Though it certainly sounds very questionable and weird, we must take a moment to understand who is taking these tests. Though I’ve been retired many years, from my perch it appears we have an experience issue here. Most of those taking the tests have been pushed or rushed through the system to fill warm seats. The history and experience factor prepares one for taking the FC, and other, tests. When you have a system loaded with young pups who have just enough time to qualify to take the test it starts to explain and unravel why it’s happening. I’m not putting anyone down here but just stating what appears to be true. A very young workforce being rushed to promote to fill vacancies and seats will cause this to happen.
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Do they still ask questions like
Which way will gear 4 turn when connected to 3 other gears and gear 1 turns clockwise?
What color wire is common in 120V AC?
What is the proper mix ratio of Rock, Sand, Cement to mix concrete?
Or my all time favorite what grade motor oil is typically used in diesel engines and all 4 answers were incorrect because of typing errors.
Or, as state by @cdftruckfc lack of experience, life experience, rushed through the process and not getting what I would call the “low hanging fruit” questions?
From my conversations with LG cooperators of different sizes. We all seem to be having the same problems, just different scale, size of the problem.
A mid-sized SoCal County FD had less then 50% pass their FC program from application, oral interview, simulations and like CF going to open/Lateral application & exams.
To me the problem is rooted in Demographics. Too many job openings and not enough bodies to fill the openings.
Case in point, 1995 LAC & LAFD both capped applications at 20,000 for a hiring pool. Those numbers were met in days to 1 week tops. In 2025, those agencies have a continuing hiring process to get a large enough hiring pool.
Ita just the DOG EAT DOG world of Labor is now affecting larger and larger departments.
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Is the state still giving extra points for vets or prior state service, etc? 95 may be only reachable with those extras.
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I see some of the problems in today’s work pool market and wonder how on earth can any FD fill all vacancies? From the attitude of today’s young people entering the work force to the fact that people do not want Fire Department jobs in this day and age it’s worrisome. I remember when I started my F.D. search one opening meant 1000’s of applicants. A testing for a list had lines for days to get in. It’s just so different today. Back then we weren’t worried about a hard days work for the job. Today, nobody wants to work a hard day. When I see tests that many are failing I just wonder were they ready for the test and did they do the hard work to prepare themselves? It’s just a different animal that most of us that have retired or are just about to retire don’t understand anymore. We knew when the boomers, and just after the boomers, retired in mass we would see something unusual as a result but I don’t think we saw what actually has occurred, which is much worse. I wish everyone all the luck in finding good hard working people to fill these openings as the F.D. needs it in a very bad way.
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When I started with CDF in the 80s, the near retired and retired guys said the same thing about us. We proved them wrong. I share your opinion, mostly, but will most likely be proven wrong also. I believe this because firefighters always get the job done.
You paint a broad brush stroke with the statement, “ Today, nobody wants to work a hard day.”. I disagree with that because the fires are still going out, just like they did when we were working. There are hundreds upon hundreds of men and women in the fire service that work a hard day most days of their shift.
Generations are different, just like us, and the old guys before us. Just because it’s not our way, doesn’t make it wrong. Just different.
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Actually
There is a HUGE difference in generations.
Google the following
Baby Boomer Birth to death Ratio?
Generation X Birth to death ratio?
Millennial birth to death ratio?
Generation Z birth to death ratio
Now what is/was the life expectancy of
Greatest generation?
Baby Boomer?
Generation X?
Millennial?
Generation Z
Now factor in the replacement rate is 2.0
What @cdftruckfc is speaking of isn’t raw numbers. It more about percentages. Every generation since the Baby Boomers has progressively gotten smaller and smaller. Things like 3%@50 have further shrunk the available pool of labor in the workforce. Now add to that modern medicine and life expectancy between the Boomers and Gen x has increases by 5yr, while at the same time the birth/death ratio has only gotten smaller. With those born in 2000 living an Ave of 5 more year’s. So in 2 generations (Boomers 46-64 and Millennials is plus 10yr with a shrinking pool of available labor. There is a reason Medical insurance for those over 55 costs more than those 25. BTW, has the work load gotten less? Quite the opposite, as the population has continued to age. Our industry has seen the call volume increase. Yet some dept never fully recovered from the Great Recession of 2008-2010.
No other time in America’s 249yr+ history has the native born population shrank. Here in the Peoples Republic of Commiefornia, they even lost congressional seats due to a decreasing population.
“Numbera don’t lie, people lie about numbers”
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When I first started in CDF as a seasonal I would look at the Communique(CDF News letter).
It would show the retirements in all the Regions and their Ranks. 79, 80 etc pretty slim picking for job openings. When I took my first agency exam it was pretty much Agency Pecific. Study the manuals, orange and green books like many of you did. It’s a whole different ball game now!!!
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This is year #20 for me. Turn over was so much slower and a hell of a lot more competitive then, it took several seasons as a FF then several as a LT FAE before perm FAE. Finish JAC then a few seasons as a LT Capt before perm.
Now days about 1.5-2 as a FF, 3 as a FAE, t hen bang you are a captain. . I went out on a Charlie ST recently, the othe 4 engine operators averaged less than one year, the STL had been a BC less than 6 months and a total CF time of less thsn 10 years. What has happened to experience with us?
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I’m retired and don’t really care but I took the test just to see. I looked up questions and answers on google and ChatGPT. I still failed.
150 passing scores out of 500+ tests isn’t great numbers. It’s not rocket science and I don’t think the beta version or test itself was bad, the questions were actually very relevant to the position, but there is something wrong with the scoring after you submit your test. It’s an electronic program that was created by humans, the system won’t be perfect.
None of the other exams are having this issue. FF2 no complaints, FAE no complaints, FC and it’s a 10% passing rate? Does that seem normal to anyone?
And everyone that has failed is now no longer eligible to test until August of 2026. People that passed the last test in March, said they recognized about half of the questions on this test from the March exam, have now failed. I don’t think it’s a lack of experience when the questions aren’t experience based and are asking for hose testing pressures, public resource codes, progressive discipline, and topographical map questions.
The test wasn’t hard and the questions aren’t experience based. There is something wrong with the grading after submission.
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Thank you…this is what I was getting at when I started the question. Glad other people are seeing it as well.
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The FC test was very easy and about 80% of the questions could be correctly answered with common sense and a tiny bit of knowledge of our department. Additionally the test was essentially the same as the last test that took place in January 2025, the main issue is that if you google or chatGPT or look up answers it will give you the wrong answer about 70% of the time (this was verified to be true via trial and error) so with that in mind it can be pretty easily assumed that all the people that failed probably just googled every question and that’s why they all failed, google and chatGPT do NOT have access to our intranet or jones and bartlett which the test was heavily influenced by. There isn’t anything wrong with the test or how it’s being administered, I finished in roughly 20 minutes and scored a 95 and used no aids while taking the exam.
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Well you were given a rating of 95 to signify your Rank (1) you dont know what you scored thats how its designed.
I would say it did feel like the same test as last time and I passed but as a rank 3 I felt way more confident then that score in my answers. I dont think it works as flawless as you allude and thats why there is a lot of scrutiny surrounding it.
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Unfortunately, someone will always scrutinize or badmouth every process so it will never really be good enough, right? The real answer here is to always be ready when you test! Read and re-read every testing process several times to understand exactly what they’re looking for. In my time, rank 1-3 would get you a job/promotion pretty immediate, especially if you’ve made a name for yourself and the unit is wanting you. All job announcements back then had everything within the announcement that would prepare you, at least in the direction of what to be ready for on the test.
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The test is graded by an AItest grader just like a college exam. So if you have multiple tabs or windows open it thinks you are cheating and automatically fails you.
When I took the exam I clicked the link to take the exam and it opened up another tab. I never closed the first tab so I had two tabs open the whole time even though I never used the first tab. I think that’s an auto fail right there.
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Were instructions given to close all other tabs and windows ? Sometimes following instructions is the test, not the questions on the test. Observed that in a college exam.
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Kinda off topic but does the brainiac that thought up this not understand that people are allowed to own more than one device connected to the internet?
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How about just go back to where you take the written test in person seem like an easy fix.
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Yeah, but then you gotta hire humans instead of hiring computers… </sarcasm font>
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Sensible simple solution too. BUT this state has NEVER done it right.
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One year on the SFR1 test there was a “breach of security” and instead of retesting, everyone who had applied was given a passing score and went to the orals. Even those who had applied but hadn’t taken the written.
In another year a BC who worked on building the BC exam gave information to an applicant. He lost his job and career and the FC he helped was demoted to FF2.
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