ARFF physical aptitude test for firefighter recruitment

Today I’m going to share with you the requirements of the ARFF physical aptitude test. I wanted to cover this topic for a couple of reasons, the first being that ARFF will be recruiting in the near future and the second is due to the slight differences from some of the other fire services throughout Australia.

Although the ARFF physical aptitude test differs slightly from some of the other services it also demonstrates the need for the sam fundamental fitness, strength and technique attributes.

1. Sit and reach – required to demonstrate your flexibility on a stretching box

2. Confined space tunnel crawl – required to crawl through a tunnel with a mask on stand up at the other end and count to five then back through in 90 seconds

3. Dummy drag ( simulated casualty rescue ) – drag the dummy 50 meters backwards in 60 seconds around a track of witches hats

4. Ladder raise and lower – raise and lower a large ladder twice in 60 seconds without resting it on your body or touching it on your helmet only using the rungs / rounds of the ladder

5. simulated ladder climb – this one requires you to do 26 controlled step-ups to a height just below your knee whilst wearing a BA ( breathing apparatus cylinder ) on your back.

6. Elevated equipment haul & Visual Recognition – The requirement here is to haul a 20kg container up to an elevated area using a hand over hand technique and then lower it using the same technique in a controlled fashion. This one requires good upper body and control. You will then be required to identify signage from the elevated area

7. Equipment carry – You will be required to carry 2 jerry cans around an obstacle course of witches hats 50 meters, you will be allowed to reset your grip once throughout. there is a generous 60 second limit on this evolution

8. Hose drag and hold – Required to advance a large fire hose approx 65mm in diameter then open the hose and control it for 60 seconds, the time allowed for this task is 90 seconds in total

Each of the above steps is referred to as an evolution ( task ). As you can see from the above 8 tasks although they vary slightly they all use the same attributes to conduct being.

– Flexibility for the sit and reach

– Upper body strength for the dummy drag as well as the equipment haul, equipment carry & the hose drag evolutions

– Lower body strength for the dummy drag and hose drag and hold

– Good Technique required for the hose hold, equipment haul and ladder evolutions

– Ability To Work In Confined Space required for the tunnel crawl although it is fairly spacious as far as tunnels go

My tip for the above tasks is: Firstly familiarise yourself with the exact tasks and come up with an activity or training plan to incorporate an excursive or routine that is going to improve you in the areas required to pass these tests with ease, when I say with ease I like to make sure i can do at least 25% more than what is required, more if possible.This will make the experience actually enjoyable as you will be confident on the day.

If you require further guidance I have included a full training program in my book and am always here to answer any questions you may have so feel free to leave comments and ask me questions.

I hope you have enjoyed this update on the ARFF physical aptitude test.

Cheers,

Brent