How to Become a Firefighter

Welcome to Don McNea Fire School’s guide to Becoming a Firefighter. This webpage is the most comprehensive source about becoming a firefighter that you will find. Since 1950, Don McNea Fire School has offered extensive training and resources to prepare aspiring fire personnel to pursue their dreams of becoming firefighters. Our team of highly-trained professionals provide a range of invaluable resources and services designed to assist applicants in every step of the process, from learning the basics of fire suppression to giving career guidance.

When aspiring firefighters want to increase their chances of successfully joining a department, the number one thing they can do is prepare for each step of the hiring process. It is essential to take firefighter practice tests, to review study materials, and to practice answering questions in order to be thoroughly ready for the physical agility test, written exam, oral board, and the day-long hiring process. According to a recent survey, 92% of the successful fire applicants had a game plan, put in the necessary effort and study time, and felt prepared for each step, while the unsuccessful applicants often did not put in the time or practice tests. Preparing ahead of time can help firefighters to avoid failure and increase their chances of success.

In today's firefighter applicant field, you have to be a well-rounded, well-prepared candidate. We have prepared the following documents to help you along the way.

First, sign up for our FREE FirePrep newsletter that currently has over 31,000 subscribers! Published twice a month, over the year you will receive hundreds of FREE exam announcements from across the country as well as career articles by the country's top entry-level authors covering the written, oral, psychological, physical agility and much more!  Click here to enter your e-mail address!

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Click here to view our informative blog!

Read our January 15th Newsletter with Exam Notices for Fire Jobs here!

Page includes the following:

• What Is a Firefighter?
  
• Job Security and Work Schedule
  
• Day-to-Day Duties of a Firefighter
  
• Characteristics of a Successful Firefighter
  
• The Firefighter Examination Process
  
  • Written Examination
    
  • Physical Agility Examination
    
  • Medical Examination
    
  • Psychological Examination
    
  • Oral Board Interviews
• Firefighter Frequently Asked Questions
• Firefighter Career Articles
  
• Top-scoring Test-Taking Strategies
  
• CPAT Physical Agility Test & Workout Strategies
  
• Top-scoring Oral Interview Strategies
  
• Top 30 Basic Oral Board Questions
• Top-scoring Mechanical Principles
• Free 50 Question Firefighter Exam
  
• Basic Math Calculations for Firefighter Exams 
  
• Cooperative Personnel Services (CPS) Math Examples
  
• How to Become an EMT
  
• How to Become a Paramedic
  
• EMT, Paramedic and Firefighter I & II Exam Preparation
• Firefighter Resumes
  
• Volunteering
• Locating Firefighter Exams
  
• List of 150 Top Fire Departments
  
• List of over 250 Firefighter/EMT/Paramedic Schools
• Testimonials
  
• Ultimate Firefighter Exam Prep
• Firefighter Entry-level Written Exam Prep
• Custom-designed Fire Exam Prep by Municipality/State

For those of you preparing for an upcoming exam or want to be part of the 92% of the successful applicants who have a game plan and are well-prepared for each step of the hiring process, we have info on the entry-level written exam, the oral interview and psychological exams, and much more!