Which Firefighter Test Does Your Department Use? Canada Directory (2026)

OFAI FACT — Firefighter Aptitude and Character Test

Ontario · OFAI Stage One · sat at FESTI, Mississauga

The Firefighter Aptitude and Character Test (FACT) is OFAI’s Stage One written exam, published by FPSI and taken in a single sitting at a proctored computer lab at FESTI in Mississauga. It runs 110 multiple-choice questions in up to 3 hours: Reading Ability (15), Mathematical Reasoning (15), Map Reading (10), Writing Ability (10) and Personal Characteristics (60). Scoring is weighted 45% aptitude / 55% character, and the result is pass/fail only — OFAI releases no numeric score and publishes no cutoff. The fee is $75 + HST, a pass is valid for 24 months, and retakes require a 15-day wait after a first fail (30 days on later attempts).

Departments using the OFAI FACT (as of July 2026)

City recruitment guides: Toronto · Mississauga · Brampton · Ottawa — each department’s full process, tests and pay.

• City of Toronto – Toronto Fire Services
• City of Kitchener – Kitchener Fire Department
• City of North Bay – North Bay Fire & Emergency Services
• GTAA Fire & Emergency Services
• City of Peterborough – Peterborough Fire Services
• City of Brampton – Brampton Fire & Emergency Services
• City of Barrie – Barrie Fire & Emergency Services
• City of Guelph – Guelph Fire Department
• City of Cambridge – Cambridge Fire Department
• City of Woodstock – Woodstock Fire & Rescue
• City of Stratford – Stratford Fire Department
• Town of Oakville – Oakville Fire Department
• Town of East Gwillimbury – East Gwillimbury Emergency Services
• Town of Midland – Midland Fire Department
• Town of Greater Napanee – Greater Napanee Fire Services
• City of Mississauga – update: no longer uses OFAI; the City states it will not accept OFAI certification and runs its own internal testing — see our Mississauga recruitment guide
• City of Owen Sound – Owen Sound Fire & Emergency Services
• City of Quinte West – Quinte West Fire & Rescue
• Town of Caledon – Caledon Fire & Emergency Services
• Central York Fire Services
• City of Waterloo – Waterloo Fire & Rescue
• City of Pickering – Pickering Fire Services
• Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport Fire Department
• City of Markham – Markham Fire and Emergency Services
• Township of Scugog – Scugog Fire Service
• City of Sarnia – Sarnia Fire Rescue
• City of Oshawa – Oshawa Fire Services
• City of St. Thomas Fire Department
• Township of Springwater – Fire and Emergency Services
• Loyalist Township – Loyalist Township Emergency Services
• Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury – Bradford West Gwillimbury Fire & Emergency Services
• City of Brockville – Brockville Fire Department
• City of Welland – Welland Fire Services

CPS Firefighter Exam — Firefighter Services of Ontario (FireOntario)

Ontario & select national organizations · administered by FSO

The 2024 Innisfil recruitment guide hosted by FSO names a CPS Aptitude Examination. FSO’s current aptitude outline lists skills and administration rules without specifying a publisher or version. Confirm the exam named in your invitation, then use the CPS guide below for practice and a discussion of version differences.

Departments & organizations using the CPS test (as of July 2026)

• City of Greater Sudbury – Greater Sudbury Fire Services
• Township of Uxbridge – Uxbridge Fire Department
• City of St. Johns – St. Johns Fire Services
• City of Thorold – Thorold Fire Services
• City of St. Catharines – St. Catharines Fire & Emergency Services
• City of Port Colborne – Port Colborne Fire & Emergency Services
• City of Pembroke – Pembroke Fire Department
• City of Orillia – Orillia Fire Department
• Niagara-on-the-Lake – Niagara-on-the-Lake Fire Department
• City of Niagara Falls – Niagara Falls Fire Department
• City of Milton – Milton Fire Department
• Middlesex County – Middlesex County Fire Department
• Town of Lincoln – Lincoln Fire Department
• Town of Innisfil – Innisfil Fire Services
• Town of Ingersoll – Ingersoll Fire & Emergency Services
• Hamilton International Airport
• Town of Halton Hills – Halton Hills Fire & Rescue
• Haldimand County – Haldimand County Fire Services
• Town of Grimsby – Grimsby Fire and Emergency Services
• Township of Georgina – Georgina Fire Service
• Fort Erie – Fort Erie Fire Rescue
• Town of Deep River – Deep River Fire Services
• Town of Collingwood – Collingwood Fire Department
• Chippewas of Rama First Nation – Fire and Emergency Services
• Canadian Armed Forces
• City of Burlington – Burlington Fire Department

NFST — National Fire Select Test (FPSI)

Western & Atlantic Canada · Vancouver’s NFST-CFT variant

The National Fire Select Test (NFST) is published by FPSI — the same company behind Ontario’s FACT, but it’s a different exam (and not the Stanard & Associates “National Firefighter Selection Test” used in the US). It has two parts: a general aptitude test covering reading, math reasoning (no calculator), map reading, writing ability, human relations and reasoning skills, plus a personality inventory — weighted 45% cognitive / 55% human relations and personality. Scoring is number-correct with no guessing penalty. FPSI does not publish the total question count or time limit; they’re announced on test day. Vancouver uses the NFST-CFT variant, which adds technical questions from IFSTA’s Essentials of Fire Fighting (6th edition).

Departments using FPSI’s NFST family (as of July 2026)

• City of Vancouver – Vancouver Fire Rescue Services (NFST-CFT)
• Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency (FPSI Online Firefighter Test)

FireTEAM Test — ErgoMetrics / National Testing Network (NTN)

Alberta, Ontario & Atlantic Canada · video-based exam

The FireTEAM test is built by ErgoMetrics and delivered through the National Testing Network (NTN), on computer at NTN centres or virtually proctored from home. The official NTN outline gives approximately 2 hours for FireTEAM across four video-driven sections: Human Relations (pick the best action during paused video scenarios, then judge recurring characters’ behaviour), Mechanical (an animated factory scenario), Math (mental arithmetic — no calculator or scratch paper) and Reading (fill-in-the-blank passages from fire-manual-style text). NTN doesn’t publish exact question counts; the figures prep providers circulate are unofficial. There is no universal pass mark — each department sets its own cut scores. Scores stay valid for 12 months, and a retest is allowed after 3 months but deletes your previous scores.

Departments using the FireTEAM (NTN) test (as of July 2026)

• City of Calgary
• City of Cornwall
• City of St. Johns
• Edmonton Airport

BLA Psychometric Screen — BL Associates (British Columbia)

British Columbia (Lower Mainland & Island) + Fredericton, NB · psychometric battery

More than a dozen B.C. departments run their written stage through BL Associates, a Vancouver industrial-psychology firm — departments variously call it the “Psychometric Screen,” “Firefighter Competency Test” or “Personal-Competency Assessment.” It’s a battery of 5–6 questionnaires inside a 3.5-hour session: timed problem-solving questionnaires (5–25 minutes each) covering verbal, mathematical, reasoning and mechanical ability, then untimed true/false character-and-interest inventories. It deliberately requires no firefighting knowledge. BLA doesn’t publish question counts, and there is no universal pass mark — each municipality sets its own criteria. Scores transfer between enrolled departments for up to 12 months. The fee is the candidate’s responsibility — typically $340–$415 depending on department and format (in-person paper session or online proctored).

Departments using the BLA screen (as of July 2026)

• Surrey Fire Service
• Richmond Fire-Rescue
• Coquitlam Fire/Rescue
• Abbotsford Fire Rescue Service
• Langley City Fire Rescue (with FireTEAM)
• Port Moody Fire Rescue
• Saanich Fire & Oak Bay Fire (joint)
• White Rock Fire Rescue
• Nanaimo Fire Rescue*
• Prince George Fire Rescue*
• Fort St. John Fire Department*
• Kootenay Boundary Regional Fire Rescue*
• Fredericton Fire Department (NB)*

* On BLA’s published score-transfer list; the department’s own posting describes the stage generically (“psychometric testing” or “written aptitude testing”). Always confirm in your posting.

Frequently Asked Questions