Medical, eye sight, and hearing requirements

Firefighters must pass a medical, which consists of the following elements:

  • Weight - BMI no more than 30

  • Urine analysis - tested for drugs and alcohol

  • Blood pressure - systolic < 180, diastolic <100

  • Vision - opticians results and test on the day

  • Colour vision

  • Hearing test

  • Lung function test (peak flow test)

  • Back/leg pull - minimum pull 117 kg

  • Chester Treadmill Test - levels 1 to 6 (80% max heart rate)

  • Flexibility test

Eye sight requirements

If you have any doubts regarding your eyesight we suggest that you book an appointment with your optician and take the information below to ask his/her opinion:

Colour Blindness

Candidates who believe they have colour blindness may wish to be formally assessed prior to submitting an application form. The minimum standard accepted is the Farnsworth D-15 standard test. Candidates must also pass the Ishihara test.

The vision standards for eyesight are:

Visual Acuity

  • Corrected visual acuity should be 6/9 binocularly, and a minimum of 6/12 in the worse eye

  • The minimum uncorrected vision for recruits should be 6/18 in the better eye and 6/24 in the worse eye for both full time and retained firefighters

  • The current 6/60 unaided limit should be retained for serving firefighters

  • An upper hypermetropic limit of +3.00

  • Vision must be binocular

  • Be able to read N12 at 30cm unaided with both eyes open (applicants aged 25 and over)

  • Be able to read N6 at 30cm unaided with both eyes open (applicants under 25 years of age)

Visual Fields

  • Normal binocular field of vision is required.

Eye Disease

  • Have no history of night blindness or any ocular disease that is likely to progress and result in future failure of the visual standards for firefighters

  • Individuals with keratoconus are unlikely to be fit for firefighting duties

  • Compound astigmatism assess for capability, history of headaches and eyestrain

Refractive Surgery

Successful Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK), laser assisted in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK), Laser Epithelial Keratomileusis (LASEK) and EpiLASIK treatments should be allowable if satisfy post operative visual tests

  • RK (radial Keratotomy) and astigmatic ketatotomy are NOT suitable due increased risk of rupture and fluctuation in vision

  • Intraocular Refractive Surgery - Used for high myopes therefore still risk of complications

  • Wavefront Guided Laser Refractive Surgery - since a Wavefront treatment aims to reduce aberrations, in theory it should produce better outcomes for night vision and vision in difficult low lighting levels or reduced contrast as might be encountered in a smoke-filled room; this technology could therefore have great relevance for firefighters - research is still underway to aid our understanding of this relatively new technology

Assessment after Refractive Surgery - an examination to consider the suitability of a refractive surgery patient for operational firefighting should include:

  • A slit lamp examination to confirm that the eye has returned to normal and that there is no significant loss of corneal transparency over the pupil area

  • Refraction, topographic examination and pachymetry to screen for keratectasia

Candidates should have their visual performance assessed using a technique sensitive to the presence of scattered light and aberrations. 

These are the current requirements and may be liable to change.


Hearing requirements

Candidates will be required to complete a formal hearing acuity assessment as part of the recruitment process. This test will evaluate their ability to detect sounds across a range of frequencies and volumes in order to confirm that their hearing meets the necessary operational standards.

To be considered suitable, candidates must achieve a minimum hearing level of Category H2 in both ears.

Category H2

The candidate has the necessary auditory acuity to hear sounds of less than or equal to 30 dB in each ear in the 500 to 3000 Hz frequency range.

This standard ensures that individuals possess sufficient auditory capability to safely perform duties that may rely on the ability to hear instructions, warnings, alarms, or environmental sounds, even in potentially noisy or demanding working conditions.

Failure to meet the minimum H2 hearing requirement in either ear may result in the candidate being deemed medically unfit for the role.

The use of hearing aids is not permitted at any stage during the recruitment process and the hearing standard must be achieved unaided.


Last updated: Wednesday, 3 June 2026


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