The firefighter situational judgement test is one of the most challenging stages of the firefighter recruitment process. Many promising applicants fail at this hurdle of the selection process due to a lack of preparation or overthinking this particular assessment.
This is why we’ve created this resource, to fully prepare you for situational judgement test success! Using our insider tips, practicing sample questions and following our expert advice you will dramatically increase your chances of passing this assessment and securing your career as a UK firefighter.
The format of the test and what to expect from this assessment.
30 QUESTIONS TO BE COMPLETED IN 35 MINUTES
CONSIDER 4 DIFFERENT ACTIONS OR RESPONSES
RANK OR SELECT YOUR CHOSEN ANSWERS
ASSESSED AGAINST THE FIREFIGHTER PQA’S
The fire service situational judgement test assesses an applicant’s ability to ensure the safety of themselves and others and also their ability to use information in order to solve problems.
The situational judgement test may be presented in a variety of formats. The test requires you to read descriptions of situations or scenarios that you could be expected to face when working as a firefighter. You will then be presented with four alternative answers. You may be required to rank the answer options from best to worst, or simply select the one answer that most closely describes what you would do in that situation, or select the most effective and least effective answers.
The assessment has 30 questions in total and you will have 35 minutes to complete them. It is up to you to read each question very carefully before selecting your answer. It is important to understand that firefighters must be capable of working both safely and unsupervised.
In the weeks before your test, work hard to improve your skills in all of the testing areas. Try out as many practice questions as possible and take note of areas you can improve upon by learning from your mistakes.
The downloadable resource on this page contains sample situational judgement test questions and answers specific for firefighters, that are guaranteed to aid your preparation and improve your scores.
We cannot stress enough how much your success depends on your preparation and understanding of the Personal Qualities & Attributes (PQAs).
Whilst not every question during the firefighter situational judgement test will depend on your knowledge of the PQAs, a number of them will. So make sure you learn them, absorb them, and understand them!
Essential advice to ensure you pass your assessment first time.
Select two answers from each question. You must select one answer as ‘Most Effective’ and one answer as ‘Least Effective’.
Question 1. You are a senior firefighter for Ficshire Fire and Rescue. One of the new recruits has knocked on the door of your office, to ask for guidance. He informs you that he is terrified of the idea of running into a burning building, and that he isn’t sure whether he’s suitable for this role.
A – Tell the man that there is no place for cowards in the Fire Service. Advise him to hand in his resignation immediately, so that you won’t have to inform his colleagues about this shameful display.
B – Ask the man why he applied to become a firefighter, if he is not willing to risk his life to save others.
C – Sympathise with the recruit. Inform him that, based on your gut instinct, this might not be the role for him.
D – Ask the man whether he cares about anyone other than himself.
Question 2. You arrive at the scene of a house fire. There is nobody in the house, and the family that owns the house is gathered outside. They are extremely panicked, and demanding that you save their home. Just by looking at the initial blaze, it is clear that this will not be possible.
A – Inform the family that you will do the very best you can, to lessen the fire damage to their home.
B – Shout out to the family that there’s nothing you can do, and that their home will burn to the ground.
C – Take the family to one side, and privately inform them that all of their possessions will be destroyed by the fire.
D – Ask the family to have patience, whilst you try and tackle the blaze.
Question 1. You are a senior firefighter for Ficshire Fire and Rescue. One of the new recruits has knocked on the door of your office, to ask for guidance. He informs you that he is terrified of the idea of running into a burning building, and that he isn’t sure whether he’s suitable for this role.
Most Effective = C – Sympathise with the recruit. Inform him that, based on your gut instinct, this might not be the role for him.
This is the most effective option. In this case, the best course of action is to take an empathetic but also realistic approach. You don’t need to be hard on the recruit, but you do need to make it clear that his fear will have a serious impact upon his ability to do the job.
Least Effective = A – Tell the man that there is no place for cowards in the Fire Service. Advise him to hand in his resignation immediately, so that you won’t have to inform his colleagues about this shameful display.
This is the least effective option. Not only are you being incredibly insensitive, but you are also blackmailing the man into walking away from the job. This needs to be handled in a much better way.
Question 2. You arrive at the scene of a house fire. There is nobody in the house, and the family that owns the house is gathered outside. They are extremely panicked, and demanding that you save their home. Just by looking at the initial blaze, it is clear that this will not be possible.
Most Effective = D – Ask the family to have patience, whilst you try and tackle the blaze.
This is the most effective approach. In this scenario, A is not effective, because your priority is not to lessen the damage to the home, it is to ensure the blaze is handled safely and as fast as possible. Furthermore, the question indicates that it is not possible to rescue the house. Therefore, D is the best approach.
Least Effective = B – Shout out to the family that there’s nothing you can do, and that their home will burn to the ground.
This is the least effective option. It is both blunt and insensitive, and will cause more problems.
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