Most US firefighter written exams include mechanical reasoning, and the CPAT is not one of them: it is a physical test

The FireTEAM exam that many departments book through National Testing Network has a full mechanical aptitude section, and the NFSI and most city exams include mechanical reasoning, reading and basic math. Our mechanical test drills gears, levers, pulleys and pressure, and the reasoning test adds timed reading and arithmetic.

We have nothing like the FireTEAM video human relations section or the NFSI behavioral questionnaire, and we do not cover the CPAT, which is a physical test. Spatial items such as reading floor plans and map routes, common on city exams, are not in our tests either.

Applicants often search for "CPAT practice questions". There are none to practice: the Candidate Physical Ability Test is a physical course built to an IAFF standard, with a stair climb in a weighted vest, hose drag, equipment carry, ladder raise, forcible entry, search, rescue drag and ceiling breach. National Testing Network schedules it as a separate booking and says it is not available at every location that runs the written exam.

Some departments want a current CPAT card before you test, others test you later in the process, and some use their own physical test instead. The job posting says which. Plan your training around that date, not around the written exam.

FireTEAM is written by Ergometrics and delivered through National Testing Network, which many departments, including Franklin, Tennessee and Salt Lake City, use for applicant testing. It has four parts: a video-based human relations test, mechanical aptitude, math and reading.

A city candidate guide gives the scale: 28 video scenarios with 76 questions in 57 minutes, 36 mechanical questions in 43 minutes, and a short reading section of about 25 to 27 questions in 15 minutes. The video section shows situations at the station and on calls and asks how you would respond. It rewards teamwork, respect for the public and following instructions, not technical knowledge.

The mechanical part is where practice pays most. Questions show gears, pulleys, levers, pressure and simple machines and ask what happens next. Our mechanical aptitude test covers the same principles, and our guide on how to pass a mechanical aptitude test explains the handful of rules behind most items.

The National Firefighter Selection Inventory from IO Solutions has a cognitive part and a non-cognitive part. Prep sites describe about 105 cognitive items covering abilities such as reading comprehension, problem sensitivity (spotting the most serious issue in a situation), math and mechanical reasoning, plus a 50-item behavioral orientation scale. Reports put the total near 155 items in two and a half hours, plus 15 minutes for instructions.

Scores from the two parts are combined into one overall result, so a strong ability score can be dragged down by careless questionnaire answers, and the reverse. Answer the behavioral items consistently and as yourself. The cognitive half is closer to a general aptitude test, which is why our reasoning test is useful practice there.

Fire departments often get many more applicants than openings, so the written score frequently decides your place on an eligibility list rather than simply whether you continue. Fox Valley's regional process, for example, places candidates who pass the entry-level exam on the eligibility lists of the departments they selected.

That changes the maths of preparation. A few extra mechanical or reading points can move you up a list and bring an interview months earlier. Ask the department whether it ranks by score, how long the list lasts and whether you can retest to improve your position.

Because National Testing Network serves many departments, you can often send one FireTEAM score to several employers. Franklin says scores are valid for one year. Check each department's deadline for receiving scores, because a score that arrives after the list closes counts for nothing.

If several of your target departments use the NFSI or their own exam instead, you may sit more than one test. Make a short table of each department, its exam, its physical test and its deadline before you book anything.

These come from anonymous reviews, university careers pages and prep guides. They often disagree, and Firefighter (United States) has not confirmed them. Read them as leads, not rules.

• Prep sites describe the NFSI as about 105 cognitive items and 50 behavioral items, around 155 in total, though sources differ slightly on its structure.
• Prep sites say the FireTEAM exam takes two to two and a half hours including all four sections.
• Candidates on firefighter forums say the human relations video section is the hardest to judge because several answers look reasonable.