Several applicants were called to retake portions of the Fire Department's physical fitness test after complaints over inaccurate results during entrance exams.
Fire Chief Robert Rocha said the department experienced issues March 16 during the 300-meter and 1-mile running portion of the physical ability test, according to a city memo. Nine people were called back the next week over concerns that their recorded times might have been inaccurate. Seven candidates returned, retested and passed.
"We wanted to make sure no one was negatively impacted by any mistakes made," he said.
Operator error pertaining to confusion over stopwatches used played into the botched time trials for that particular group during running tests, he said. "My memo takes full responsibility for the mishap because it was a Fire Department issue," he said. "No one can get into the academy unless they can perform at a certain level."
About 300 people applied for admission into the academy this spring after city officials authorized the department to hire 30 firefighters. Of those, 275 passed the written exams, were broken into groups and moved on to physical tests the same day.
Corpus Christi Firefighter s Association officials said they received phone calls from firefighters and candidates with concerns afterward.
In previous City Council meetings, Association President Carlos Torres has recommended the department consider other physical fitness tests including the Candidate Physical Ability Test, endorsed by the International Association of Firefighters.
It is a more rigorous and costly test than the one being administered, he said.
"All we are asking as an association is that it be a fair process and any testing done in the future be a test that is focused more on the firefighting job," Torres said.
When testing applicants, fire officials work in conjunction with the city's human resources department. Human Resources Director Yasmine Chapman said she believes the retesting process was fair to those who might have received inaccurate times. "We're confident everyone had the same opportunities," she said. "We used the same criteria on all applicants."
City officials said it is not uncommon to retest applicants if there are discrepancies with a city hiring exam.
Last year, hundreds of firefighter candidates were called to retake the Austin Fire Department's written exam after an anonymous tip cited portions of the exam had been leaked before testing.
Chapman said city and fire officials have met to discuss ways to avoid future mishaps during testing.
The Fire Department's academy begins July 30.
