Some of the best firefighters I worked with tested five, six, eight times before the offer. Every "no" is information: which list did you make, where did you score, what knocked you down? Request feedback after every process — most departments will give it. Fix the gap, test again.

Most departments run some version of these stages, in this order: application, written exam, physical agility test (CPAT), oral board interview, background investigation, polygraph, conditional offer, then medical and psychological exams. You can be cut at any stage. Knowing the order matters, because you prepare for each one differently — and because strong scores early (the written and the oral board) are usually what put you high on the eligibility list. Know the map before you start walking it. Which stage worries you most? That’s probably the one to start prepping first.

You got hired. Congratulations — now the real test starts. Probation means: first in the rig to check equipment, last to sit down at dinner, studying district maps while everyone else watches the game. It's a year of proving you belong. The candidates who struggle on probation are usually the ones who thought getting hired was the finish line. It's the starting line. Train like it now and probation will feel familiar instead of brutal.

From the day you submit an application to the day you start the academy, plan on 6 to 18 months. Sometimes longer. A single department might run a written test, then CPAT, then oral boards, then background, then a chief’s interview, then medical and psych — each one weeks or months apart. This isn’t a job you apply for and hear back next week. The candidates who get hired treat it like a campaign that runs for a year or more. They keep applying, keep testing, and keep their life clean the whole way through. Start now. The clock is already running. Where are you in the process right now — still studying, testing, or waiting on a list?

Hi everyone, It’s been a busy and challenging few months but I’m back and hoping to get this group active again! Roger