As an increasing number of Municipalities across Canada and the
United States make the CPAT their official physical test as part of the
firefighter hiring process, recruitment candidates should familiarize
themselves with this test, as well as understand how a metabolic and
strength conditioning program can properly prepare them for it.
The
CPAT began in 1997 as a result of what the IAFF (International
Association of Fire Fighters) and IAFC (International Association of
Fire Chiefs) viewed as a need to standardize the physical testing of
candidates being hired into fire services all across North America. The
rationale was that candidates who were incapable of achieving the
physical requirements of fire fighting were slipping through the cracks.
A task force consisting of the IAFF / IAFC and ten leading fire
services and their unions created the Fire Service Joint
Labor-Management Wellness-Fitness Initiative. In turn, the CPAT was
developed.
Using 1000 randomly selected fire fighters from the ten
fire services, various standards were developed based on averages.
Averages such as; what kinds of tasks fire fighters are required to
complete, how much the average gear and tools weigh, the average height
and weight of the fire fighters, and even the average weight of patients
entering the ER departments of the cities where the ten fire services
were located. Using these averages, an 'obstacle course' was created
that the task force felt best replicated what the average firefighter
would experience at an average fire ground scenario. After running their
fire fighters through it, they also came up with an average time that
candidates should pass.
Municipalities that decide to run the CPAT
as their official test must be licensed accordingly by the IAFF in
order to do so. This results in an across-the-board baseline whereby
every CPAT is essentially the exact same thing. All distances, weights,
instructions, and sequence is the exact same. The individuals manning
the test have received recognized training as well. Because the CPAT is a
recognized standard that has been developed with such an excellent
attention to detail, candidates are essentially unable to legally
challenge the results as being 'unfair' - since thousands upon thousands
of applicants and hires have set precedence before them as to the
universal acceptance of this test.
The general rules of the CPAT
are pretty straight-forward. Every step of the CPAT has a particular
aspect to it that can constitute an instant fail. Sometimes you get to
have a 'warning' before you fail, again, this depends on the step you're
on. There is a set time you must complete all eight steps in to pass.
The
CPAT starts with a candidate being 'loaded' with a 50lb weighted vest.
They are asked to make their way to a stair-climbing machine and given
an extra 25lbs (12.5 add-ons on each shoulder). A 20 second warm-up at
50 steps per minute is quickly followed by a 3 minute, 60 steps per
minute set. You cannot touch the rail twice, or you will fail. This is
the only part of the whole CPAT where you cannot go more quickly than
the time allocated for it.
Step 2, the hose drag, involves
grabbing a nozzle on 200 feet of 1 ¾ hose and running with it 75 feet
to a drum then turning 90 degrees and running another 25 feet. You then
get on one knee and drag the hose until the first coupling, at 50 feet,
crosses the finish line. This is the only part of the CPAT that you can
run as fast as you can. If you fail to go around the drum, it's an
instant fail. If one of your knees is outside the finish-line 'box' you
get a warning. The second time it's a fail.
Step 3, the equipment
carry, involves carrying two saws around a cone and back to the starting
point. This starts by picking up each saw from a shelf and placing it
on the ground, one at a time. Once both saws are on the ground, they are
picked up at the same time, one in each hand, and carried around the
cone and back. They are then returned to the shelf in the reverse
sequence as they were removed, one at a time. If the saws fall or touch
the ground during the carry in any way, it's a fail. If you run at all,
it's a fail.
Step 4, the ladder raise and extension, involves
raising a 24 foot aluminum ladder from a lying position to a vertical
one against a wall. You then move to the side and extend the fly-section
of an identical ladder to its limit, then lower it back down to the
ground in a controlled, hand-over-hand manner. Any loss of control
during any part of this step, including having the rope slip in any
fashion, will result in an instant fail.
Step 5, forcible entry,
involves striking a 10lb sledge-hammer against a mechanical measuring
device which is meant to simulate the resistance of a typical front
door. Once the buzzer sounds, signalling that a successful amount of
force has been applied, the step is concluded. Dropping the sledge
hammer will result in an instant fail. Stepping outside of a marked box
that you are standing in to swing the sledge hammer will result in a
warning. A second warning is an instant fail.
Step 6, search,
involves crawling through a darkened 64 foot u-shape maze (two 90 degree
angles) with obstacles in your path requiring you to feel and make your
way through it. Any event that results in the candidate requiring
assistance out of the maze, either by panicking or running out of time,
will lead to an instant fail.
Step 7, rescue, involves dragging a
165lb dummy around a drum and back to the starting line, totalling 70ft.
If the candidate fails to drag the dummy around the drum, or the
candidate touches or rests on the drum, they instantly fail.
Step
8, ceiling breach and pull, involves using a pike pole to perform four
complete sets of three repetitions of pushing up a hinged door, followed
by 5 repetitions of pulling down on a hook attached to a ceiling
device. Both the hinged door and the ceiling device provide a weighted
resistance. Stepping outside the designated area will result in a
warning. A second time will result in an instant fail. Candidates are
allowed to drop the pike-pole once, a second time will result in an
instant fail.
Even without failing any of the eight steps, you
must still complete them in a set time. If you go over the set time
unfortunately this results in an instant fail as well.
Like most
fire fighters, I spent a few years working hard to get hired. This
resulted in my having done more CPATs than I care to remember. Because
most of these CPATs were out of town, I spent numerous hours sitting
around waiting for my turn, and this enabled me to see hundreds of other
candidates perform the CPAT. While the majority passed, a surprisingly
large number also failed - I would never have guessed that the failure
rate was as high as it was unless I saw it for myself. I saw people
pretty much fail at every single step. While many people failed for
technical reasons such as dropping the ladder, panicking in the maze,
not running around a drum, running when not supposed to, dropping a
sledge-hammer (pretty much every failure mentioned in the steps above
I've seen happen!) - The majority of people failed because they simply
were not in proper shape to undertake the CPAT, plain and simple. I've
seen people give up after less than a minute on the stair-climber! What
on earth were they thinking the job entailed? A lot of people managed to
make it through the CPAT, but not under the amount of time allocated.
Passing
the CPAT requires that you get yourself in fire fighter shape. Fitness
programs such as the metabolic and strength conditioning combined with
powerlifting workouts are perfect for the particularities of becoming a
fire fighter. I've seen my share of body-builder types (the
stereotypical types that you would have to assume are in excellent shape
if you didn't know better) who made it off the stair-climber with
rubber legs looking like they just got off a boat that completed a 6
year journey at sea. They had no gas left in their tanks and couldn't
complete the rest of it in time.
The fact of the matter is that
unless you train for all aspects of fitness, you will lack the strength,
endurance, cross-training, recovery, and general conditioning required
for not only passing the CPAT, but performing your job as a fire
fighter. Barely passing the CPAT is also not enough. Most fire services
one you get hired and are in their drill school have their own physical
tests which are much more demanding than the CPAT and have no problems
cutting you if you can't handle it. The days of getting instantly hired
for the rest of your life are behind us and recruits are at an ever
increasing chance of being let go due to poor physical conditioning.
Even more challenging than the drill school physical tests are dealing
with an actual fire. Ask any fire fighter with actual experience what
the difference is - it's pretty much day and night.
The CPAT
should be seen as an absolute bear minimum of fitness level. If you
can't smoke the CPAT in under 7:30, you may get a nasty wake-up call in
drill school or worse, on the fire ground. You shouldn't be walking
around with your head high if you barely passed. Use the time between
the CPAT and getting hired to increase your physical conditioning! Being
in excellent physical condition is your responsibility once you get
hired - and if you are not willing to put in the sacrifice to achieve a
high level of fitness, this job simply isn't for you. There are numerous
programs out there that can take you to the next level, so look around
and do your homework. We like to think our program, which takes you
safely and effectively from beginner to advanced is great, but we're
obviously partial since we've seen great results from it and have been
perfecting it for over 4 years now. Whatever fitness program you come
across, give it your best. As a fire fighter, doing nothing is never an
option.
General tips for passing the CPAT are as follows:
- Get in shape!
- Follow all directions
- Familiarize yourself with all the steps
- Hydrate yourself properly prior to starting
- Eat a healthy breakfast on testing day (as you should every day)
- Get a goodnight sleep
- Don't stress out - Getting in shape, knowing what to expect, and being fueled will result in your success!
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