Situational Judgement
3 scenarios · rate 4 actions each · untimed (about 4 min at the suggested pace)
What this test is
Many fire and rescue services include a situational judgement test early in firefighter selection. You read a scenario a firefighter might face, then judge how well each of four possible actions would work. No firefighting knowledge is needed. Shropshire FRS, for example, describes rating every action on the four-point scale below. Some services ask you to rank the actions instead.
Services' situational judgement tests are usually untimed. Mid and West Wales FRS tells candidates to allow about 30 to 35 minutes. Our scenarios and keyed ratings are original. They are based on the NFCC Core Code of Ethics and the “Leading Yourself” behaviours in the NFCC Leadership Framework, and every explanation shows which parts apply. They are our judgement, not any service's marking key.
The rating scale
- Counter-productive
- An unacceptable action that will make the situation worse
- Ineffective
- A poor action which will not help the situation
- Fairly effective
- A useful action that will be of some help to the situation
- Effective
- A good action that will help resolve the situation
Rate each action on its own. Several actions can share a rating, and a scenario doesn't have to include every level. You get 3 points for matching the keyed rating, 2 if you are one step away, 1 if two steps away and 0 if you are at the opposite end. You can go back to earlier scenarios.
Independent practice with original questions. Not affiliated with any fire and rescue service, the NFCC or any test publisher.
Free official practice: Test Partnership's free FRS practice tests (the publisher many services use).