Charlotte Fire Department 2012

[PPH]

I'm coming from South Florida, testing at noon!

[mcorey04]

Does anyone know how long the test is? I thought it was 4 hrs. I'm coming from Cherry Point.

[brk2733]

I'm shocked how many out of staters are coming for this test lol. Add another Floridian to the list. Good luck to everyone!

[zarack808]

And one more from Ohio

I read that Charlotte's population is growing at a rate of 50,000 per year. If this thread is any indication, more than a few of them are firefighter. LOL

[zachryw2001]

Coming from middle TN.

[StrangerDanger14]

I'll be there for the 2pm exam, coming from southern Ohio! Good luck all

[8truckie3]

2:00P.M. Exam also..Coming from TN..Good Luck everyone!

[zachryw2001]

2:00P.M. Exam also..Coming from TN..Good Luck everyone!

Where at in TN?

[8truckie3]

Knoxville Area.

[Trackhoe71]

10am Test for myself, fyling out of Baltimore,MD

[whitewash64]

Anyone else having trouble with notification of test times? I have spoken with the recruitment office a couple of times (they have been super helpful) and they say they have my application and my email matches up correctly, however I am still not receiving the notices for the times on the 21st.

[somebody509]

Anyone else having trouble with notification of test times? I have spoken with the recruitment office a couple of times (they have been super helpful) and they say they have my application and my email matches up correctly, however I am still not receiving the notices for the times on the 21st.

i got my email a day after most people (2PM)...if you haven't gotten anything by now i'd call next week though...

[SmokeyMikey]

wow - looks like it will be a showing up again this year. 1700 applied last year from what I was told. I got my name in there again also.

[emck216]

I'm coming from northeast Ohio to take the exam. Looks like Ohio will be well represented for this test.

Anyway, I have a couple of questions about the later parts of the recruiting process. If a candidate is selected for an interview, how much advance notice does CFD give them (one week or several weeks)? Similarly, if a candidate is selected for hire, how far in advance of academy will they be notified? For instance, does Charlotte call you a day or two in advance (as Cleveland has been known to do)? Or do they give you the chance to at least give your current employer two weeks notice?

I know we have a long way to go before we get to that point, but since I'll be relocating from Ohio, I want to have some idea of what to expect.

[Hookhitter]

I'm coming from northeast Ohio to take the exam. Looks like Ohio will be well represented for this test.

Anyway, I have a couple of questions about the later parts of the recruiting process. If a candidate is selected for an interview, how much advance notice does CFD give them (one week or several weeks)? Similarly, if a candidate is selected for hire, how far in advance of academy will they be notified? For instance, does Charlotte call you a day or two in advance (as Cleveland has been known to do)? Or do they give you the chance to at least give your current employer two weeks notice?

I know we have a long way to go before we get to that point, but since I'll be relocating from Ohio, I want to have some idea of what to expect.

CFD usually gives a few weeks notice (2-4) for the interview. As far as the academy, it all depends. CFD was not sure if my class was going to be scheduled, so we were not notified till the last minute. I was given 3 weeks notice to move and find a place to live in Charlotte. You will have enough time to give a two week notice. Any more questions send me a PM

[zarack808]

Has the Charlotte written exam recently featured mechanical aptitude and/or memorization? I called CFD recruiting and the person I spoke to said only that the exam will test 'general knowledge' - whatever that means. She was either unable or unwilling to provide any further specifics.

Any input from CFD members or recent test takers would be great.

[jaydenloose08]

I heard from a Chapel Hill FF, that NC accepts Proboard fire certs as long as you have firefighter 2, and NREMT, and was wondering if thats true, because I have both and the situation in Florida is becoming very "iffy" with no job security at all, and I've been at my dept since 2006. I was also told by the same person that there are no hiring freezes going on now, and almost every dept is hiring as they normally do. I'm just wanting to know if thats true or not, because I have family in NC, and would like to be able to make that transfer if need be. And the more time goes by, the more it looks like i will need to. I'd prefer anyone responding to this, email me at jaydenloose08@Yahoo.com, but if not here is fine. thanks

[Hookhitter]

Has the Charlotte written exam recently featured mechanical aptitude and/or memorization? I called CFD recruiting and the person I spoke to said only that the exam will test 'general knowledge' - whatever that means. She was either unable or unwilling to provide any further specifics.

Any input from CFD members or recent test takers would be great.

The test consists of, at least when i took it 2 years ago, of memorization, mechanical aptitude, math, reading comprehension and a section where you listen to directions from an audio player and have to follow specific commands. That part is tricky, have to listen very carefully and follow the exact commands.

[Hookhitter]

I heard from a Chapel Hill FF, that NC accepts Proboard fire certs as long as you have firefighter 2, and NREMT, and was wondering if thats true, because I have both and the situation in Florida is becoming very "iffy" with no job security at all, and I've been at my dept since 2006. I was also told by the same person that there are no hiring freezes going on now, and almost every dept is hiring as they normally do. I'm just wanting to know if thats true or not, because I have family in NC, and would like to be able to make that transfer if need be. And the more time goes by, the more it looks like i will need to. I'd prefer anyone responding to this, email me at jaydenloose08@Yahoo.com, but if not here is fine. thanks

I cant speak for all of NC, but here in Charlotte certifications do not matter. You will take all 6 months of academy classes and receive the same certifications as someone with none

[maverick80]

Just to make sure I have an accurate understanding for Charlotte's hiring process...

Those of us who pass the written exam will be invited to take CPAT. Those of us who pass the CPAT will be eligible to move forward to the background investigation and panel interview. So, this begs the question: what is the criteria for being selected for processing? Are there any checks in place to guard against nepotism, cronyism, prejudice, politics, and plain arbitrary selection?

Most other cities rank candidates based on combined scores from the written exam and CPAT. However, Charlotte simply has a pass/fail criteria without any such ranking. The folks in recruiting can simply choose whoever they want, regardless of how the candidates performed on the exams. In theory, the guy with a 71% on the written exam and a time of 10 mins on the CPAT could be selected for interview over another candidate who scored a 99% and had a time of 7 mins on the CPAT.