Firefighters showed off a new training facility in Dublin on Wednesday, one of only two in the country, where they can take a single physical ability test to qualify for a majority of departments.
The center on Sierra Court, tucked behind office buildings and the Alameda County Auction site, houses an indoor course of eight stations. Each is meant to simulate situations firefighters encounter.
The Candidate Physical Ability Test has to be completed in less than 10 minutes and 20 seconds and requires candidates to wear a 50-pound vest, representing the protective clothing and gear all firefighters wear.
Tests are given here every two weeks. If fire candidates pass, they are given a card that proclaims when and where they took the test. Then candidates may continue on with the application process, which involves oral and written tests at the various departments, said Kevin White, CPAT director for the state.
The testing center is administered by the California Firefighter Joint Apprenticeship Committee and is meant to be a cost savings for candidates. Now, instead of paying to take a physical agility test at each department at which they chose to apply, candidates may take the $150 CPAT test and be done with it.
In a way, it's also a recruitment tool, said state fire marshal Ruben Grijalva.
"If they can take one test at one place they are much more apt to get involved (with becoming a firefighter) and get selected," he said.
The center in Dublin has been in operation for a few months, but on Wednesday administrators opened the facility to the media. Administrators and firefighters alike cheered and laughed at members of the press attempting the course.
Or, in this writer's case, watching the reporter re-enact the commercial of the white-haired woman claiming she has fallen and can't get up.
The first station is a stair climb, in which the candidate can not touch the rail. In addition to the 50-pound vest simulating a firefighter's regular gear, at this station candidates must wear an extra 25 pounds to represent extra hose and equipment, such as axes and hammers, needed to fight an interior fire.
This writer lasted about a minute. Granted, I had already failed the test, but CPAT director White suggested I try the dummy rescue -- the seventh station -- where an 165-pound fake person waited for me. The object was to drag him to safety, but he wouldn't budge.
I was told to squat down and use my legs to drag him. I took the advice, but my legs wouldn't have any of it. I let go of the dummy and attempted to stand, but fell instead.
A Contra Costa firefighter helped me get the vest off. I was done.
Failing the test doesn't mean anyone's firefighting dreams are dashed. Candidates may take the test until they pass, although that can get expensive if you're not physically fit. It's $150 the first time and $100 each time to retest.
One of the advantages of this facility is that it allows candidates to come in and practice the court for an extra $25.
Even White said practice makes perfect, and anyone taking the test should at least be familiar with the course, which also includes dragging and maneuvering a hose, carrying two heavy saws back and forth, a ladder raise and extension, simulating breaking into a door with a hammer and searching through a pitch black maze and pulling down a ceiling to check for fire.
The first CPAT center opened in Southern California 14 months ago and has tested more than 3,000 applicants.
Distributed by the Associated Press
