Applying to Merseyside Fire & Rescue?
What Merseyside Fire & Rescue says about its firefighter selection process, and how to prepare — with practice for reasoning tests, situational judgement, questionnaires and interviews.
Merseyside Fire & Rescue
Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service covers Liverpool, Knowsley, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral. Its selection process page (marked correct as of March 2026) is notable for what it does not include: no online ability tests are mentioned.
Merseyside describes a two-part online application, where the second part asks for examples of leadership behaviours and evidence against the person specification, with anonymised shortlisting. Shortlisted candidates move on to functional fitness tests.
The fitness tests listed are an equipment carry and casualty evacuation, a lateral pull-down or ladder extension, a shoulder press, a Chester treadmill test, equipment assembly, ladder climb, confined space and a ladder carry simulation. Merseyside's fitness page describes a running version of the treadmill test with a higher aerobic standard (46 ml O2/kg/min at 10.4 km/h) than the walking protocol many services use.
The assessment day includes an interview with a senior manager and a member of HR, with competency-based questions that Merseyside says centre on the NFCC Core Code of Ethics, plus questions on its community risk management plan and a group problem-solving task. Later checks include a 50 m front-crawl swim in open water wearing PPE, a medical, an LGV medical, an enhanced DBS check and references.
For Merseyside, the written application and the Code of Ethics interview matter most — our interview preparation covers both — while general reasoning practice keeps you ready if the process changes.
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.
Merseyside Fire & Rescue — common questions
Is this page official?
No. Firefighter Tests is independent and not affiliated with Merseyside Fire & Rescue. 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 Merseyside Fire & Rescue use online tests?
Merseyside's selection process page (March 2026) does not mention online ability or psychometric tests. It describes an online application, functional fitness tests, an assessment day with an interview and group task, and a swim test and pre-employment checks.
What fitness standard does Merseyside require?
Merseyside's functional fitness page describes a running treadmill test to a minimum aerobic standard of 46 ml O2/kg/min at 10.4 km/h, along with practical tests such as the equipment carry, casualty evacuation, shoulder press, ladder climb and confined space.
What is the Merseyside firefighter salary?
When we checked, Merseyside's FAQ quoted £30,384 as a recruit and £38,881 when competent (the July 2025 national rates), with an additional 10% for duty systems that include a retained cover element. Check the current vacancy for confirmed pay.
Official sources
Checked September 2026. Recruitment processes change, so the official pages always take priority over this summary.
Preparing for Merseyside Fire & Rescue
Practise every test they could set you
Merseyside Fire & Rescue 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
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