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FSO Firefighter Test (Firefighter Services of Ontario): Fees, Core Four & Aptitude Prep

Searching for the Gledhill Shaw test or the “OS” firefighter test? Here’s what Ontario actually uses today: the FSO firefighter aptitude test — the CPS Aptitude Examination administered by Firefighter Services of Ontario (fireontario.com). Gledhill Shaw & Associates, the name candidates still find on older municipal postings and forums, has no current public presence, and there is no official “Gledhill Shaw” exam you can book. If a department in FSO’s client network is on your list, FSO’s aptitude exam is the test you’ll sit — and it’s fully learnable with the right practice bundle.

One important note before we start: this page and our CPS firefighter test guide describe the same FireOntario test. They exist separately because candidates search under different names — “Gledhill Shaw,” “OS test,” “FSO test,” and “CPS test” all lead to the same sitting. This page covers what happened to Gledhill Shaw, FSO’s seven components and fees, and the department list; the CPS guide is the deep-dive on section-by-section content and strategy.

What Happened to the Gledhill Shaw Test?

For years, Ontario fire departments outside the OFAI system referred candidates to “Gledhill Shaw” testing, often called the “OS” test. Today the company has no website, no booking portal, and no published exam specification. In practice, the recruitment-testing niche it served is now occupied by Firefighter Services of Ontario (FSO), which runs aptitude, personality (ESR), CPAT, clinical, medical, acrophobia, and swim assessments for roughly 30 Ontario-area departments plus the Canadian Armed Forces.

Two honest caveats you won’t find on most prep sites:

  • No official source confirms that FSO is Gledhill Shaw under a new name. What’s verifiable is simpler: Gledhill Shaw is unreachable, and the departments that used to send candidates there now book testing through FSO.
  • The famous “250-question, 2-hour-15-minute OS personality battery” is not an official FSO specification. Those numbers circulate on prep sites but appear nowhere in FSO’s published materials. FSO’s actual personality-side component is the online ESR assessment, which has no published question count.

The FSO Aptitude Test Format (CPS Aptitude Examination)

FSO’s official outline lists four question types on its aptitude exam:

  1. Understanding oral information (listening — a passage you hear, then answer questions about)
  2. Reading comprehension
  3. Mathematical ability
  4. Mechanical aptitude

Also official, straight from FSO: the exam is multiple choice, the pass mark is 70%, calculators, phones, and smartwatches are prohibited, and scrap paper is provided.

What’s official vs. reported: prep providers describe the exam as 100 questions in 2 hours, split roughly 20 listening / 25 reading / 20 math / 20 mechanical plus 15 “dealing with people” questions. FSO does not publish those counts, and the fifth “people” section does not appear on FSO’s official list of question types. Treat the split as unconfirmed and prepare for the four official sections first.

FSO Testing Fees: All Seven Components (~$730 All-In)

The aptitude exam is only one of seven FSO assessments a full candidate file can require. Fees per FSO’s services page and municipal recruitment guides (Innisfil, Oshawa, Windsor), as of July 2026:

Component Fee Notes
Aptitude Examination (CPS) $90 Result valid 1 year
ESR (personality) Assessment $130 Completed online, earlier deadline
CPAT (physical) $200
Clinical Assessment $130
Medical Assessment $100
Acrophobia (heights) Test $40
Tread Water Test $40
Total if all seven are required ~$730 Check your posting — not every department requires all seven

Plan for one full day: FSO schedules its in-person “Core Four” assessments on a single testing day, so budget time and energy accordingly — a strong aptitude score is harder to deliver when you’ve stacked it against physical testing. The ESR is completed online beforehand and typically has an earlier registration deadline than the in-person day; missing it can knock you out of a recruitment cycle before you ever sit the aptitude exam.

Which Fire Departments Use the FSO Test?

FSO publishes its client municipalities — around 30 departments and services as of July 2026. If your target department is here, this exam (not the OFAI FACT) is your written test:

Show the FSO client department list (as of July 2026)
  • City of Burlington — Burlington Fire Department
  • Canadian Armed Forces
  • Chippewas of Rama First Nation Fire and Emergency Services
  • Town of Collingwood — Collingwood Fire Department
  • Town of Deep River — Deep River Fire Services
  • Fort Erie — Fort Erie Fire Rescue
  • Township of Georgina — Georgina Fire Service
  • City of Greater Sudbury — Greater Sudbury Fire Services
  • Town of Grimsby — Grimsby Fire and Emergency Services
  • Haldimand County — Haldimand County Fire Services
  • Town of Halton Hills — Halton Hills Fire & Rescue
  • City of Hamilton — Hamilton Fire Department
  • Hamilton International Airport
  • Town of Ingersoll — Ingersoll Fire & Emergency Services
  • Town of Innisfil — Innisfil Fire Services
  • Town of Lincoln — Lincoln Fire Department
  • Middlesex County — Middlesex County Fire Department
  • Town of Milton — Milton Fire Department
  • City of Niagara Falls — Niagara Falls Fire Department
  • Niagara-on-the-Lake — Niagara-on-the-Lake Fire Department
  • City of Orillia — Orillia Fire Department
  • City of Oshawa — Oshawa Fire Services
  • City of Pembroke — Pembroke Fire Department
  • City of Port Colborne — Port Colborne Fire & Emergency Services
  • City of Sault Ste. Marie — Sault Ste. Marie Fire Services
  • City of St. Catharines — St. Catharines Fire & Emergency Services
  • City of Thorold — Thorold Fire Services
  • Township of Uxbridge — Uxbridge Fire Department
  • City of Windsor — Windsor Fire & Rescue Services

Source: FSO’s published municipalities list, checked July 2026. Departments change vendors — always confirm the required test on the job posting itself.

Notice who is not on the list: Toronto and Ottawa. Both require the OFAI FACT — see the FAQ below, because outdated claims about this are everywhere.

Free FSO Practice Questions (All Four Official Sections)

One original sample per official section, written in the FSO format — starting with the section prep providers report trips up the most candidates: listening.

1. Understanding Oral Information (Listening)

On the real exam you hear each passage once. Press play, listen without pausing or replaying, then answer both questions from memory.

Audio passage: mutual-aid radio update (49 seconds)

Show transcript (on the real test, you only get the audio)

Pinehill Command to all incoming mutual-aid units, update follows. We are on scene of a barn fire at 2850 Concession Road 8, north of the village of Harrow Creek. Fire is through the roof at the east end of the barn, and all livestock have been removed. There are no hydrants in this area, so all water supply is by tanker shuttle. The fill site is the pond at 2600 Concession Road 8, about half a kilometre west of the fire. Incoming tankers, report first to the fill site, not to the fire scene. We currently have three tankers rotating, and we need two more. Staging for all other apparatus is the church parking lot at the corner of Concession 8 and Talbot Line. Expect heavy smoke drifting across the road east of the scene, so approach with caution. This is Pinehill Command, out at 16:45.

Question 1: What were incoming tanker crews told to do FIRST?

  1. A. Report to the fill site at 2600 Concession Road 8
  2. B. Report directly to the fire scene
  3. C. Report to the staging area at the church parking lot
  4. D. Contact command for a briefing at 16:45
Show answer & explanation

Answer: A. Command said tankers report first to the fill site, not the fire scene; the church lot is staging for OTHER apparatus. Match each instruction to the specific group it was aimed at.

Question 2: Which statement matches the conditions described in the update?

  1. A. Fire was through the roof at the west end and livestock were still inside
  2. B. Fire was through the roof at the east end and all livestock had been removed
  3. C. Fire was contained to the east end and livestock were being removed
  4. D. Heavy smoke was drifting west across the road
Show answer & explanation

Answer: B. The update paired two facts: fire through the roof at the EAST end, and livestock already removed. Distractors flip the compass direction or change the completed action into one still in progress — verify both halves of a paired statement.

About this section

  • Tests single-pass auditory memory: fact recall, instruction sequence, numbers, and inference from a passage heard once.
  • Officially confirmed by FSO as one of the four question types; prep providers report roughly 20 listening questions on the 100-question, 2-hour version, but FSO publishes no counts.
  • Distractors are built from the passage itself — swapped digits, reversed directions, the “other” address.
  • Strategy tip: tag every number and address with its role the moment you hear it (“2850 = fire, 2600 = fill site”). If listening is your weak spot, one-on-one tutoring can drill it live.

2. Reading Comprehension

Read the memo, then answer the question.

POLICY MEMO — STATION VISITOR POLICY (EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY)

TO: All Personnel
FROM: Deputy Chief R. Okafor
RE: Revised Station Visitor Policy

Our stations are working environments containing apparatus, equipment, and hazardous materials. To keep both visitors and personnel safe, the following visitor policy takes effect immediately and replaces all prior guidance.

All visitors must sign in at the watch desk and receive a numbered visitor badge, which must be worn visibly at all times. A member of the on-duty crew must escort visitors whenever they are in the apparatus bay, the equipment rooms, or any area where tools or hazardous materials are stored. Visitors are never permitted in these areas alone.

Scheduled tours for community groups, such as school classes and scout troops, require at least three business days’ notice and approval from the station captain. Tour groups larger than fifteen people must be split so that each sub-group has its own escort. Media visits and photography require prior approval from the Public Information Officer, not the station captain.

If an alarm sounds during a visit, the escorting member will direct all visitors to the designated safe assembly point in the front parking lot and account for them before the apparatus departs. Visitors must not re-enter the building until an officer declares it clear. Personnel who observe an unescorted or unbadged visitor must challenge that person politely and notify the officer in charge at once.

A scout troop of 24 children arrives for an approved tour. Based on the policy, what must happen?

  1. A. The tour must be cancelled because the group is too large
  2. B. The group must be split so each sub-group has its own escort
  3. C. The whole group may proceed with a single escort
  4. D. The children may tour the apparatus bay unescorted if badged
Show answer & explanation

Answer: B. The policy states tour groups larger than fifteen people must be split so that each sub-group has its own escort; 24 exceeds fifteen, so the group must be divided with separate escorts.

About this section

  • Fire-service documents — memos, safety bulletins, procedures — with questions on specific details, procedure order, main idea, and vocabulary in context.
  • Officially one of FSO’s four question types; prep providers report about 25 reading questions, a figure FSO itself does not publish.
  • Application questions (like this one) make you apply a rule to a new scenario, not just find a sentence.
  • Strategy tip: answer only from what the passage says. Plausible real-world knowledge that isn’t in the text is the classic trap.

How would you score under real exam pressure?

Our Canadian-built practice bundle covers all four FSO sections — including Canadian-accented, listen-once audio passages built for this exam’s format — with full explanations for every question.

See the Full Practice Bundle

Not ready? Take the free 15-question readiness quiz — no email required.

3. Mathematical Ability

A foam concentrate is mixed with water at a ratio of 1:24 (foam to water). To make 250 L of finished solution, how much foam concentrate is needed?

  1. A. 10 L
  2. B. 12 L
  3. C. 25 L
  4. D. 6 L
Show answer & explanation

Answer: A. A 1:24 ratio means 1 part foam in 25 total parts. 250 L divided by 25 equals 10 L of foam concentrate.

About this section

  • Arithmetic, percentages, fractions and ratios, and fire-service word problems (flow rates, hose lengths, crew scheduling).
  • Officially one of FSO’s four question types; prep providers report about 20 math questions, unconfirmed by FSO.
  • No calculators, phones, or smartwatches — official FSO rule — but scrap paper is provided.
  • Strategy tip: write the setup before computing. In ratio problems, the classic trap is dividing by the ratio number (24) instead of the total parts (25).

4. Mechanical Aptitude

question diagram

Three gears are in a line, each meshing with the next: Gear A meshes with Gear B, and Gear B meshes with Gear C. If Gear A turns clockwise, which way does Gear C turn?

  1. A. Clockwise
  2. B. Counterclockwise
  3. C. It stays still
  4. D. Opposite to Gear B only
Show answer & explanation

Answer: A. Direction alternates with each mesh: A clockwise → B counterclockwise → C clockwise. In a gear train, every second gear turns the same direction as the first.

About this section

  • Levers, pulleys and block-and-tackle, gears, pressure and fluids, tools, and simple electrical concepts — often in fire-service settings.
  • Officially one of FSO’s four question types; prep providers report about 20 mechanical questions, unconfirmed by FSO.
  • Most items reward principles (mechanical advantage, continuity, pressure vs. depth) over memorized formulas.
  • Strategy tip: ask “what does the system trade?” — a mechanism that multiplies force costs you distance or speed, and vice versa.

FAQ

Is the Gledhill Shaw test the same as the FSO test?

Honestly: nobody can confirm they’re the same company, and we won’t pretend otherwise. Gledhill Shaw & Associates has no current website, booking system, or published exam spec, and no official announcement links it to FSO. What is verifiable is that the Ontario departments that historically used Gledhill Shaw “OS” testing now run recruitment testing through Firefighter Services of Ontario, and the skills assessed — listening, reading, math, mechanical — overlap heavily with what “OS” candidates reported. Practically speaking, if you were told to prepare for “the Gledhill Shaw test,” the exam you will actually book and sit is FSO’s aptitude examination.

What score do I need to pass the FSO firefighter test?

70% — and unlike most numbers floating around about this exam, that one is official, published by FSO itself. Your result is valid for one year, so time your sitting against the recruitment cycles of the departments you’re targeting.

What are the seven FSO components and what does testing cost in total?

The seven FSO assessments are: the Aptitude Examination ($90, valid 1 year), the online ESR personality assessment ($130), the CPAT physical test ($200), the Clinical Assessment ($130), the Medical Assessment ($100), the Acrophobia Test ($40), and the Tread Water Test ($40) — roughly $730 if a department requires all seven. The in-person “Core Four” assessments are scheduled on a single testing day, while the ESR is completed online in advance and usually has an earlier deadline. Check your specific posting: not every department requires every component.

Do Toronto and Ottawa use the FSO (Gledhill Shaw) test?

No — and this is one of the most repeated errors on firefighter prep sites. Toronto Fire Services and Ottawa Fire Services both require OFAI Stage One certificates (the FACT, published by FPSI and administered through OFAI), per their own recruitment pages. If Toronto or Ottawa is your target, prepare for the OFAI FACT instead. The FSO exam serves the departments on the client list above.

Not your test?

Canadian departments use several different written exams. Find yours:

Ready to train for all four FSO sections?

Hundreds of original Canadian practice questions — audio listening passages, fire-context reading, no-calculator math, and mechanical reasoning — with a full explanation for every answer. Built for the FireOntario sitting, valid for a full year of prep.

See the Full Practice Bundle

What to Look For in Any Firefighter Test Prep

Whichever provider you choose — including us — hold it to these six checks before you pay:

  • ✓Matches the exact test your department names. FACT, NFST, FSO/CPS and FireTEAM are different exams with different sections — generic “firefighter test” packs waste your prep time. See our overview of every Canadian firefighter aptitude test if you’re not sure which one you face.
  • ✓Format fidelity, not just topic coverage. If your exam delivers passages by audio or scenarios by video, text-only practice trains the wrong skill. Look for single-play audio for listening sections and scenario continuity for video-based tests.
  • ✓Worked explanations for every question. An answer key tells you what you got wrong; a worked explanation tells you why — that’s where score improvement actually comes from.
  • ✓Canadian content and units. Metric distances, Canadian spellings, Canadian department contexts — and pricing clearly labeled in CAD, so there’s no exchange-rate surprise at checkout.
  • ✓Access that matches a real recruitment cycle. Canadian hiring processes run months, not weeks. Clear one-time pricing with long access beats short timed windows you may have to re-buy mid-process.
  • ✓Facts it can source. Good prep cites the test owner’s official pages, dates its claims, and says so honestly when a number (like a pass mark) simply isn’t published — instead of asserting one.

“Gledhill Shaw” and “OS” refer to a legacy testing provider; the CPS Aptitude Examination and related assessments are administered by Firefighter Services of Ontario (FSO). All test names are the property of their respective owners and are used here for identification only. firerecruitment.ca is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Gledhill Shaw & Associates, FSO, OFAI, or any fire department. Our practice materials simulate the format and skills tested; they are not actual exam questions. Format details verified 2 July 2026 against official sources where available; specifications marked “reported” come from third-party prep providers and are not publisher-confirmed. Fees and department lists change — always confirm with FSO and the department’s current job posting. We make no pass-rate or hiring guarantees.