Current Calgary process
Calgary runs a single annual intake. The 2026 window ran from 1 June to 30 June 2026, announced through the City of Calgary newsroom, and it has closed. The City's own recruitment page currently states that application intake is closed.
The City announces each intake itself. Watch its recruitment page and plan your year around the date it gives; month to month dates published elsewhere disagree with each other.
Get your documents assembled and your interview preparation underway now, before the window opens.
The current published process contains 10 stages. Candidates move from the initial application through aptitude testing, document review, interview, polygraph, physical testing, references, selection, and the conditional job offer process.
What the process costs
Three stages carry a published fee. The City lists the aptitude test at $55 USD, the polygraph examination at $500 CAD plus GST, and CPAT at $200 CAD plus GST when it is taken at Calgary Fire Department facilities. The City publishes those three fees only.
Budget for all three at the start.
Calgary recruitment stages
Step 1: Online application
Applicants complete the City application and must meet the published minimum requirements.
Start organizing supporting documents before the intake opens. Every qualification you claim needs a document behind it later in the process.
Step 2: Aptitude test
Calgary currently uses National Testing Network as its aptitude testing vendor. The City describes the assessment as a two part online exam, and lists the cost at $55 USD.
The test National Testing Network delivers for this stage is FireTEAM, a video based exam with human relations, mechanical, reading and math sections. Build your study plan from what the City and the vendor publish for the current intake.
Firefighter Aptitude Test Preparation
Step 3: Document submission
Applicants submit supporting documentation for the qualifications listed in their application.
Build one organized evidence folder before this stage. Keep clear file names and current copies of licences, certifications, education records, and other claimed qualifications.
Step 4: Personal history statement
The Personal History Statement is reviewed by a Recruitment Officer and later confirmed through the polygraph stage.
Write it accurately and include everything now, including what you would rather explain later.
Step 5: Interview panel
Calgary currently uses an in person Behavioural Descriptive Interview. The City states that answers need to be presented in STAR format.
The aptitude test is pass or fail against a fixed standard. Everyone who reaches the panel has passed it, so the interview is where candidates are separated.
Build a story bank before this stage. You should be able to select a relevant example, explain your individual actions, and finish with a clear result. A behavioural interview rewards specific examples from your own experience, and a panel that runs these all week can tell them from a rehearsed answer.
Calgary Fire Department Interview Guide
Firefighter Interview Preparation
Northline Interview preparation options
Step 6: Polygraph
The polygraph is used to confirm information provided during the recruitment process and in the Personal History Statement. The City lists the examination at $500 CAD plus GST.
Use the official City instructions for this stage. Northline's help at this stage covers truthful, complete disclosure only.
Step 7: CPAT
Calgary uses the Candidate Physical Ability Test at this stage. The City describes CPAT as eight stations that simulate tasks performed at a fire scene.
The City provides orientation and timed trial opportunities when the test is performed through Calgary Fire Department, and lists CPAT at $200 CAD plus GST when taken at its facilities.
The CPAT in Calgary: the eight events and what fails each one
Firefighter Physical Testing in Alberta
Firefighter Physical Preparation Guide
Step 8: Reference check
Calgary currently requires a minimum of three professional references and requires the current employer to be included.
Speak with potential references before they receive a request. Make sure their contact information is current and that they understand the role you are applying for.
Step 9: Selection committee
The candidate file is reviewed as a whole. Earlier stages still matter because the selection committee receives a summary of the process.
Treat each stage you pass as one step in a longer competition.
Step 10: Conditional job offer
Candidates selected from the eligibility list complete the remaining requirements identified by Calgary, including medical and fitness assessment, updated documentation, and recruit orientation.
The treadmill assessment is part of the medical and fitness stage. Calgary currently states that candidates must reach at least 12 minutes and 30 seconds.
Calgary qualifications
The City sorts its requirements into three groups. Check each one against the current posting before the next intake opens.
To apply
- At least 18 years old
- Eligible to work in Canada
- At least three years since any criminal activity, and a pardon or record suspension for any criminal conviction
- A Canadian high school diploma or equivalent, or a journeyman certificate. Schooling outside Canada needs Foreign Credential Recognition.
- A valid Alberta Class 5 driver’s licence or the equivalent from another province or territory, past the graduated licence stage, with fewer than six demerit points
Before selection
The City calls these pre-hire qualifications. You need them before Step 9, and each must be current and valid when you are hired.
- Advanced First Aid, at least 80 hours, or equivalent
- CPR at the Health Care Provider level, or a Basic Life Support designation
- An Alberta Class 1, 2 or 3 driver’s licence, or the provincial equivalent
- An air brake (Q) endorsement, or the provincial equivalent
- The City’s immunization requirements
Desirable qualifications
The City also lists optional qualifications that strengthen an application:
- Post-secondary education or a Red Seal journeyman certificate
- Professional certifications, inside and outside the fire service
- Firefighting, emergency services or related experience, paid or volunteer
- Leadership, mentoring and community involvement
Calgary preparation priorities
If you are already in the 2026 process, focus on the next assessed stage.
For interview stage candidates:
- Review the City’s STAR guidance
- Build a diverse story bank
- Practise answers out loud
- Research Calgary Fire Department values and recruitment material
- Keep physical preparation moving while interview work increases
Preparing for Calgary Fire Department
Go to the stage you are in now
- 1
Application and documents
Assemble the evidence folder before the intake opens.
- 2
Aptitude testing
- 3
Interview
The stage that ranks you against every other candidate who already passed the rest.
- 4
Polygraph and personal history
- 5
CPAT and physical testing
- 6
Medical and fitness