Some common questions we get asked are answered below. To get more information, why not come to one of our taster days?
Contact your local fire station.
Your first priority should be contacting the Watch manager at your local fire station. Your Watch manager will be able to provide support and guidance on preparing for aptitude as well as what to expect for the rest of the recruitment process and your approved to ride course. You will also be able to discuss the hours of on call that will be required and what hours you are available. We understand it can be intimidating to attend a fire station for the first time, but you have nothing to be concerned about. The members of the crew will be your colleagues should you be successful and will be happy to support you through the process.
To arrange a visit to your station please contact the Recruitment Team in the first instance who can check a convenient night and time with your Watch Manager.
Practice the fitness and aptitude tests.
At aptitude day you will be required to complete a series of tests that will assess whether you have the sufficient levels of cardiovascular fitness, endurance and strength as well as testing your ability to work at height, in confined spaces and ability to follow instructions.
To maximise your chances of success you should practice the tests before the day, you may be able to do this at your station if they are able to facilitate, if not you may have to attempt them at a local gym or outdoors. Should your station be able to facilitate you practicing the tests you will need to sign a risk assessment before you begin.
You can find videos of all the tests and what to expect on our website:
How to apply – SFRS (suffolk-firefighters.co.uk)
Bleep test
The 20-meter bleep test is where most people struggle. You need to be able to reach level 8.8 to pass. We recommend cardiovascular exercise to improve your level of fitness and attempting the test at least once prior to attending aptitude. The test can be found on YouTube and attempted anywhere you have space.
20m Bleep Test (Complete Test) – YouTube
Chester treadmill and step test
Some people feel they are not suited to the bleep test and prefer to do the Chester treadmill test or step test, these can be performed upon request, however, you will need to let the recruitment team know well in advance and liaise with your watch manager about completing this test before aptitude day. This is because not all stations have the facilities to perform these tests and you may need to go to another station to attempt the test, it will also take time to arrange somebody to assess you. We do not have the facilities to do the Chester treadmill or step test on aptitude day.
Weights
For the weights section of the tests you will be required to press 35kg overhead, perform a 60kg pulldown using the rope attachment and perform 23 repetitions of 28kg in 1 minute.
To practice these tests, you will need access to a gym, you may also need the advice of a personal trainer if you are inexperienced with weight training. The biggest issue people face in these tests is using the rope attachment on the pulldowns which can be difficult if you have not practiced with it before.
Equipment carry
The equipment carry will test your endurance, you will be required to carry various pieces of equipment up and down a course, this will be done at a brisk walking pace with sections of jogging. You will wear PPE during this test.
You may be able to do a practice test on station, if not you can prepare for this test by walking carrying weights, a loaded backpack or even your shopping!
Ladder climb
You will be unable to attempt the ladder climb before aptitude however you can watch the videos in the link above to know what to expect and if you are able to arrange attending a drill night at your station you may be able to see a ladder put up and get an idea of the height you will be required to climb. This test is to show you are comfortable working at height.
BA crawl
The BA crawl is a test of your ability to work in confined spaces. You will be required to navigate a crawl space while wearing breathing apparatus. This is another test you will not be able to practice beforehand, however, watching the video and knowing what to expect will be a big help and being in the best shape possible as this test can be physically demanding.
Equipment assembly
During this test you will be required to assemble and disassemble a piece of equipment. There will be pictures on the wall to follow and your instructor will demonstrate before you start. This test is similar to building IKEA furniture or Lego.
Using the information above you will be able to prepare yourself for aptitude day. It is your responsibility to make sure you are at the correct level of fitness and to contact your station.
Remember, you will be required to complete fitness tests annually in the fire service and being a firefighter can be a physically demanding job, it doesn’t stop after aptitude!
If you have any concerns, questions or queries please contact a member of the recruitment team.
Of course you can! It’s perfectly normal for a firefighter to have children.
Not entirely true, although we have our baseline requirements which will need to be passed.
Videos for all of our testing can be found on our Youtube channel to provide examples of these Aptitude tests.
Yes, On-call Firefighters do get paid.
The way pay works for On-call Firefighters is that you will be paid a ‘Retainer fee’ as a salary, this amount is based on how much cover you are able to offer.
If you offer 120 hours of cover a week you will be paid the 100% retainer fee rate.
If you offer 90 hours a week (3/4) cover you will receive the 75% rate.
(Hours of cover will be times you agree to be available to respond to incidents and are within 5-8 minutes of your station.)
When called to an incident you will attend the fire station, if you make the fire engine then you will be paid a turnout fee (1 hours pay). You will then be paid an hourly rate while at the incident.
If you arrive at the station but do not catch the fire engine you may be required to stay on standby until released, you will be receive an attendance fee equivalent to 30 minutes pay for this, you will receive a disturbance fee regardless of whether you catch the fire engine or not.
In addition to responding to incidents you will be paid for your weekly drill nights at an hourly rate, you will also be paid for any training you do such as your initial Approved to ride course and your Breathing apparatus courses. All additional training courses will also be paid.
The rates of pay will change as your progress during your career, you will start on the development firefighter rate which will then increase as you reach competency and continue to increase should you go on to become a crew or watch manager etc.
Please call Martyn Hazelwood our Recruitment Manager to explain pay and cover in more detail.
FBU pay scalesThere is currently no upper age limit in place, however you will need to be able to pass the annual fitness tests.
Applicants must be 18 when starting their role as a firefighter, however, they can begin the application process at 17 or older as long as they turn 18 by their job start date.
There are no boundaries relating to gender, ethnic background or Identity Suffolk welcome all applications. On Call Firefighter will need to work and/or live within 5 to 8 minutes from their closest Fire station. Each station may have different needs with regards to the number of hours you will need to be on call and available ready to respond to your alerter. To help stations manage their appliance availability we ask on call firefighters to complete an ‘ availability form’ please download and send in with your application.
View our availability form hereCandidates who believe they have colour blindness may wish to be formally assessed prior to submitting an application form. The minimum standard accepted is the Farnsworth D-15 standard test. We also conduct functional tests as part of the medical process if candidates display difficulties with colour perception. Candidates must also pass the Ishihara test.
The vision standards for eyesight are:
Visual Acuity
The number of minutes will vary from one station to another so please liaise with your Watch Manager. Depending on the traffic, time of day and where everyone is when the emergency call comes in will determine how quickly the fire engine leaves the station.
Your Watch manager will be able to give you the average turnout time for their section. This is really important because if they normally leave within 5 minutes and you live or work 8 minutes away the appliance will always have left by the time you arrive so this is essential for your progression and retention.
There are no boundaries relating to gender, ethnic background or Identity. Suffolk welcomes all applications.
However, if you are a serving Police Officer you cannot also be a Firefighter due to police powers of arrest.
Throughout your career, you will be presented opportunities to progress for promotion, work within various departments, such as community prevention, protection, fire safety and have the opportunity to gain instructor tickets in various skill sets.
As an applicant, if you live with some form of neurodiversity (e.g. dyslexia, dyspraxia or ADHD) we are able to accommodate this as part of the application process.
This can include adjustments such as:
Need for these accommodations should be made known to the recruitment team at the earliest possible opportunity.
Any further accommodations or neurodiversity needs will require a conversation with the recruitment team.
Suffolk County Council staff networks
Suffolk County Council is proud to have a number of active staff networks supporting and promoting groups of staff, councillors and partners that share similar characteristics, life experiences, values and beliefs.
Networks influence the organisation to be more inclusive, through work on policy, service development, training, communications, events, culture and have a seat at Suffolk County Council’s Strategic Equalities and Inclusion Board. The staff networks are run by our staff, councillors, and other public sector partners:
Staff networks within Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service:
Although you may live close to your Fire Station and can possibly run there, we also need to be sure we can attend our various training courses which will be your responsibility to travel to and from.
Our training courses are normally held at our training centre at RAF Wattisham but can also be held any where in the county and beyond.
You will therefore need to transport your fire kit with you to courses so driving a car will be essential
If you are successful at each stage of the process, from submitting your application to receiving a contract can be as quick as 4 months.
To give you a brief overview of the current process please see below:
All full list of all the dates for each Approved to Ride Couse can be displayed on the How to Apply page by downloading our ON Call Recruitment Road Map
Please click this link to download an Employer Consent Form
Some common questions we get asked are answered below. To get more information, why not come to one of our taster days?
There are no height restrictions to become a firefighter!
Of course you can! It’s perfectly normal for a firefighter to have children.
Once you have arrived for your day shift, you’ll start by checking breathing apparatus along with various equipment. This will be followed by some community fire safety work and general admin. This may include putting up smoke alarms or checking on high-risk premises. In between this, there may be call-outs during the day.
Not entirely true, although we have our baseline requirements which will need to be passed.
During initial training course: £24,191
During probation period (minimum 2 years): £25,198
After successful completion of probation period: £32,244
There is currently no upper age limit in place, however you will need to be able to pass the annual fitness tests.
Applicants must be 18 when starting their role as a firefighter, however, they can begin the application process at 17 or older as long as they turn 18 by their job start date.
There are no boundaries relating to gender, ethnic background or Identity Suffolk welcome all applications.
The wholetime fire stations within Suffolk and which shift system they follow. Suffolk run 2 different shift systems:
24-hour shift stations within Suffolk:
Day Crewed stations within Suffolk:
On-call stations are around the county which may be looking to recruit & to check within their local town/village.
Candidates who believe they have colour blindness may wish to be formally assessed prior to submitting an application form. The minimum standard accepted is the Farnsworth D-15 standard test. We also conduct functional tests as part of the medical process if candidates display difficulties with colour perception. Candidates must also pass the Ishihara test.
The vision standards for eyesight are:
Visual Acuity
There are no boundaries relating to gender, ethnic background or Identity. Suffolk welcomes all applications.
Throughout your career, you will be presented opportunities to progress for promotion, work within various departments, such as community prevention, protection, fire safety and have the opportunity to gain instructor tickets in various skill sets.
As an applicant, if you live with some form of neurodiversity (e.g. dyslexia, dyspraxia or ADHD) we are able to accommodate this as part of the application process.
This can include adjustments such as:
Need for these accommodations should be made known to the recruitment team at the earliest possible opportunity.
Any further accommodations or neurodiversity needs will require a conversation with the recruitment team.
The application will have a selection of questions of which your answers will be marked around the NFCC leadership framework. To learn more click here.
