Smoke Your Firefighter Interview

The oral interview is the most important part of the hiring process. Since it is often weighted 100% of the candidate's final score, earning a high score on the interview is essential to getting hired. The 6th edition is packed with invaluable information, covering the most commonly asked fire department interview questions. The format is simple: question, answer, and reasoning behind the answer. After answering each question, Chief Lepore carefully and thoroughly explains why he answered the question the way he did.

With this book you will gain insight into the crucial part of the exam- the interview. While it is important for a candidate to focus on the written and physical ability parts of the exam, the interview often accounts for up to 100% of a candidate's overall score. Lepore has proctored hundreds of entry-level and promotional interviews. He shares his unique ability to see the interview through the eyes of the rater. This book is presented in a question-answer format. It provides the candidate with a strong foundation on how to answer over 100 of the questions most commonly asked by fire departments across the country, and provides the rationale as to why the answer is correct. Answers to common situational questions deal with: moral issues, legal issues, violations of policies and procedures, ethical dilemmas, societal obligations, interpersonal conflicts. This updated book includes additional questions and answers.

Most fire departments give a written examination as the first part of the testing process. Since there are usually an enormous number of candidates who apply for the position, difficult written examinations are an effective way to narrow the field. There is no excuse for a firefighter candidate to fail a written exam. Those who are committed to their goal will plan and prepare for the written exam to improve their chances of success. While there are other self-help books devoted to helping aspiring firefighters, they only provide questions and answers. These books are useless if you do not understand how to work out the problems. Smoke Your Firefighter Written Exam goes beyond providing sample questions and answers. It teaches the reader the basic rules and principles behind the questions; in other words, how to solve each complex problem. Each section begins with an overview of how to solve the problem. The reasoning behind the correct answer is presented in clear, easy-to-understand language. The reader will become proficient in: mathematics (word problems, geometry, addition, subtraction, multiplication); mechanical aptitude (gears, levers, pulleys, incline planes, screws); language (reading, spelling, grammar, vocabulary); perceptual ability; spatial relations; matching parts and figures; map reading. Illustrations are used throughout the book to teach basic principles and present problems to solve.

This book lays out a step by step method for answering interview questions. Although this book is specific to those trying to get hired by the fire department it can help everyone improve their interview skills. The storyteller method will help you plug your personal information into a Five Step method of answering to achieve the highest score possible on your firefighter interview. I have also included a short workbook in the back for you to fill out and prepare to score full points on your next fire department interview. This book is full of stories and examples to give you a complete path to improving your fire department interview skills!

"At first I'm calm as the trees fall. But suddenly a rat's nest of wood, bent horizontal and cribbed into the trees above us, comes down in a rush of a hundred machine gun snaps. Trees caught in the nest flail around before hitting the ground. Our eyes dart everywhere, trying to keep track of every moment. Trees break free and swing themselves like catapults. Splintered chunks of wood slash through the air like propellers... Falling trees is the most dangerous job in North America." --Aaron Williams British Columbia's weather and geography--hot dry summers, steep terrain, and population density in forested areas--make it one of the most difficult places in the world to fight forest fires. Chasing Smoke is an enthralling insider-account of how a fire season unfolds. Experienced firefighter Aaron Williams offers a tangible window into the intensely physical, high-adrenalin lifestyle shared by his crew of eccentrics, all eager to be on the front line. Williams shares what it's like to work sixteen-hour days in an apocalyptic landscape, where the smoke is so thick your snot runs black and you need to drink ten litres of water a day. What it's like to make a stupid mistake and singe your beard in front of your crew, or spend hours hosing a spot the size of a queen mattress and still not extinguish the burn. What it's like to hear a tree fall, a co-worker's shout, and imagine the worst. From the "curated gauntlet of abuse" that makes up rookie week, until the last length of hose is rolled up at the end of the burn season, Williams chronicles the seasonal existence of a firefighter, all while examining the wider world of firefighting--interweaving the history, mechanics and politics--as well as the micro-world of the small crew who willingly put their lives on the line.

A first responder’s harrowing account of 9/11—the inspirational true story of an American hero who gave nearly everything for others during one of New York City’s darkest hours. On September 11, 2001, FDNY Battalion Chief Richard “Pitch” Picciotto answered the call heard around the world. In minutes, he was at Ground Zero of the worst terrorist attack on American soil, as the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center began to burn—and then to buckle. A veteran of the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, Picciotto was eerily familiar with the inside of the North Tower. And it was there that he concentrated his rescue efforts. It was in its smoky stairwells where he heard and felt the South Tower collapse. He made the call for firemen and rescue workers to evacuate, while he stayed behind with a skeleton team of men to help evacuate a group of disabled and infirm civilians. And it was in the rubble of the North Tower where Picciotto found himself buried—for more than four hours after the building’s collapse.

Guaranteed Top Scores on Your Firefighter's Exam! Want to be a firefighter? Do you know what is involved in taking the exam? Don't take a chance at failing a test you could ace--learn from the expert, Norman Hall. For more than a decade, Norman Hall's Firefighter Exam Preparation Book has been the #1 test preparation book for prospective firefighters. Back by popular demand, Norman Hall has completely updated and revised this hugely successful book for this second edition, presenting new tips and time-tested methods for attaining the highest scores. Practice your skills using features such as tips on how to pass the physical requirements, practice exams with answer keys, memory aids to help you master the recall test, tables for self-scoring, insights on what a career in firefighting entails, and a discussion of the final interview. Use Norman Hall's Firefighter Exam Preparation Book, 2nd Edition to study hard and score at the top!