Applying to Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue?
What Greater Manchester Fire says about its firefighter selection process, and how to prepare — with practice for reasoning tests, situational judgement, questionnaires and interviews.
Greater Manchester Fire
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) covers the ten boroughs of Greater Manchester. When we checked in September 2026, GMFRS said it was aiming to reopen wholetime recruitment later in the year. Its recruitment pages describe a multi-stage process that starts well before the formal application.
GMFRS describes an expression of interest, a virtual information session and an 'assessment of readiness', followed by a recruitment day that includes a bleep test, a values and behaviours assessment, a group exercise and a Talogy personality trait test. Candidates then complete online assessments, which GMFRS says use gamification and personality tests, before the application form.
The physical stage uses national firefighter selection tests: the bleep test (pass at level 8.8), ladder lift, ladder climb, breathing apparatus crawl, casualty evacuation, manual dexterity and equipment carry. GMFRS says the physical tests must be passed on the first attempt.
The final assessment centre is described as a values and competency-based structured interview, a role-play, a presentation and a group exercise, alongside maths and English Functional Skills tests that GMFRS says all candidates sit. A conditional offer is followed by a medical and DBS check, and GMFRS says the process takes around six months.
No ability test battery is named on these pages, so focus your practice on situational judgement and questionnaire formats, clear written and numerical skills for the Functional Skills tests, and interview, role-play and presentation preparation.
What full access includes
Fire services use different tests, so one £14.99 payment covers all 9 practice tests on the site — over 700 questions with answer explanations, and unlimited attempts.
New to selection? Read our guide to the online firefighter tests or the National Firefighter Ability tests.
Reasoning tests
Verbal · numerical · mechanical
Timed practice in the style of the online reasoning tests many services use.
Judgement & questionnaires
SJT · behavioural styles · NFA-style
Situational judgement scenarios, questionnaire practice and the NFA-style tests.
Interview preparation
Leadership Framework · Code of Ethics
Model STAR answers plus guidance on written questions, role-plays and presentations.
Greater Manchester Fire — common questions
Is this page official?
No. Firefighter Tests is independent and not affiliated with Greater Manchester Fire. This page summarises what the service's own recruitment pages said when we checked them (September 2026); processes change between campaigns, so always follow the official information linked below.
How much does it cost to practise?
Full access to every practice test — verbal, numerical and mechanical reasoning, situational judgement, the behavioural styles questionnaire, NFA-style tests and interview preparation — is £14.99, one-time. That is 9 full-length tests and over 700 questions with explanations. No subscription, and access never expires.
Does Greater Manchester Fire use the NFA tests?
Not on the pages we checked. GMFRS describes a Talogy personality trait test, online assessments using gamification and personality tests, and Functional Skills maths and English tests, rather than the older National Firefighter Ability tests.
What bleep test level does GMFRS require?
GMFRS's fitness tests page gives a pass at level 8.8 on the bleep test. Its FAQ adds that successful candidates should be aiming towards level 10 before starting the training course.
What is the GMFRS firefighter salary?
When we checked, GMFRS's careers page quoted £30,384 for a trainee rising to £38,881 when competent — the national rates from July 2025. A 3.8% national increase applied from July 2026, so check the current vacancy.
Official sources
Checked September 2026. Recruitment processes change, so the official pages always take priority over this summary.
Preparing for Greater Manchester Fire
Practise every test they could set you
Greater Manchester Fire sets its own selection tests and they change between campaigns, so full access covers every type — one payment, no subscription.
No subscription. Access never expires. Unlimited attempts.
What you get — 9 full-length practice tests, over 700 questions with explanations:
- Mechanical Reasoning177 diagram questions on gears, levers, pulleys and pressure — 20 per timed test
- Numerical Reasoning9 fire-service data scenarios, freshly generated each attempt — calculator allowed
- Verbal Reasoning30 passages and 120 True / False / Cannot Say statements
- Situational Judgement25 scenarios and 100 rated actions, each explained
- Behavioural Styles Questionnaire66 statements with a full reflective profile — no pass or fail
- Working with NumbersNFA-style — 12 scenarios and 96 questions; each sitting draws 32, 45 minutes, no calculator
- Understanding InformationNFA-style — 25 passage questions, 35 minutes
- Situational AwarenessNFA-style — 30 questions, 35 minutes
- National Firefighter QuestionnaireNFQ-style — 77 statements across the 7 PQA areas, with feedback
- Interview Preparation28 NFCC-style questions with model STAR answers, plus 6 preparation guides
14-day money-back guarantee · secure payment via Stripe · instant access
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