Assess Your FireTEAM Readiness in 20 Questions

You can check your FireTEAM readiness in about twenty minutes, before you pay to sit the test. The twenty questions below cover the four FireTEAM sections and the test conditions, such as mental math and video pace, and the result shows which section to work on first.

Answer the questions under test-like conditions, score yourself with the key, and read the score range that matches your total. Each range ends with a specific next step.

What FireTEAM tests

FireTEAM is an Ergometrics assessment commonly delivered through the National Testing Network (NTN). It is video-based and runs roughly two to two and a half hours (verified July 2026). Whether a given service uses it changes over time, so confirm on that department's current posting or with NTN before you book anything.

There are four sections:

• Human Relations: you watch workplace scenarios on video and choose the best response.
• Mechanical: it opens with an animated brick-making factory, then moves to everyday mechanical-reasoning questions about valves, gears, pulleys, levers, and water pressure.
• Math: presented on video, and it is mental math only. No calculator, no scratch paper.
• Reading: fill-in-the-blank verbal reasoning drawn from technical text.

At some departments, Human Relations carries substantial weight in the composite, but exact weighting and passing thresholds are set by each department and are not universal. Confirm the details that apply to you with the department or NTN.

How to use this diagnostic

Follow three rules so the result reflects test conditions. Do the math questions in your head, with no calculator and nothing written down. Read each question once and choose an answer before moving on, because the real test moves at video pace. Note whether you feel rushed, because working under time pressure is part of the test.

The 20-question readiness diagnostic

Human Relations judgment (Q1-Q4)

Choose the response closest to how you would actually act, then check it against the reasoning in the key.

1. A crewmate keeps interrupting a new recruit during a briefing. You: (a) interrupt back to make a point, (b) speak to the crewmate privately afterward and make sure the recruit gets the information, (c) ignore it, (d) report it up the chain immediately.
2. A member of the public is angry and raising their voice about a delay. You: (a) match their tone to be heard, (b) stay calm, acknowledge the frustration, and explain the next step, (c) walk away, (d) tell them the delay is not your fault.
3. You notice a colleague skipped a safety check you both know is required. You: (a) say nothing to avoid conflict, (b) quietly redo it yourself and never mention it, (c) raise it directly and factually with the colleague, (d) announce it loudly to the group.
4. Two crewmates disagree sharply in front of you during a task. You: (a) pick the side you like, (b) focus everyone back on the immediate task and address the disagreement after, (c) stay silent and let it escalate, (d) take over both roles yourself.

Mechanical reasoning (Q5-Q8)

5. A large gear drives a small gear. The small gear turns: (a) slower, (b) faster, (c) same speed, (d) it stops.
6. In a simple pulley system with one movable pulley, the force needed to lift a load is roughly: (a) double, (b) the same, (c) half, (d) zero.
7. Water flows through a pipe that narrows partway along. In the narrow section the water moves: (a) slower, (b) faster, (c) stops, (d) backward.
8. On a lever, moving the effort further from the fulcrum (longer effort arm) means the effort needed is: (a) more, (b) less, (c) unchanged, (d) impossible to lift.

Mental math, no calculator (Q9-Q12)

9. A hose delivers 90 litres per minute. How many litres in four minutes?
10. What is 15 percent of 200?
11. A truck covers 60 km in 45 minutes. What is its speed in km/h?
12. A 2000-litre tank is three-quarters full. How many litres is that?

Reading and verbal reasoning (Q13-Q16)

Choose the word that best completes each sentence.

13. Because the panel showed a fault, the technician had to ______ the system before restarting it. (a) ignore, (b) inspect, (c) purchase, (d) celebrate.
14. The report was ______: every figure was checked twice and matched the source data. (a) careless, (b) accurate, (c) missing, (d) optional.
15. Crews must ______ to the revised procedure, since the old one is no longer approved. (a) object, (b) adhere, (c) return, (d) refer.
16. The instructions were ______ enough that no one on the crew misread them. (a) vague, (b) clear, (c) hidden, (d) lengthy.

Test-format readiness (Q17-Q20)

Answer yes or no. Each "yes" is one point.

17. Can you complete two- and three-step arithmetic in your head, with no calculator or paper?
18. Have you practised watching something once and answering, with no replay?
19. Can you sit and stay focused for two to two and a half hours?
20. Have you recently timed yourself on practice questions under a clock?

Answer key and how to score yourself

Human Relations (Q1-Q4): the best responses are 1(b), 2(b), 3(c), 4(b). These favour staying calm, addressing issues directly and privately, and keeping the task on track. Give yourself one point per match.

Mechanical (Q5-Q8): 5(b) faster, 6(c) half, 7(b) faster, 8(b) less. One point each.

Math (Q9-Q12): 9 = 360 litres, 10 = 30, 11 = 80 km/h, 12 = 1500 litres. One point each, and only if you did it in your head.

Reading (Q13-Q16): 13(b) inspect, 14(b) accurate, 15(b) adhere, 16(b) clear. One point each.

Format readiness (Q17-Q20): one point per "yes."

Add it up for a score out of 20.

What your score means

These bands are a self-assessment guide you tally yourself. They are not official cut scores, and no score here predicts a hiring result. Departments set their own thresholds.

• 16-20: Test-ready range. You answered most questions correctly in all four areas. Next, check that you can keep that level for the full length of the test. Sit a full-length timed run so the pacing is familiar; you can take a complete mock on our FireTEAM practice test and check whether your weakest section drops under time pressure.
• 11-15: Close, with clear gaps. You are losing points in one or two areas, such as mental math or the format questions. Build a short weekly plan around those areas. Building a free personalized Gap List and Readiness Score during onboarding shows which section to practise first.
• 0-10: Foundation-building range. Do not book a paid date yet. Spend a few weeks practising the sections where you scored lowest, then retake this diagnostic. Plan short, regular practice sessions rather than one long session before the test.

Whatever your range, start with the section where you scored lowest.

Build a weekly prep habit

Pick two or three days a week, spend fifteen to twenty minutes on each session, and rotate through the four sections so you practise each one regularly. Always do the math without a calculator, because the test does not allow one. If you are still working out which departments are hiring and what each posting requires, our Canadian city hiring pages show which departments are taking applications and the requirements we have verified, so you can plan your timeline before you book a test date.

Retake this twenty-question check every couple of weeks and compare each score with the last one to see whether your weakest section is improving.