Firefighter Online Tests: Verbal, Numerical and Mechanical Reasoning, SJTs and Questionnaires

There is no single national test

Candidate guides from Cheshire, Devon & Somerset, Dorset & Wiltshire, Mid & West Wales and Shropshire describe online verbal, numerical and mechanical reasoning tests, situational judgement tests and behavioural questionnaires, and West Midlands lists verbal, numerical and mechanical reasoning with a link to Test Partnership's practice page. Other services use quite different assessments.

Some services also check online results later: Avon runs verification tests in exam conditions, London Fire Brigade says home tests are verified at its assessment centre, and several of the services using Test Partnership re-test shortlisted candidates in person. That makes genuine preparation, not shortcuts, the only sensible approach.

• ✓Test Partnership-style reasoning tests — e.g. West Midlands (verbal, numerical, mechanical)
• ✓Arctic Shores task-based assessments — e.g. Hampshire & Isle of Wight, Essex, West Yorkshire
• ✓SHL assessments — e.g. South Yorkshire (cognitive tests plus a behavioural test), Surrey (behaviour-based)
• ✓Talogy questionnaires — e.g. Avon (including a 'Firefighter Dilemmas' situational judgement test)
• ✓Service-named tests — e.g. Lancashire's 'Firefighter Talent Screener' situational judgement test

Verbal reasoning

A verbal reasoning test gives you a short passage and a statement, and you decide whether the statement is True, False or Cannot Say based only on the passage. Some services' guides describe tests of around 15 minutes, and West Yorkshire describes its ability tests as timed per question.

Example (original): 'Hydrants in the district are inspected on a rolling programme. Hydrants that fail inspection are reported to the water company, which is responsible for repairs. Crews should record any defect they notice during operational use.' Statement: 'The fire service repairs hydrants that fail inspection.' Answer: False — the passage says the water company is responsible for repairs. Statement: 'Most hydrants in the district pass inspection.' Answer: Cannot Say — the passage gives no figures.

The skill is disciplined reading. Treat 'Cannot Say' as a real option, watch qualifiers such as 'all', 'usually' and 'must', and never bring in outside knowledge, however reasonable it seems.

Numerical reasoning

Numerical reasoning tests present tables and graphs and ask questions about percentages, rates, ratios, differences and totals. Several services' guides say a calculator is allowed and describe tests of around 18 minutes; answers may be multiple choice or True / False / Cannot Say.

Example (original): a table shows a station attended 120 incidents in 2025, of which 30 were false alarms, and 150 incidents in 2026, of which 36 were false alarms. Question: by how many percentage points did the share of false alarms change? 2025: 30 ÷ 120 = 25%. 2026: 36 ÷ 150 = 24%. Answer: it fell by 1 percentage point — even though the number of false alarms rose.

Most errors come from reading the wrong row, mixing up percentages and percentage points, or rushing units. Practise with a calculator if your test allows one, but keep your mental estimation sharp so you can spot an answer that cannot be right.

Mechanical reasoning

Mechanical reasoning tests show diagrams — gears, levers, pulleys, springs, pressure, liquids and simple circuits — and ask what will happen. Some services' guides describe tests of around 17 minutes. You do not need physics qualifications, but a handful of everyday principles cover most questions.

Example (original): gear A turns clockwise and meshes with gear B, which meshes with gear C. Which way does gear C turn? Each meshing pair reverses direction, so B turns anticlockwise and C turns clockwise. If gear B is also larger than A, B turns more slowly than A.

• ✓Meshing gears turn in opposite directions; a larger gear turns more slowly than a smaller one driving it
• ✓Levers: moving the load closer to the pivot, or pushing further from it, needs less force
• ✓Pulleys: the more rope sections supporting a load, the less force is needed (but you pull more rope)
• ✓Pressure in a liquid increases with depth
• ✓Springs in series stretch more; springs side by side (in parallel) stretch less under the same load

Situational judgement tests

A situational judgement test (SJT) describes realistic situations — on station, at an incident, or with the public — and asks how effective each possible response would be. Shropshire's guidance describes a four-point effectiveness scale running from counter-productive to effective; other tests ask you to rank responses or choose the most and least effective. SJTs are often untimed, though they usually take around half an hour.

Example (original): during a Safe and Well visit, an elderly resident mentions they unplugged their smoke alarm because it keeps beeping. Responses to rate: (a) Replace the battery or alarm as your service allows, test it, and explain why it matters — effective. (b) Tell them to buy a new one when they can — counter-productive, as it leaves them unprotected. (c) Note it on the visit record for someone else to follow up — less effective on its own than acting now. (d) Ask why it was beeping and check whether it needs replacing, then act — effective.

Good SJT answers put safety first, treat people with dignity and respect, follow procedures and escalate appropriately, and deal with problems rather than ignoring them. Reading the Core Code of Ethics for fire and rescue services is useful preparation.

Behavioural questionnaires

Behavioural questionnaires ask you to rate or rank statements about how you prefer to work — for example how you respond to pressure, feedback, rules or teamwork. West Midlands lists an 'assessment for firefighter' alongside its reasoning tests, West Yorkshire mentions a behavioural styles questionnaire, and Avon uses a behavioural workstyle questionnaire. They are usually untimed.

There are no simple right answers, and responses are typically compared with a profile for the role rather than marked right or wrong. Answer honestly and consistently: trying to present a perfect candidate tends to produce contradictions. It helps to reflect beforehand on the values the service describes, so your answers are considered rather than rushed.

Task-based and game-based assessments

Hampshire & Isle of Wight says its Arctic Shores assessment focuses on behaviours and values rather than literacy and numeracy, using a series of mini-tasks, and Surrey describes its SHL behaviour-based assessment in similar terms and says it is not timed. These are designed so you cannot revise for them in the usual way.

Preparation here is practical: use a suitable device (Avon, for example, says its online questionnaires are not smartphone-compatible, while West Yorkshire allows desktop, mobile or tablet), find a quiet space, read every instruction, and do the tasks when you are rested. Hampshire & Isle of Wight also warns that guides and AI advice about its tests can be misleading.

How to prepare

Start with your service's candidate pack or invitation: it normally names the tests, timings, whether a calculator is allowed and any device requirements. Then practise the formats you will actually sit, first untimed to learn the question types and then under time pressure.

Test Partnership publishes free fire and rescue practice tests, including 12-question numerical and verbal tests and an 8-question mechanical test, and our free demos let you try questions in these styles too. Review every mistake — the pattern matters more than the score — and practise the reasoning types you find least familiar, which for many candidates is mechanical reasoning.

• ✓Confirm the exact tests, timings and rules in your candidate pack
• ✓Learn each format untimed, then practise under time pressure
• ✓Keep a log of errors by type (misread passage, percentage points, gear direction…)
• ✓Read the Core Code of Ethics before any situational judgement test
• ✓Answer questionnaires honestly and consistently