Fire Employment

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The application period for 2013 testing is now closed. Visit the Bates Joint Recruitment Testing web page for future opportunities.

What We Do

Olympia firefighter in actionFirefighting is one of the most rewarding jobs on earth and the proudest tradition of Community Service. Fire Recruit is an entry level position leading toward a professional firefighting career. Upon successful completion of the Fire Academy, recruits are assigned to the Operations Division where they will, as part of a team, deliver quality customer service to the community.

Firefighters are involved in fire suppression operations. However, this is only one aspect of the job. The Olympia Fire Department also provides Emergency Medical Service (EMS). Eighty percent of the calls firefighters respond to are for emergency medical care. The calls include motor vehicle accidents, heart attacks, strokes, home accidents, and other medical and trauma related incidents.

Olympia Firefighters work a 24 hour shift, 7:30am to 7:30 am, with 48 hours off. Firefighters normally work 8 shifts every 27 days, with one 24 hour Kelly Day off.

  • Emergency Preparedness
  • Community Education
  • Public Service Work
  • Building Inspections
  • Personal Development
  • Station and Apparatus Maintenance

Become a Firefighter Recruit

Firefighter in trainingOlympia is a member of the Bates Firefighter Testing Consortium and our tests are proctored through Bates Technical College. When OFD has openings, we contact Bates Technical College for a list of passing candidates. 

The Bates Firefighter Testing Consortium usually tests once a year, applications and schedules are available on the Joint Recruitment Testing web page.

Examinations

The FireTEAM Emergency Response Selection System consists of the following three exams:

Firefighters interact with the public, often in very difficult circumstances. How a firefighter conducts himself or herself reflects on the entire department. Firefighters work together as a part of a team and live together during thier shifts. The ability to live and work with other firefighters is critically important. FireTEAM is a video-based test of human relations skills designed specifically for firefighters. You will see video scenarios depicting situations followed by questions. Your answers will be based on your own common sense and opinions. These are not procedural questions. The questions are about public relations and relations with co-workers.

Beng able to quickly grasp cause-and-effect and relationships of objects to each other can mean the difference between life and death for firefighters. FireTEAM Mechanical Reasoning Test is an animated test of your understanding of how the world around you works. The questions are set within the systems of an animated plant. You will need to employ mechanical reasoning in order to answer the questions.

Firefighters need to be able to study technical topics and keep up on changes in many fields that affect thier work. FireTEAM Reading Test is specifically designed to match the style and reading level of typical firefighter reading requirements.

Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT)

The CPAT is a sequence of events requiring you to progress along a predetermined path from event to event in a continuous manner. This pass/fail test was developed to allow fire departments to obtain pools of trainable candidates who are physically able to perform essential job tasks at fire scenes. Learn More...

For More Information

Contact the Recruitment Officer at 360.753.8348, fire@ci.olympia.wa.us, or by mail:

Olympia Fire Department Attn: Recruitment Officer
100 Eastside Street NE
Olympia, Washington 98506

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