Wholetime Medical and fitness
Find out more about the medical and fitness requirements for becoming a Firefighter.
Find out more about the medical and fitness requirements for becoming a Firefighter.
You will be required to undertake a medical assessment and asked to declare any health problems.
During the medical you will have the following checks:
Listen to heart and lungs, examine abdomen and reflexes etc.
Raised blood pressure may require further investigation from your GP.
This will be assessed using a lung function machine which will identify a sufficient respiratory capacity to carry out firefighting. This is to ensure adequate oxygen intake is maintained to carry out duties requiring exertion over prolonged periods of time.
Testing for alcohol will take the form of breath testing. Saliva samples will be taken to test for substances.
A good standard of hearing is required as firefighting is a safety critical role. Hearing is assessed using an audiometer in a sound proofed booth.
This will help to assess general health and fitness.
A sample of urine will be required to test for signs of Diabetes or other medical conditions.
The Vision Standards for becoming a Firefighter are as follows:
Advice should be sought from your Optician on whether you meet the standards above before applying to become a Firefighter.
The role of a Firefighter includes the driving of Emergency Response Vehicles therefore all applicants are required to complete an LGV Medical
It is essential to have a good level of aerobic fitness and functional strength endurance. Your aerobic fitness will be assessed at the medical stage using a Chester treadmill Incline Test. Your strength endurance will be assessed at the selection stage using the Firefighter equipment carry test. Guidance on how to prepare for both the aerobic and strength endurance test can be found in the documents section below.
Fitness guidance
Fitness Pack pdf 1,042.18 KB
Strength training recommendations pdf 882.77 KB
Heart Rate Training pdf 84.00 KB
Post Exercise Flexibility pdf 477.63 KB
Fitness test preparation
Preparation Tips for any fitness test pdf 18.38 KB
Chester Treadmill Test poster pdf 143.01 KB
Equipment Circuit Simulation pdf 91.83 KB