How to Become a Firefighter with Surrey Fire Services (2026 Requirements)

Surrey Fire Services trains its own recruits, but it requires several credentials before you apply. You need a commercial licence with air brakes, a BC medical responder licence and two years of work experience, and then the process tests you in nine timed stations, a psychometric sitting of up to four hours, and a panel that includes the union executive. This guide explains each stage using the City of Surrey's firefighter recruitment page as it read on September 23, 2026, and the Firefighter Application Manual updated in February 2026.

What are the minimum requirements to apply to Surrey Fire?

The City lists these as qualifications to complete before you submit an application:

• Legal entitlement to work in Canada, as a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
• Grade 12 or equivalent.
• Two or more years of accumulated work experience after high school.
• A valid Class 3 or Class 1 licence with an air brake endorsement, or an equivalent for vehicles with more than two axles (automatic transmission is accepted), and a safe driving record.
• A current BC EMA Licensing Board First Responder licence, or a higher EMA licence such as EMR, PCP or ACP.
• Fluency in written and spoken English.
• Physical and psychological suitability for the job, to NFPA 1582.
• The Surrey Fire Services Basic Firefighting Knowledge Course, or an equivalent.

Surrey also has a residency rule: its firefighters must live within Metro Vancouver or the Fraser Valley Regional District, bounded by Hope to the east, Squamish to the north, the US border to the south and the Metro Vancouver coastline to the west.

Two of these need particular attention. Surrey does not accept Occupational First Aid, so an OFA ticket, however advanced, does not meet the medical requirement. And the manual is strict about timing: any licence or certificate you claim must already have been issued when you apply, dates are verified, and claiming one you do not yet hold eliminates you.

Do you need NFPA 1001 for Surrey?

No. The knowledge requirement is Surrey's own Basic Firefighting Knowledge Course, an online course, and applicants who need it are given the chance to sign up during the selection process. According to the manual, candidates without NFPA 1001 Firefighter I and II take it after the early stages and before the interview, so they start recruit training already knowing the theory. IFSAC or Pro Board certification to NFPA 1001 counts as the equivalent.

Surrey therefore does not expect applicants to be certified when they apply; the knowledge course is part of selection.

What does Surrey look for beyond the minimums?

A list of preferred qualifications that add to an application but do not replace the minimums. The City names post-secondary education, work in hospitality or food service, at least a year of work in police, fire or health care, wildfire service, Coast Guard or lifeguarding, military or search and rescue experience, work with a non-profit, team sports or coaching, computer literacy, a second language, and willingness to work any shift.

Your answers to the online application questions decide whether you reach the second stage, and the City says it invites the applicants with the best qualifications forward after reviewing hundreds of applications. Answer every question completely and accurately. You cannot save a partial application and finish it later, and the system is not compatible with Safari.

What are the steps in the Surrey hiring process?

In order, the manual and the City's page describe these stages:

1. Online application through the City's careers site, with your resume and cover letter.
2. Driver's abstract, reviewed against the City's safe driving policy.
3. Physical abilities testing and skills assessment.
4. Psychometric screening.
5. Basic Firefighting Knowledge Course, for candidates without NFPA 1001 Firefighter I and II.
6. Panel interview.
7. Reference checks and a Police Information Check, including a vulnerable sector check.
8. Conditional offer, dependent on a pre-employment medical and a First Responder Suitability Assessment.

In 2026 the application window ran from July 27 to August 17 (as the City's page read when we checked it on August 18), physical testing ran from August 25 to 31, the psychometric assessment was held on the evening of September 3 at Simon Fraser University's Surrey campus, interviews were scheduled between September 21 and October 16, and recruit training was set for November 3 to December 11, subject to change. The City's page now says it is not accepting applications.

What is the Surrey physical test?

Nine stations, each with a time limit, done one after another with no rest between them. Miss a station's time and your test ends there. Before you can take part, your own doctor has to complete the City's medical clearance forms, and the City's page also asks for a PAR-Q+ form. Arriving with incomplete forms means you cannot test and are disqualified.

The stations, in order, are a confined space, an aerial climb, a sled drag (which replaced the traditional mannequin drag), a 10.67 metre ladder extension, a tower climb, a hose roll raise, a hydrant kit carry, a hose advance and a Storz roll carry.

Candidates who finish all nine go straight into a skills assessment of about an hour, run by Surrey firefighters: a short interview and fire hall drills that may include first aid, dressing a hydrant, rope tying, hose handling, ladders and communication drills. The assessment scores whether you follow direction, listen and learn, communicate, contribute to the team and show a good attitude. You are not expected to know the drills already. Bring steel-toed footwear and long pants.

What is the Surrey psychometric test?

A group sitting of roughly three to four hours of questionnaires, coordinated through BL Associates. The manual says it assesses three things: general learning ability and specific aptitudes such as mechanical reasoning, personality traits associated with success as a firefighter, and career interest patterns.

It must be done in person unless you transfer a score. A transfer is only possible if you wrote the test in the past 12 months and reached the minimum threshold, for a reduced fee, and Surrey warns that a score that passed elsewhere may not pass its own criteria. The fee is non-refundable, paid in advance, and not published on the City's page, and you need proof of payment and photo identification to test.

The aptitude side can be practised. Mechanical reasoning is the example the manual names, and our mechanical reasoning question bank works through levers, pulleys, gears, hydraulics and tools with an explanation for every answer. You cannot study for the personality questionnaires. Answer them truthfully and consistently, because the interview and the suitability assessment look at the same qualities again. Our roadmap step on psychometric and suitability screening explains what these instruments are looking for.

How does the Surrey interview work?

The last group of candidates sits a panel drawn from fire department management, City Human Resources and the IAFF Local 1271 executive. Questions are behavioural: you describe something you have done and what the result was. The manual's example asks you to describe a time you were part of a team struggling to achieve its purpose, and what you did to get it back on track.

The qualities it lists are leadership, interpersonal skills, teamwork, initiative, communication and adaptability. Prepare a true example for each.

The manual is specific about what you bring: copies only, on plain white paper, stapled rather than bound, enough for every panel member. Include your resume, EMA licence confirmation, high school and any post-secondary transcripts, your NFPA 1001 certificate if you have one, and anything else Human Resources asks for. Leave out photos, call logs, driver's abstracts, reference letters and unrelated certificates. The manual says the interview stage takes four to six weeks and asks candidates not to call Human Resources for results.

What happens after the interview?

Reference checks come first. References must be professional, not personal, and must include your current and previous manager or supervisor. The manual calls the checks exhaustive and says every reference may be contacted. You also complete a Police Information Check with a vulnerable sector check.

Passing both leads to a conditional offer, which depends on two more assessments, both done in person:

• A pre-employment medical by a third party the City selects. The City says it costs approximately $800, paid by the candidate, and that medicals completed for other fire departments are not accepted.
• A First Responder Suitability Assessment: written tests followed by an interview with a clinical psychologist, at no cost to the candidate.

Once both are cleared, the condition is lifted and you are scheduled for gear fittings, SCBA and N95 fit testing, and a start date. Surrey's own two sources give different lengths for the whole process: about 3 months on the recruitment page and up to 6 months in the manual.

What if you do not get through?

The manual says a candidate who interviews and is unsuccessful will often have to sit out a year before reapplying, though it varies. Because of that wait, make sure every requirement is complete and dated before you apply in the next window.

What should you do before the next posting?

1. Get the BC EMA licence. First Responder at minimum. OFA does not count.
2. Get the Class 3 or Class 1 with air brakes. It is required at application, not at hire.
3. Check your work history. You need two years after high school.
4. Train for continuous effort. The nine stations run with no rest, so train to keep working through several tasks in a row rather than for a single maximum lift.
5. Write your behavioural examples for the six qualities in the manual.
6. Watch the posting. The 2026 window was open for three weeks. Our Surrey department guide tracks the requirements and the next window.