Frequently asked questions

Yes

You need to be able to swim 50 metres by the start of the course on 7 April 2026. The ability to swim is necessary as we have so many areas of water across the county and are called out for water rescues. All our firefighters are swift-water trained. If you can’t swim there are lots of places in Cheshire where you can learn or build up your stamina.

Having a criminal record will not necessarily prevent you from working for us. If you have a conviction the Service will consider its nature, its relevance to the role of firefighter, the sentence, patterns of offending and the length of time since the offence.

No. This is a popular misconception as there used to be restrictions on height, weight and chest expansion, but this is now no longer the case.

Successful candidates will be appointed as an Apprentice Firefighter and will undertake the Level 3 Operational Firefighter Apprenticeship standard, which will typically take up to 18 months to complete.

You need at least one GCSE (or equivalent) in EITHER Maths or English at grade C/4 or above. If you don’t have both, don’t worry, you can still apply. If you are successful with your application, you will complete the one you are missing during your firefighter apprenticeship, with full support from our training provider.

Yes, anyone who considers themselves to have a disability can apply to join the fire service.

Yes. Part of the recruitment process will include a medical and this will include an eye test. Our Occupational Health Physician will determine whether your vision meets the standards to become a firefighter.

Yes. A clean UK driving license is a pre-requisite for the role of a firefighter.

You must be at least 18 years old by the start of the course on 7 April 2026.

There is no maximum age.

Unfortunately yes. The Service respects everyone’s religious beliefs but there are health and safety reasons as to why facial hair cannot be accepted.

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service has a policy on secondary employment. Employees cannot engage in this without first obtaining written approval.

Unfortunately no. Candidates will be placed at Stations where there are vacancies.

There is further information on our website showing the timetable of the recruitment process. It is important that candidates make a note of the dates of the different stages of the process as there is not scope for dates to be changed or alternative dates to be offered.

• Behavioural styles questionnaire - Untimed, to be completed by the registration closing date

• Situational judgement test - Untimed, to be completed by the registration closing date

• Verbal reasoning - Timed, 25 minutes allowed

• Mechanical reasoning - Timed, 25 minutes allowed

• Numerical reasoning - Timed, 25 minutes allowed

Ensure that you are in a quiet and calm environment to take the assessments and that you have sufficient time to complete. Please note: you only have one attempt!

Dyslexia is classed as a disability and you will be asked if you have a disability as part of the recruitment process.

Please note, any reasonable adjustments will only be put in place for the timed assessments.

Unfortunately no, all tests must be completed online.

All correspondence will be by email. It is important that you check your email including your spam/ junk folders regularly for invitations to the different parts of the process.

Emails will only be sent to the email address you registered your account with.

Once the closing date for the final online assessment has passed, you’ll receive an email from us only if you’ve been successful, inviting you to attend a practical selection test day.

Due to the high volume of interest we regret that it is not possible to inform candidates individually of the result of their application or provide feedback.

Successful candidates will be posted to fire stations that have vacancies. We have a range of duty systems:

Wholetime fire stations work 2-2-4 so 2 x 12hr day shifts 08:00-20:00 followed by 2 x 12hr night shifts 20:00-08:00, followed by 4 days off.

We have nucleus fire stations which mostly work 3 days on 07:00-19:00 then 3 days off (or a variation of that depending on the station).

We have weekday crewing fire engines which work Monday-Friday which are 09:30-18:00 Monday-Thursday and then 09:30-17:30 Fridays.

We also have day crewing fire stations where staff crew the fire engine Monday-Friday 09:00-19:00 and one weekend day a month 10:00-16:00 on a self-rostering basis. Outside of these hours they provide on-call cover.

Your starting wage will be £30,384. Once you become a competent firefighter, you’ll earn more than £38,800.