Firefighter Tests

National Firefighter Ability Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a correspondence assistant at a fire and rescue service. The company that prints and posts your standard letters has put the wrong reference number on 200 letters going out on Thursday, and says it will not reprint them because the run is boxed. Anybody ringing the enquiry line to quote that number will find it matches no record. The person who owns the letter template is away until Friday. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell the people who answer the enquiry line today what the wrong number is and what to do with anybody who quotes it, and ask the print company to confirm in writing what has gone out.
   2. Send the whole matter to the template owner's manager on Thursday morning and ask them to stop the run, before finding out whether 200 boxed letters can be held at all.
   3. Write to all 200 recipients with a correction of your own wording, on the basis that the template owner would want that done, and tell the enquiry line what you have sent them.
   4. Let Thursday's run go out as it is and wait for Friday, without telling the people who answer the enquiry line what the number on those 200 letters is going to look like.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Tell the people who answer the enquiry line today what the wrong number is and what to do with anybody who quotes it, and ask the print company to confirm in writing what has gone out.

   Least effective: D. Let Thursday's run go out as it is and wait for Friday, without telling the people who answer the enquiry line what the number on those 200 letters is going to look like.

   B: Escalates prematurely: nobody has established whether a boxed run can be stopped, and the calls still land on Thursday while the request works its way up.

   C: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's: a second letter from somebody who does not own the template risks contradicting the first, and the owner returns on Friday to a correction they never agreed.

   D: Withholds what colleagues need before they need it: the people taking Thursday's calls become the only ones who cannot explain a number that matches nobody's record.

   The most effective response is telling the people who answer the enquiry line today what the wrong number is and what to do with anybody who quotes it: 200 letters land on Thursday, the template owner is not back until Friday, and the only people who can absorb the calls are the ones who take them. It beats sending the whole matter to the template owner’s manager and asking for the run to be stopped, because nobody has yet established whether boxed letters can be held, and the calls arrive on Thursday either way. It beats writing to the recipients with a correction of your own wording, since a second letter from somebody who does not own the template risks contradicting the first one. The least effective response is letting Thursday’s run go out and waiting for Friday without warning the enquiry line: the people who will take the calls are then the only ones in the organisation who do not know what is coming. The principle: when something is going to land on colleagues, tell them before it lands rather than after.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a service desk assistant at a fire and rescue service. Looking something up this morning, you notice that the standard reply the desk sends to anybody asking about the application process gives a closing date that passed three weeks ago. The reply goes out automatically to everyone who writes in. The person who owns that wording sits in another team and is busy this week. Nobody at the desk has mentioned it, nothing you are working on depends on it, and no one has complained. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Leave it as it is and get on with your own work, on the basis that the wording belongs to another team and nobody has complained about it in three weeks.
   2. Raise it at the desk meeting next week so that the team can agree together whether the wrong date is worth taking to the other team at all.
   3. Note exactly what the wrong date says, send it to the person who owns the wording today with corrected words attached, so that they need only approve it this week.
   4. Answer the enquiries yourself with the right date whenever one reaches your desk, so that anybody who writes in this week is told correctly, and leave the standard reply alone.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Note exactly what the wrong date says, send it to the person who owns the wording today with corrected words attached, so that they need only approve it this week.

   Least effective: A. Leave it as it is and get on with your own work, on the basis that the wording belongs to another team and nobody has complained about it in three weeks.

   A: Assumes the error is somebody else's to notice: an automatic reply keeps sending a dead date to every person who writes in, and the fact that nobody has complained is what makes you the only person who can raise it.

   B: Downgrades a plain error to an agenda item: a date that has demonstrably passed needs no group view, and the reply goes out every day between now and the meeting.

   D: Treats the symptom and not the source: the automatic reply still reaches everybody who does not happen to land on your desk, and it goes on doing so after this week.

   The most effective response is writing down what the wrong date says and sending it to the person who owns the wording today with corrected words attached: the wording is theirs to change, they are busy, and the fastest way to get a change made is to hand them something ready to approve rather than something they have to work out for themselves. It is stronger than raising it at the desk meeting next week, because the reply goes out automatically every day in between and there is nothing for a team to decide about a date that has plainly passed. It is also stronger than answering enquiries yourself with the right date, since the automatic reply keeps reaching everybody who does not come through you. The least effective response is leaving the wording as it is on the basis that it belongs to another team: an error nobody has noticed is still an error, and the people writing in are the ones who pay for it. The principle: something wrong that nobody has claimed is still somebody’s to raise, and the person who noticed it is that somebody.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a property store assistant at a fire and rescue service. Your team is choosing between two firms to refit the store room next month, and you have been asked to check both quotes against the stock list by tomorrow morning. One of the two firms is run by your sister. The stated rule is that anybody with a personal connection to a firm under consideration tells their supervisor before doing work that affects the choice, and your supervisor is at her desk today. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Do the comparison as asked but ask a colleague at the next desk to check your figures on both quotes before it goes in, and tell your supervisor about your sister when you hand the comparison over tomorrow.
   2. Hand both quotes to a colleague at the next desk without saying why, and get on with the stock list instead, so that the comparison is still done by tomorrow morning.
   3. Compare the quotes today against the stock list, and mention your sister to your supervisor once the comparison is finished and written up, so that the work is not held up by the conversation.
   4. Tell your supervisor today that one of the two firms is run by your sister, before you open either quote, and ask her who should check them against the stock list.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell your supervisor today that one of the two firms is run by your sister, before you open either quote, and ask her who should check them against the stock list.

   Least effective: B. Hand both quotes to a colleague at the next desk without saying why, and get on with the stock list instead, so that the comparison is still done by tomorrow morning.

   A: Substitutes your own remedy for the stated rule: a second pair of eyes is a sensible precaution and it is not the one the rule asks for, which is a word with your supervisor before you open either quote rather than an assurance afterwards.

   B: Passes the problem on without owning it: your colleague now does work affecting a choice she has not been told is compromised, the supervisor the rule names still knows nothing, and the connection sits undeclared when the firm is picked.

   C: Delays the disclosure past the point it could change anything: the rule asks you to speak before doing the work, and a declaration made after the comparison exists leaves your supervisor with a document she cannot use.

   The most effective response is telling your supervisor today that one of the two firms is run by your sister, before you open either quote. The rule states plainly that the connection is declared before work that affects the choice, your supervisor is available today, and telling her now is the only route that leaves the comparison usable tomorrow. It beats comparing the quotes today and mentioning your sister afterwards, because a declaration that arrives after the work is done makes the work itself unusable. It is also better than doing the comparison and having a colleague check the figures, which answers a worry about accuracy when the rule is about who should be doing the work at all. The least effective response is handing both quotes to a colleague at the next desk without saying why: unlike the late declaration, which at least reaches your supervisor, and unlike the checked comparison, where a second reader sees the figures and your supervisor is told, this leaves a colleague doing compromised work in the dark and the connection undeclared when the firm is chosen. The principle: when a rule tells you to declare an interest before acting, declare it to the person the rule names, not by quietly moving the work.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are an enquiry desk assistant at a fire and rescue service. You have promised eleven callers a reply before the desk closes at four, and you are halfway through the list. At two, the person who runs the department asks you to type up and circulate the notes from this morning’s briefing instead, saying it will take an hour. When you explain the eleven callers, they answer sharply that the notes matter more and walk off. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Type the notes up straight away and get through as many of the eleven replies as the remaining time allows, leaving whoever you do not reach to ring back tomorrow.
   2. Type the notes up, then stop taking anything beyond your own list after that exchange, and let the eleven callers wait rather than raise the clash with someone who spoke to you like that.
   3. Go back to the person who runs the department, say plainly that the notes will cost you the eleven promised replies, and ask which of the two they want by four.
   4. Carry on with the eleven replies and put the notes off until tomorrow morning, on the basis that a promise to a caller outranks an internal request made at short notice.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Go back to the person who runs the department, say plainly that the notes will cost you the eleven promised replies, and ask which of the two they want by four.

   Least effective: B. Type the notes up, then stop taking anything beyond your own list after that exchange, and let the eleven callers wait rather than raise the clash with someone who spoke to you like that.

   A: Lets a promise lapse without a word: the callers who are not reached were given a time by you, and none of them learns before four that the reply is not coming.

   B: Withdraws help after a disagreement: the sharp answer is turned into a reason to stop cooperating, so eleven people who were promised a reply pay for a two minute exchange at the desk.

   D: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's: the person who asked may well have a reason for wanting the notes circulated today, and they are never given the chance to weigh the eleven callers against it.

   The most effective response is to go back to the person who runs the department and ask which of the two they want by four: they made the request without knowing what it displaces, and two hours is still enough time for them to move one or the other. That is better than typing the notes and reaching as many replies as the time allows, because the callers who miss out were given a time by you and would hear nothing at all. It is also better than carrying on with the replies and putting the notes off until tomorrow, since that decides on the requester’s behalf without ever telling them the choice existed. The least effective response is to type the notes and then stop taking anything beyond your own list after that exchange: a sharp remark becomes a reason to withhold ordinary cooperation, and eleven callers who were promised a reply before four are the people who actually pay for it. The principle: when pressure lands badly, answer the work and not the tone, and put the clash back to the person who can settle it.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a complaints administration assistant at a fire and rescue service. The company that prints your acknowledgement letters has sent this week’s batch with the wrong date, so forty people who have complained are told in writing that they will have a full reply by Friday, when the standard is twenty working days. The printer will correct it only if you ask in writing by five today. Letters to complainants go out only once the person who runs your team has approved them. That person is away until Monday and somebody is covering for them. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Reply to the printer to say the correction can wait until Monday, when the person who runs your team is back, since one clear letter then is better than two letters now.
   2. Write to the printer yourself before five and ask them to post a correction to all forty people, rather than lose the only chance to fix it while approval waits until Monday.
   3. Draft the correction now, get it approved by whoever is covering for the person who runs your team, and have it with the printer before five to correct all forty letters.
   4. Wait until Monday and answer the forty people one by one as they ring in, explaining the real date to each of them when they ask about it.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Draft the correction now, get it approved by whoever is covering for the person who runs your team, and have it with the printer before five to correct all forty letters.

   Least effective: B. Write to the printer yourself before five and ask them to post a correction to all forty people, rather than lose the only chance to fix it while approval waits until Monday.

   A: Delays the decision: the printer's window shuts at five today, so waiting for Monday does not buy a better letter, it loses the only correction on offer.

   B: Breaches the approval the letters need: a second letter reaches forty complainants with nobody having checked either, and the approval step exists precisely to stop a wrong letter following a wrong letter.

   D: Makes the customer do the chasing: only some of the forty will ring, and the rest spend the next two weeks expecting a reply on a date that was never real.

   The most effective response is drafting the correction now and getting it approved by whoever is covering: the five o’clock window is the only chance the printer offers, and the cover exists so that an absence does not stop an approval. It is stronger than replying that the correction can wait until Monday, because the window shuts today and forty people go into the weekend expecting a reply that cannot come. It is also stronger than answering the forty one by one as they ring in, since only some of them will ring and the rest keep a promise nobody can meet. The least effective response is asking the printer to post a correction yourself before five: it puts a second letter in front of forty complainants with nobody having approved either one, and the approval is the control that stops one mistake becoming two. The principle: when a deadline and an approval collide, find the person who can approve rather than choosing which of the two to drop.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a team support assistant at a fire and rescue service. A colleague on your team tells you that she posted a letter to the wrong address last week, and asks you to keep it to yourself because she will be in trouble if it comes out. The person the letter was meant for has been waiting for it and has to act on what it says by Friday. Nobody else knows. The person who runs your team is in this afternoon. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell your colleague you cannot keep it quiet, since somebody must act on that letter by Friday, and ask her to speak to the person who runs your team today, or say that you will.
   2. Keep it to yourself as she asked, but ring the person the letter was meant for yourself to check whether anything has reached them this week.
   3. Bring it up with the rest of the team behind her back, so that everybody knows whose mistake it was before the person waiting for the letter starts asking questions.
   4. Say nothing for now and watch whether the person waiting gets in touch before Friday, on the basis that the letter may still find its way to the right address.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Tell your colleague you cannot keep it quiet, since somebody must act on that letter by Friday, and ask her to speak to the person who runs your team today, or say that you will.

   Least effective: C. Bring it up with the rest of the team behind her back, so that everybody knows whose mistake it was before the person waiting for the letter starts asking questions.

   B: Works round the problem instead of naming it: a quiet check does not get the letter reissued before Friday, and it leaves your colleague carrying a mistake nobody can help her fix.

   C: Turns a colleague's mistake into team gossip: it reaches everybody except the two people who could act on it, and the person waiting on Friday is no better off for any of it.

   D: Waits for the problem to solve itself: the letter has gone to the wrong address, so nothing about waiting makes it arrive, and Friday comes with somebody unable to act.

   The most effective response is telling your colleague you cannot keep it quiet while somebody is waiting to act, and asking her to speak to the person who runs your team today: the mistake is hers to own, the offer to raise it yourself gives her a way through, and Friday is close. It is stronger than keeping it to yourself and ringing the person the letter was meant for, because a quiet check confirms the problem without getting anything reissued. It is also stronger than saying nothing and watching whether they get in touch, since a letter at the wrong address does not arrive at the right one by being left. The least effective response is bringing it up with the rest of the team behind her back: it makes the mistake everybody’s business except that of the two people whose business it is, and the person waiting is still waiting. The principle: a mistake with somebody waiting on it goes to the people who can put it right, and to nobody else.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a data quality assistant at a fire and rescue service. A colleague, Aled, has spent two days preparing a set of figures for a meeting on Thursday. This afternoon you learn that the meeting has been switched to a different set of records, so the figures Aled has prepared are no longer the ones anybody will look at. Aled is away until Wednesday and does not know. You have his mobile number, and the person organising the meeting sits near you. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Leave a note on Aled's desk explaining the switch and which records the meeting now wants, ready for his return on Wednesday, and get on with the new figures yourself meanwhile.
   2. Ask the organiser to switch the meeting back to the original records so that Aled's two days are not wasted, and say nothing to Aled until you know whether that worked.
   3. Ring Aled this afternoon so he knows before he spends more time on it, then check with the organiser which records the meeting now needs and start pulling those together.
   4. Hand the problem straight to the person organising the meeting and ask them to break the news to Aled, since the change was theirs to make, then carry on with your own work.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Ring Aled this afternoon so he knows before he spends more time on it, then check with the organiser which records the meeting now needs and start pulling those together.

   Least effective: D. Hand the problem straight to the person organising the meeting and ask them to break the news to Aled, since the change was theirs to make, then carry on with your own work.

   A: Chooses the slowest channel: he is reachable this afternoon and the meeting is on Thursday, so a note found on Wednesday costs him a day he did not have to lose.

   B: Substitutes your own judgement for the organiser's: they changed the records for a reason you have not asked about, and Aled stays in the dark while you try to undo it.

   D: Hands the problem on: you are the one who knows, Aled is reachable now, and the organiser has no idea he spent two days on figures that Thursday no longer wants.

   The most effective response is to ring Aled this afternoon so he knows before he spends more time on it, then check with the organiser which records the meeting now needs: he is the person losing the work, and Thursday is close enough that the replacement figures have to be started today. It is stronger than leaving a note on his desk, because he does not come back until Wednesday and a day of preparation for the wrong records goes on in the meantime. It is stronger than asking the organiser to switch back, because the change was made for a reason nobody has asked about, and Aled learns nothing while that is tried. The least effective response is to hand the problem straight to the organiser and ask them to break the news: a note at least reaches Aled eventually, and trying to reverse the change at least aims at his two days, whereas passing it on leaves the person who knows doing nothing and the person who does not know explaining it. The principle: when you hold news that makes somebody’s work pointless, tell them yourself and tell them now.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a course administration assistant at a fire and rescue service. Another assistant on the course team has fallen behind: forty trainees’ preparation tasks are unmarked on the completion log, which has to be complete before Monday’s assessment. They have told only you and have asked you not to make a fuss. You can see which tasks have actually been submitted and which have not. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Mark all forty preparation tasks on the completion log as done so the log is ready for Monday, and let the colleague check the submissions afterwards when they have caught up.
   2. Tell the colleague you will help, that the person who runs the course has to know today, since only they can move Monday, then mark with them only what is genuinely in.
   3. Work through all forty unmarked tasks yourself in the evenings on top of your own work, checking each submission as you go, and tell nobody, so that the colleague is not embarrassed and the log is ready by Monday.
   4. Send the person who runs the course a note this morning saying the colleague is forty tasks behind on the completion log, before saying anything to the colleague, so that Monday's assessment is not put at risk.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell the colleague you will help, that the person who runs the course has to know today, since only they can move Monday, then mark with them only what is genuinely in.

   Least effective: A. Mark all forty preparation tasks on the completion log as done so the log is ready for Monday, and let the colleague check the submissions afterwards when they have caught up.

   A: Records work as done that was never checked: the log then says trainees have prepared when you can see that some have not, and Monday's assessment runs on it.

   C: Avoids the difficult conversation: one person quietly absorbing a two-person backlog gets Monday through and leaves the same colleague in the same position next month.

   D: Goes over the colleague's head first: they confided in you, a word to them costs nothing, and the note arrives without any account of what has actually been submitted.

   The most effective response is telling the colleague you will help while making clear that the person who runs the course has to know today: Monday is fixed, forty tasks are unmarked, and the only person who can move the assessment or find another pair of hands is the one nobody has told. It beats working through the unmarked tasks yourself in the evenings and telling nobody, because one person quietly absorbing a two-person backlog leaves the same problem standing next month. It beats sending a note about the colleague before saying anything to them, since they confided in you and a word first costs nothing and keeps them in the conversation. The least effective response is marking all forty tasks on the completion log as done: the log then says trainees have prepared when you can see that some have not, and Monday’s assessment runs on a record you know to be wrong. The principle: help a struggling colleague by getting the right people involved, never by making the paperwork say something that is not so.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a course administration assistant at a fire and rescue service. You keep the sign in sheet for a five day course. At the end of day three the sheet shows 28 people signed in, but the course leader’s list has 30 names and your own room log has 30 people present. The stated rule is that the certificate list is built from the sign in sheet, and it is confirmed on Friday. Nobody else has noticed the gap. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Add the two missing names to the sheet yourself and mark day three as checked, since you saw both of them in the room and two either way makes no practical difference.
   2. Raise it with the course leader on Friday when the certificate list is confirmed, since the sheet may well be corrected by then and two names is not much to chase in the meantime.
   3. Write a note beside the sheet saying the count did not agree on day three, and leave it for whoever confirms the certificate list on Friday to look into.
   4. Compare the room log and the leader's list against the sheet today, then tell the course leader which two names are missing and how the gap arose, so the sheet is right before Friday.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Compare the room log and the leader's list against the sheet today, then tell the course leader which two names are missing and how the gap arose, so the sheet is right before Friday.

   Least effective: A. Add the two missing names to the sheet yourself and mark day three as checked, since you saw both of them in the room and two either way makes no practical difference.

   A: Writes into a record something you did not witness being signed: the sheet is the source the certificate list is built from, so an entry you made up is now the evidence that two people attended.

   B: Delays the check to the deadline itself: Friday is when the list is confirmed, so a discrepancy raised that morning has to be resolved under time pressure or waved through.

   C: Flags a problem without owning it: you are the person who holds the room log, so the one piece of evidence that would settle the gap sits with you and not with the reader of the note.

   The most effective response is comparing the room log and the leader’s list against the sheet today and telling the course leader which two names are missing and how the gap arose. Nobody has assigned this to you, you hold the evidence that explains it, and Friday is a fixed point after which the certificate list is built from whatever the sheet says. It beats raising it with the course leader on Friday itself, because a gap found on the day of confirmation gets resolved in a hurry or not at all. It beats writing a note beside the sheet for whoever confirms the list, because the room log that would settle the question is yours and the reader of the note does not have it. The least effective response is adding the two missing names yourself and marking day three as checked: that puts into the source record an entry nobody signed, so a certificate list built from it now rests on your recollection presented as somebody’s signature. It is worse than the Friday conversation and worse than the note because both of those leave the record honest and merely late, while this leaves it wrong and looking right. The principle: when a total you own does not reconcile, find out why while there is still time, and never close the gap by writing the answer in.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a shift team member at a fire and rescue service. At the end of each shift every person is supposed to write and sign their own entry in the handover record, so that the team coming on knows who to ask about what. To get everybody away on time, one of your team has taken to writing and signing all four entries in advance. Everybody knows, nobody has raised it, and the team coming on has twice asked you about an entry you did not write. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Raise it with the colleague first, say that you will be writing and signing your own entry from now on, and tell them why the team coming on needs to know who to ask.
    2. Write and sign your own entry each shift without saying anything to the colleague, and let the team coming on work out for themselves whose entries are whose.
    3. Report the practice to your supervisor without speaking to the colleague first, since the rule is plain and it is not your place to police the habits of your own team.
    4. Bring it up in front of the whole team at the start of the next shift, naming the colleague and reading out the entries, and say they have been signing for work they did not do.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: A. Raise it with the colleague first, say that you will be writing and signing your own entry from now on, and tell them why the team coming on needs to know who to ask.

    Least effective: D. Bring it up in front of the whole team at the start of the next shift, naming the colleague and reading out the entries, and say they have been signing for work they did not do.

    B: Fixes it only for yourself: three of the four entries stay in one hand, so the people coming on are still asking the wrong person about most of the shift.

    C: Escalates before speaking to the person: nobody has ever raised it, so the colleague has had no chance to stop, and a report lands as an accusation rather than a correction.

    D: Blames a colleague in front of the team: it makes a private correction into a public accusation, aimed at the person everybody relies on to get them away on time.

    The most effective response is to raise it with the colleague first, say that you will be writing and signing your own entry from now on, and tell them why the team coming on needs to know who to ask: the shortcut has a real benefit so it deserves a conversation rather than an ambush, and the team coming on has already been sent to the wrong person twice. It is better than writing and signing your own entry each shift without saying anything, because the other three entries stay in one hand and the people coming on still cannot tell whose is whose. It is better than reporting the practice to your supervisor without speaking to the colleague first, because nobody has ever raised it and the colleague has had no chance to stop. The least effective response is to bring it up in front of the whole team at the start of the next shift and say the colleague has been signing for work they did not do: it makes a private correction into a public accusation, aimed at somebody the whole team relies on. The principle: a shortcut that breaks a stated rule is raised with the person taking it, in private, before it is raised anywhere else.