Updated June 1, 2009

General information
Our career guide provides a summary of key components of the Probationary Firefighter position, the eligibility criteria and the requirements to be met at each step of the recruitment and selection process.

The City of Toronto has established an on-line application process for all employment opportunities including application for the Toronto Fire Services Probationary Firefighter position.

To apply and proceed through the recruitment and selection process candidates must have and maintain an active e-mail address. All correspondence to candidates will be via the e-mail address provided on their contact page only. Candidates may at any time edit the information submitted on their contact page. It is the candidates’ responsibility to provide and maintain current contact information, including their e-mail address, on their on-line application.

• 2008 Recruitment Campaign
• 2009 Recruitment Campaign

The Ontario Pre-Service Firefighter Education and Training Program was launched in 2001 and is designed to effectively prepare potential firefighters for entry into Ontario's Fire Service. This three-semester Community College Certificate Program is the result of a partnership between the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs (OAFC), the Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM), Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (Community Colleges) and partnering fire departments.

It is important to note that Toronto Fire Services supports the application of the Ontario Pre-Service Firefighter Education and Training Program.

Note that preference will be given to candidates who have successfully completed one of the following:

1. OFM/OAFC Pre-Service Firefighter Education and Training Program Certificate
2. NFPA-1001: Firefighter I & II Certification
3. Ontario Firefighter Certification (OFM)
4. Full-time Firefighter experience

Applicants from any one of the above four categories will be required to participate in a General Firefighter Knowledge written examination process based on information from the following reference textbooks: "Firefighter's Handbook," Delmar, 2nd edition; "Essentials of Fire Fighting," IFSTA, 4th or 5th edition; "Fundamentals of Fire Fighter Skills," Jones and Bartlett, 2nd edition.

Toronto Fire Services recognizes that the training of recruits is of significant cost to the City. Therefore, it is expected that new recruits / firefighters will commit to employment with the City of Toronto for a minimum of five (5) years after they are trained. Any firefighter who voluntarily terminates employment with Toronto Fire Services prior to completing five (5) years of service will reimburse the City in the amount of $16,000.00, the cost of training. This is in accordance with the Collective Agreement which you will be governed by. In the recovery schedule, the amount will be reduced based on the length of service the firefighter completes prior to voluntarily terminating employment. The amount of reimbursement shall be considered an amount to which the firefighter is indebted to the City.

Guide sections:

• Event calendar
• Join our team
  • The firefighter's job
  • Getting started
  • Qualifications

Recruitment and Selection:

• Step 1 - Career Information Sessions
• Step 2 - Application Form
• Step 3 - Written Aptitude Test
• Step 4 - General Firefighter Knowledge Written Examination
• Step 5 - Application Review
• Step 6 - Hiring Pool
• Step 7 - Interview
  • Preparing for the Panel Interview
• Step 8 - Conditional Job Offer

Firefighter Screening Services

Information contained in this Career Guide is subject to change without notice.

Download a copy of the Career Guide - 2009 Recruitment campaign (PDF).
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Join our team
If you are committed to helping people, work well with others, enjoy learning and are physically fit, you may be an ideal candidate for a career with Toronto Fire Services.

Committed to employment equity, the City of Toronto encourages applications from Aboriginal people, people with disabilities, members of visible minority groups and women. For more information please visit the City of Toronto’s Vision Statement on Access, Equity and Diversity.

Accommodation will be provided in all parts of the hiring process (Accommodation in Employment and in the Hiring Process). Applicants must make their requests for accommodation known in advance of attending the written test.

The firefighter's job
A career as a Toronto Firefighter is both challenging and rewarding. Apart from fighting fires, you will perform many duties, some of which include:

• responding to medical emergencies and motor vehicle accidents
• performing emergency patient care
• performing fire ground and rescue operations
• educating the public about fire prevention and fire safety practices
• responding to emergency hazardous materials situations
• conducting inspections
• maintaining fire fighting apparatus, equipment and fire stations
• working as part of a team

Firefighters are expected to maintain a high standard of professionalism, solve problems, work as part of a dynamic team and possess excellent interpersonal and organizational skills.

You must be physically fit to handle the sustained, intense, physical effort often required to perform these duties.

Fire fighting is not a 9-to-5 job. It is a 24 hour a day, seven day a week public service that involves working weekends and holidays. As a Toronto Firefighter, you will work an assigned shift averaging 42 hours per week over a four week period.

Teamwork is of the utmost importance in the position of firefighter; firefighters live and work together in close quarters throughout their shifts. This means that all team members are responsible for station housekeeping and depend on each other to perform their duties successfully whether sharing routine tasks at the fire station, providing services at an emergency scene, or providing service assistance to other emergency agencies and/or the public.

When not responding to calls or performing other duties, a significant amount of time is spent training, upgrading and maintaining skills/knowledge and physical requirements to current job standards, inspecting, cleaning and maintaining personal protective gear and other fire fighting equipment.

Working under the direction of the Fire Chief, through a chain-of-command, firefighters are stationed in one of four Commands in the Operations Division providing emergency response. Our Operations Division is the largest in Toronto Fire Services in excess of 2,800 full time employees. On average, firefighters respond to approximately 140,000 emergency incidents resulting in approximately 300,000 vehicle runs annually. Over fifty percent (50%) of these responses are medical calls.

All firefighters are members of the Toronto Professional Fire Fighters’ Association, Local 3888, International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF).

Getting started
It is important that you read and understand all information provided during the recruitment campaign.

The recruitment and selection process for a Probationary Firefighter position with Toronto Fire Services is highly competitive and includes several candidate evaluation steps. All candidates must successfully meet the minimum standards at each step to advance to the next step of the recruitment process.

Candidates are asked to meet specific criteria and submit documentation throughout the recruitment campaign. The information you provide and all related documents become part of the overall assessment during the recruitment and selection process.

The recruitment and selection process is lengthy, with up to several months between steps. Human Resources will keep all candidates informed of their status at each step of the process. In addition, general information and updates are posted on the web page www.toronto.ca/fire/recruitment and on the Firefighter Recruitment Hotline at 416-392-FIRE (3473).

To begin the recruitment process, you should:

• familiarize yourself with the eligibility requirements and the stages of our recruitment and selection process
• attend Career Information Sessions to ask questions and hear information about our recruitment and selection process
• complete and submit the on-line application form during an active recruitment campaign

Qualifications
Candidates must:

• be eighteen (18) years of age or older
• be legally entitled to work in Canada (must be either a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, landed immigrant, or hold a valid work permit)
• possess a valid Ontario unrestricted Class ‘D’ driver’s licence with ‘Z’ air brake endorsement (or approved equivalent) dated prior to the time of application
• be able to understand and communicate clearly in English under stressful conditions
• be able to work shifts (days, nights, weekends and statutory holidays)
• have completed a minimum of an Ontario Secondary School Diploma, OSSD (Grade 12) or academic equivalent as approved by the Ontario Ministry of Education
• have no criminal convictions for which a pardon has not been granted
• have prescribed 20/30 uncorrected vision in each eye without corrective lenses, with colour vision, depth perception and peripheral vision that is safe for fire fighting
• have prescribed normal unaided hearing – hearing thresholds no greater than 30 decibels in each ear at 500 Hz, 1000 Hz and 2000 Hz, and no significant loss in higher frequencies
• meet the medical standards
• possess a valid Basic Rescuer or Level ‘C’ CPR certificate (minimum), dated not more than 12 months prior to the date of application and maintained current within 12 months throughout the recruitment and selection process
• possess a Standard First Aid certificate (minimum), dated not more than 12 months prior to the date of application and maintained current within 12 months throughout the recruitment and selection process Approved First Aid training agencies

Important notes about First Aid and CPR certificates
The Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation have set standards for several levels of CPR certification. In connection with the Probationary Firefighter recruitment and selection process, Toronto Fire Services will recognize only those CPR credentials which meet the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation standard for Basic Rescuer - Level “C” or higher. Standard First Aid certificates (minimum level) issued by the Canadian Red Cross Society, Canadian St. John Ambulance, or WSIB Approved First Aid Trainers will be accepted. For more information on WSIB Regulation 1101 or Approved First Aid Trainers, visit the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board

• possess an original and current Firefighter Screening Services, Occupational Assessment (CPAT) Certificate meeting the City of Toronto required standards and obtained within the six (6) months immediately prior to the conditional job offer. CPAT testing for Toronto Fire Services includes the Acrophobia test
• possess an original and current Firefighter Screening Services, Clinical Assessment Certificate meeting the City of Toronto required standards and obtained within the six (6) months immediately prior to the conditional job offer
• possess an original and current Firefighter Screening Services, Medical Assessment Certificate meeting the City of Toronto required standards and obtained within the six (6) months immediately prior to the conditional job offer
• provide an original Province of Ontario driver’s abstract, current to within 30 days of the date of the conditional job offer showing not more than five (5) demerit points and no unpaid fines. (Out-of-Province candidates will be required to provide a driver’s abstract from the Province of Ontario and the province, territory or state from where their licence was transferred.)
• provide three (3) employment references
• provide the originals of all credentials referred to on your application. (All credentials submitted at time of aptitude test must be dated prior to the date of your application. In addition, all credentials must have been valid and current as of the date of your application).
  
  Note: If you require information regarding your educational qualifications, please contact your high school (or its district school board), the Ontario Ministry of Education – Independent Learning Centre at 1-800-387-5514, the Ontario General Education Development Ministry at 1-800-573-7022 or 416-484-2737. Requests for educational equivalencies are lengthy and the process can take up to six or eight weeks to complete.

Candidates must successfully meet the required standards of each step to be considered successful through the recruitment and selection process.

Successful candidates will be placed in a hiring pool that will remain in effect until it is exhausted, or December 2010, whichever comes first.

Step 1: Career Information Sessions
Career Information Sessions provide you with an opportunity to learn more about Toronto Fire Services and the Probationary Firefighter recruitment and selection process. Career Information Sessions are delivered by our recruiters at various community locations across the City. Families are welcome to attend these free sessions.

While attendance at a Career Information Session is optional, we encourage you to attend at least one session to get more information, have the opportunity to ask questions and meet the recruiters.

For information about the dates, times and locations of the Career Information Sessions call our Information Hotline at 416-392-FIRE (3473) or visit our webpage calendar.

Step 2: Application Form
The City of Toronto has established an on-line application process for all employment opportunities including the Toronto Fire Services Probationary Firefighter position.

The application process is only available for the duration of the job posting and is available for on-line completion and submission at www.toronto.ca/fire/recruitment/registration.htm

Only the person whose name appears on the application form will be permitted to write the written aptitude test (photo identification will be required).

Candidates will be provided with an original applicant ID and secure access password to complete the on-line application. To reduce the risk of corrupt data files and to assist us in maintaining a secure database, candidates are reminded not to share their Applicant ID or secure access password with others. The candidate should be the sole person accessing the database to manage their on-line application. Applicants from the 2008 recruitment campaign should already have a profile and can just update any of their information and reapply.

Candidates must complete and submit the application form during the active hiring period. The on-line application will remain open with access provided on a 24hr basis through to the date and time deadline.

Candidates who have successfully completed the application form will have access to update their personal contact information only.

We thank all applicants and advise that only those selected to attend the written aptitude test will be contacted.

Step 3: Written aptitude test
The Written Aptitude Test is designed to assess various aptitudes of the entry level firefighter. Candidates do not require previous fire fighting education or experience to write the test.

The test uses a multiple-choice format to assess candidates’ skills in the following areas:

• Memory and Understanding of Oral Information
• Understanding of Written Fire Fighting Material
• Mathematics / Arithmetic / Arithmetic Reasoning
• Mechanical Aptitude
• Interpersonal Relations

Candidates will be advised of their test date, time and location via their e-mail address.

A non-refundable administration fee of $50 is required to write the test. This is payable when you attend to write the test. Only cash, money order or certified cheque (payable to Treasurer, City of Toronto) will be accepted. To be admitted to the test, you must identify yourself using government issued photo identification showing a current likeness of yourself (driver’s licence, passport, or military ID).

You will be required to present original copies of the following certifications:

1. Standard First Aid (current within 12 months)
2. Level 'C' CPR (current within 12 months)
3. Ontario Class AZ, BZ, CZ or DZ Driver’s License (or approved equivalent)
4. Ontario Secondary School Diploma (or approved equivalent)

Candidates who write the aptitude test will be required to demonstrate a minimum level of competence in each of the aptitudes assessed as well as achieve a minimum overall aggregate test score to proceed to the application review stage.

Late arrivals will not be permitted to write the test.

Testing will take approximately two and one-half (2.5) hours to complete.

To assist in preparing for the written aptitude test study guides are available at some libraries and bookstores. High school mathematics, physics and chemistry books may also help your review of the types of questions you might expect on the test. While studying for the test, please remember our test uses a metric format. Calculators and other aids are not permitted during the writing of the test.

All candidates who write the aptitude test will be advised if they pass or not.

Candidates may write the test only once during any Probationary Firefighter recruitment campaign.

Step 4: General Firefighter Knowledge Written Examination Process
This test is administered for candidates who successfully meet the required standards of the written aptitude test, the screening criteria of the application and identified having successfully completed one of the following:

1. OFM/OAFC Pre-Service Firefighter Education and Training Program Certificate
2. NFPA-1001: Firefighter I & II Certification
3. Ontario Firefighter Certification (OFM)
4. Full-time firefighter experience

Applicants from one of the above four categories will be required to participate in a general firefighter knowledge written examination process, based on information from the following reference textbooks: "The Firefighter’s Handbook", Delmar, 2nd Edition; "Essentials of Firefighting", IFSTA, 4th or 5th Edition; “The Fundamentals of Firefighter Skills”, Jones and Bartlett.

This test will be scheduled at a date, location and time convenient to Toronto Fire Services, and will be communicated to candidates by Human Resources.

What happens if you fail the General Firefighter Knowledge Written Examination
Candidates who have identified as being in possession of one of these preferred qualifications, who fail to meet the passing grade as assigned by Toronto Fire Services, will not be included in the group with preferred status but will be placed in the group of candidates who meet the minimum requirements.

Step 5: Application Review
All candidates who successfully meet the required standards at the written aptitude test will have their applications reviewed.

Step 6: Hiring Pool
Successful candidates will be conditionally placed in a hiring pool. The hiring pool will remain in effect until it is exhausted or until the specified period of time, whichever comes first (refer to current posted timelines).

Candidates in the hiring pool are eligible to be invited to an interview as set out in Step 7 of the recruitment and selection process.

Step 7: Interview
Candidates who successfully meet the required standards of the written aptitude test and who successfully meet the screening criteria of the application will be placed in a hiring pool. When TFS determines the need to hire a class, candidates will be invited to attend an interview to further assess their qualifications and suitability for a career with Toronto Fire Services at a time and location to be determined by Toronto Fire Services and communicated to candidates by Human Resources.

The interview is a panel format conducted jointly by staff from Toronto Fire Services and Human Resources.

At the interview, you will again be required to identify yourself using photo identification as described earlier.

All candidates who attend an interview will be advised of the results.

Step 8: Conditional Job Offer
Conditional Job Offers will be made when Toronto Fire Services has sufficient vacancies to warrant a recruit class to those candidates successful in the interview process. Human Resources will periodically update all candidates with information regarding hiring expectations.

At the time of a conditional job offer, candidates will be advised to contact the testing facility for specific dates and times to attend firefighter screening services. Testing for Toronto Fire Services consists of the following:

1. Clinical Test
2. Medical Exam
3. Acrophobia Test
4. Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT)

At the time of a conditional job offer, candidates will also be required to provide Human Resources with the following:

• an original Province of Ontario driver’s abstract, current to within 30 days of the date of the conditional job offer showing not more than five (5) demerit points and no unpaid fines. (Out-of-Province candidates will be required to provide a driver’s abstract from the Province of Ontario and the province, territory or state from where their licence was transferred.)
• three approved references
• a Basic Rescuer or Level ‘C’ CPR certificate (minimum), dated not more than 12 months prior to the date of application and maintained current within 12 months throughout the recruitment and selection process
• a Standard First Aid certificate (minimum), dated not more than 12 months prior to the date of application and maintained current within 12 months throughout the recruitment and selection process. Approved First Aid training agencies.

You will also be required to attend a medical examination with the Chief Medical Officer for Toronto Fire Services and successfully meet the standards required for Toronto Fire Services Probationary Firefighters. The medical examination includes, but is not limited to:

• a comprehensive review of your past and present medical history
• an electrocardiogram, blood work, urinalysis and chest x-ray
• a physical examination related to Firefighter duties
• a test of your eyesight and colour vision

At the time of your medical, you must possess the prescribed visual requirements of 20/30 uncorrected vision in each eye and colour vision that is safe for fire fighting.

Candidates are strongly encouraged to attempt this challenging testing at least once prior to receiving an offer of employment. All fitness testing (Clinical, CPAT, Medical, Acrophobia) is at the candidate’s own expense.

The testing components for Toronto Fire Services are:

1. Clinical Assessment
   • Pre-appraisal Screening
   • Body Composition
   • Maximal Aerobic Fitness
   • Trunk Flexibility
   • 60-second Sit-up Test
2. Occupational Assessment (CPAT)
   • Stair Climb
   • Hose Drag
   • Equipment Carry
   • Ladder Raise and Extension
   • Forcible Entry
   • Search
   • Rescue
   • Ceiling Breach and Pull
3. Medical Examination
   • Hearing Examination
   • Visual Examination
4. Acrophobia Test

Note: Your vision will also be assessed at your medical examination with Toronto Fire Services’ Chief Medical Officer.

At the time of a conditional job offer, you must:

• possess the prescribed minimum visual requirements of 20/30 in each eye without corrective lenses
• Possess normal depth perception and colour vision that is safe for fire fighting.

In the event of differing assessments, the Chief Medical Officer for Toronto Fire Services will make the final determination of whether or not you possess the prescribed visual requirements for a Toronto Fire Services Probationary Firefighter.

Useful information:

• Brock University Firefighter Screening Services
• Brock University Firefighter Screening Services CPAT Testing
• Fitness routines designed to strengthen muscles used in fire fighting
• CPAT Candidate Preparation Guide
• Waterloo CPAT Overview
• WSIB Training agencies
• Toronto Fire Services Career section
• Toronto Fire Services on-line Application/Registration Form
• Pre-Service Firefighter Education and Training Program colleges
• Ontario Ministry of Transportation, Driver and Vehicle Services
• Government of Canada National Parole Board
• Ontario Ministry of Education – Independent Learning Centre

If you have any questions about the City's Web site collection, use and disclosure practices, please contact:

Corporate Access and Privacy Office
Tel: 416-392-9684

See Privacy Statement

Information contained in this Career Guide is subject to change without notice.

Ongoing information about the recruitment process is available on our web site at www.toronto.ca/fire and Recruitment Hotline at 416-392-FIRE (3473).