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Development & Administration

Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT)

In This Section

Development

The IAFF/IAFC Task Force charged the Technical Committee with creating a fair, valid performance test to measure the critical skills required of fire fighter candidates. To do this, the Committee reviewed job analyses, task surveys, and performance tests from 10 jurisdictions, and conducted a detailed equipment and demographics survey to capture the physical demands of the fire service.

From this data, 31 essential fire fighter tasks were identified and validated through surveys of 1,000 randomly selected fire fighters, representing the diversity of their departments. The results guided the design of a continuous physical ability test using props that accurately simulated fire ground conditions.

The test was piloted with fire fighters, recruits, and technical staff, and consistently predicted candidates’ ability to perform essential tasks. Supervisors and training officers reviewed the results, confirming the test was equal or superior to existing assessments.

The Task Force unanimously adopted the Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT) with a pass/fail time of 10 minutes and 20 seconds. Municipalities are prohibited from ranking candidates by completion time, ensuring a fair standard for all applicants.

Administration

In developing the CPAT program, the Task Force recognized that the fire department should reflect the community it serves. In today’s society, communities are increasingly diverse and fire fighters are continually challenged to operate in multi-cultural environments. The Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT) was created to identify individuals who are physically qualified to perform the essential duties of a fire fighter, while supporting the broader goal of building a well-trained, physically capable, and diverse workforce.

Diversity must never be achieved by lowering validated entry standards. Instead, fire departments should actively recruit, mentor, and prepare qualified men and women from all racial and ethnic backgrounds for fire service careers. The IAFF/IAFC Joint Labor Management Wellness-Fitness Initiative Task Force affirms that departments can and should increase workforce diversity through proactive recruitment within their communities – not by reducing physical ability requirements.

The CPAT provides departments with strategies to raise awareness of career opportunities, recruit and mentor qualified candidates, and prepare them for success before the test is administered. Developed as a fair, valid, and legally defensible evaluation tool, CPAT ensures all candidates have the physical ability to safely and effectively complete critical fire fighter tasks.

The program covers every aspect of implementation – from recruitment and mentoring, to providing fitness guidance, to setting up and administering the test. It also outlines the full validation process and addresses potential legal considerations.

Orientation and Pre-Test Procedures

In 2006, orientation and pre-test procedures were added to CPAT following a conciliation agreement with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). These requirements remain a core part of the program:

  • Orientation sessions: All candidates must attend at least two mandatory sessions within eight weeks of the official test date, providing hands-on familiarity with CPAT equipment. Candidates may attend a third voluntary session.
  • Practice runs: Within 30 days of the test, all candidates must complete at least two timed practice runs on the actual CPAT course. Candidates are allowed as much time as necessary to finish the course.
  • Waivers: Candidates may waive these requirements only by submitting a written waiver that is knowing and voluntary.
  • Preparation support: Certified Peer Fitness Trainers, fitness professionals, or CPAT-trained fire fighters (proctors) must be present at orientations and practice runs to guide candidates on test elements and conditioning.

The WFI Task Force requires all CPAT licensees to fully implement these procedures. Fire departments using third-party licensees remain responsible for ensuring compliance.

The CPAT Test

After recruiting and mentoring efforts are complete, departments may administer the official eight-event CPAT. Candidates must wear a 50 lb. weighted vest throughout the test to simulate the weight of protective clothing and equipment, with an additional 25 lb. hose pack used during the stair climb.

The eight events are:

  1. Stair Climb – Climbing stairs with a 25 lb. simulated hose pack (see guidance on purchasing stair steppers below)
  2. Ladder Raise and Extension – Placing and extending a ground ladder
  3. Hose Drag – Advancing uncharged hoselines
  4. Equipment Carry – Removing and carrying tools from apparatus to the fireground
  5. Forcible Entry – Breaching a door or wall
  6. Search – Crawling through dark, unpredictable areas to locate victims
  7. Rescue Drag – Removing a victim or partner from a fire building
  8. Ceiling Pull – Checking for fire extension overhead

Guidance on Purchasing Stair Steppers for CPAT

The information below includes guidance and accommodations for purchasing and using newer models of stair steppers for the IAFF/IAFC CPAT. The IAFF recognizes that stair stepper manufacturers have retooled their assembly lines to produce the latest generation of machines.

This has caused significant difficulty with removing one side rail and moving the machine’s screen so candidates do not see the LED countdown during their test. It has also caused concern from entities and fire departments that administer the CPAT that modifying the newer machines will void the manufacturer’s warranty.

Unlike older stair steppers that were easily unbolted and unscrewed from the side rail and screen and refitted to the machine to its original configuration, the new stair steppers require permanent cutting of the side rail and the support pipe that holds the screen to meet the CPAT manual’s specifications.

To mitigate these issues, the IAFF is allowing and accommodating addendum guidelines to the CPAT manual as follows:

  • Since the new machine’s screen will remain in front of a candidate, once the candidate has mounted the stairs, the proctor will set the machine’s system to the appropriate 50 steps per minute for the 20-second warmup.
  • When the warmup is complete, the proctor will advise the candidate that the test has begun, and two proctors will start their countdown watches for 10 minutes and 20 seconds. In addition, a proctor will cover the screen with a piece of non-transparent material, such as cardboard or solid plastic.
  • The proctors will use their countdown timers to instruct the candidate when 10 seconds remain before the stair stepper will stop. This advisement should occur at seven minutes and 30 seconds.
  • Stopping of the machine takes place after the candidate has stepped for three minutes from the start time of 10 minutes 20 seconds, which is seven minutes and 20 seconds.
  • Since the side rails will remain in place with the new machines, the proctor will reinforce the already-given instruction that the only time a side rail can be gripped or held is during the warmup. Once the test has begun, the candidate will not grip or hold either side rail and the following practices are allowed:
    • The candidate is allowed to briefly touch the handrails or wall for balance.
    • The candidate is given up to two warnings for grabbing the handrails or bearing their body weight on the handrails/wall.
    • The candidate is allowed to restart the warm-up period twice.
  • The following practices constitute a failure:
    • The candidate falls or voluntarily dismounts the step mill three times during the warmup.
    • The candidate falls or voluntarily dismounts the step mill after the start of the test.
    • The candidate commits a third infraction for grasping the handrails or bearing weight on the handrails/wall after the start of the test.