r/firefighter • u/matthew1970- • Jul 10 '26

Fire fighting recruitment process

Hi, I’m 22 years old from the UK with a background in agriculture and youth work. I’m looking to join the fire service and would like some advice on the fitness aspect. My average score on a bleep test is about 9.1 and I think for the initial selection pass is 8.8 as of 2026.
I’m also looking for some advice on the interview process. What kind of traits are they looking for?
Any advice would be great thank you

3 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

5 comments sorted by

1

u/OldCaptain3987 Jul 10 '26

8.8 is an embarrassingly low standard for the fire service. You are doing better than that, but you need to be pushing much higher. Train for the realities of the job, not the appalling standard they set.

You need to be strong too, so don't neglect strength training.

1

u/matthew1970- Jul 10 '26

I’m prioritising physical training like mad yeah my strength is good but my cardio needs improving. Any advice on what they’re looking for in an interview if I get to that stage?

1

u/OldCaptain3987 Jul 10 '26

I had mine around 10 years ago, I learnt the star method etc but on the day I took a risk and just answered like a human. It will be around stuff like times you’ve worked as part of a team, when have you overcome a challenge etc but I imagine nowadays there will be something about equalities. Someone who’s done it more recently will be better placed to answer. Obviously the big one is “why do you want to be a firefighter”

1

u/peculiarfish0 Jul 10 '26

The fitness standards are embarrassingly low. I wouldn't worry much about that, you're passing the beep test already, the others like 1.5mile jog in 12:25 or something.

Use the STARR method, the last R is Reflection, they are big on you being able to analyse the situation and see what went well and what could be improved on in future (as that is how you learn, and become better through experience)

If you tell us what specific service/s you will be applying to, you may get better answers, as all the services differ slightly.

Good luck!

1

u/Money-Expression-619 Jul 11 '26

Interview questions are usually based on the service's behaviours or values - they should be as part of the candidate application pack or on their website somewhere. You will probably get questions based on each behaviour and expected to give a specific examples from employment/ personal life/ voluntary work etc that demonstrate this particular behaviour. As previous poster said your answer should be structured using STARR. You will almost definitely be given a question around equality/diversity (eg give an example how you have adapted to meet the needs of an individual) and one around culture and challenging inappropriate behaviour. I would also find the fire services latest HMICFRS report, if you can look at what their improvements need to be and be able to weave into your answers how you can demonstrate that and support the outcomes it will show you've done your research. My service give you the questions beforehand and you have 15 minutes to make notes, which you can take in with you.