How to Become a Firefighter

Welcome to Don McNea Fire School’s How to Become a Firefighter. This webpage is the most searched and the most comprehensive site you will find.

Since 1950, Don McNea Fire School has successfully prepared over 60,000 entry-level fire applicants across the United States.

The number one cause of failure by firefighter applicants is a lack of preparation for each step of the hiring process. 92% of successful fire applicants have a game plan and are well prepared for each step in the hiring process.

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!

PRIVACY STATEMENT: We will not distribute your address to anyone. Period. This website is run by Chief Officers and Firefighters who respect your privacy.

Click here to view our informative blog!

Read our May 31st 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!