical Dates:
• 19th January 2012, 26th January 2012, 2nd February 2012 and 9th February 2012

2. Qualifying Criteria

You must be aged 18 or over, and must live or work within a maximum of 1 mile or 3 minutes travel time to the station at which you would like to work.

Before being offered employment, you will be required to produce documentary evidence of your entitlement to work in the UK, in accordance with the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996.

A full driving licence is not required before employment, but without one a Firefighter cannot progress to Competent status and pay.


3. Declaration of Offences

If you have a criminal record this will not necessarily disqualify you from employment. All applications are considered on merit and in particular, whether the offence has a bearing on your suitability for employment as a firefighter. However Firefighters do need to have a high level of self-discipline, and be people in whom the public can have complete confidence.

You will therefore be required to declare any conviction which is not yet “spent” within the meaning of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, and any charges that are pending. A Criminal Records Bureau check will be made.

Further guidance on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act can be obtained via the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders. Visit their website at www.nacro.org.uk for more information.


4. Recruitment Tests

The tests are the same as for Wholetime Firefighters but may be conducted in a different order. They consist of:

01 APPLICATION FORM - questions in the application form relating to Personal Qualities and Attributes (PQAs).

02 WRITTEN ABILITY TESTS - further information about these tests can be found by consulting the Practice Booklet.

> > > Download the Practice Booklet (Ability Tests) [PDF]

03 PHYSICAL TESTS - These are designed to assess fitness, strength, stamina, coordination, ability to understand and apply information, dexterity, and ability to work at heights and in confined spaces:

• Ladder Climb - Candidates wear a safety harness and ascend two thirds of the way up a 13.5 metre ladder and make a leg-lock. They are then asked to lean backwards and outstretch their arms to the sides, and then whilst looking over their shoulder they are to say out loud what symbol is being shown by the assessor at ground level.
• Casualty Evacuation - Candidates drag a 55kg dummy backwards around a 30 metre course, by a carrying handle fixed to the dummy.
• Ladder Lift - Candidates raise the bar of a ladder lift simulator to the required height with 15kg of weight placed on the simulator cradle, which gives a total lift load of 24kg. This will test upper and lower body strength and co-ordination.
• Enclosed Space - Candidates put on a facemask and with un-obscured vision make their way through a crawl and walkway. Once inside the crawl/walkway they have their vision obscured and return to the start.
• Equipment Assembly - Candidates are given a demonstration of the test before having to assemble and disassemble a number of components to make an item of equipment.
• Equipment Carry - Candidates carry items of equipment up and down a course marked out between two cones placed 25 metres apart.

5. Interview

Candidates who successfully complete the recruitment tests will be invited to interview. During the interview you will be asked questions designed to find out how you have used personal qualities and attributes that are important for Firefighters. Guidance on the interview is available in the Practice Booklet.

> > > Download the...
Practice Booklet (Interview) [PDF]
Personal Qualities and Attributes leaflet [PDF]


6. Medical

All applicants successful at interview are required to undergo a medical examination, and it will be a matter for the Fire Authority's Occupational Health Physician to decide whether any individual is fit to undertake fire fighting duties, allowing for any reasonable adjustments that may be made in accordance with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

Minimum eyesight standards must be met. Corrected visual acuity should be 6/9 binocularly, and a minimum of 6/12 in the worse eye. The minimum uncorrected vision for recruits should be 6/18 in the better eye and 6/24 in the worse. There is an upper hypermetropic (long-sighted) limit of +3.00, and colour vision must reach the required standard.

Hearing and lung function will also be tested. (This medical examination will include the Chester Step Test). And you will undergo screening for use of illegal drugs and alcohol misuse as part of your medical.

If you have any of the following conditions you should consider carefully whether the nature of the work and the attendance pattern, (which includes the possibility of very lengthy hours at major incidents), would be detrimental to your health:-

• Significant joint injury or disease, especially if it affects the back or knees.
• Chronic respiratory problem, e.g. asthma.
• A history of hypertension, diabetes, epilepsy, cardiac or circulatory disease.
• Contact dermatitis, psoriasis or eczema.
• Vertigo, claustrophobia or acrophobia (fear of heights).

Your medical records from your General Practitioner will be required, for which you will be asked to give consent at the appropriate time.

> > > Download the Chester Step Test Video [16.5Mb]

7. Initial Training

Initial training (at the Whitley Wood Training Centre) takes place over a period of about 6 months, on Thursday evenings and at weekends. You must be available to commit yourself to this training, which is vital for your safety.

The training course will commence on 4th August 2011. Exact details of all the training dates will be published in due course.

> > > Download the 2011-12 Retained Firefighter Training Course Dates (PDF)


8. Further Guidance

> > > Visit the website... www.direct.gov.uk/extraordinary

> > > Download the FAQs for Retained (part-time) Firefighters [PDF]



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