Employment Standards for Australian Urban Firefighters: Part 4: Physical Aptitude Tests and Standards.

OBJECTIVE Firefighter physical aptitude tests were administered to unskilled subjects and operational firefighters to evaluate the impact that testing bias associated with gender, age, activity-specific skills, or task familiarity may have upon establishing performance thresholds. METHODS These tests were administered in sequence, simulating hazmat incidents, ventilation fan carriage (stairs), motor-vehicle rescues, bushfire incidents, fire attacks, and a firefighter rescue. Participants included two unskilled samples (N = 14 and 22) and 143 firefighters. RESULTS Firefighter performance was not significantly different from the unskilled subjects. Participants from both genders passed the test, with scores unrelated to performance skill or age; however, familiarization significantly improved performance when the test was repeated. CONCLUSION These outcomes confirmed this test to be gender-, age-, and skill-neutral. Familiarization effects could be removed through performing a single, pre-selection trial of the test battery.