Chestermere firefighter recruitment guide

Where Chestermere hiring stands

As of 15 October 2026 the City of Chestermere's most recent firefighter recruitment package is for 2025, with a submission deadline of 7 February 2025 at 1700 hours. The recruitment page tells candidates to keep an eye on the City website for job opportunities with Chestermere Fire Services.

Job board copies of the City's postings from 2022 to 2025 show an intake in each of those years, and three of the four opened between January and March. Check the City's job page regularly from the start of each year.

Chestermere Fire Services is a full time department. The City says it runs four seven person platoons on a rotating 24 hour schedule, one on, two off, one on, four off, averaging 42 hours a week. It works out of one station on East Chestermere Drive, with a second hall for the west side in planning, and it runs a marine unit with a rigid hulled inflatable boat and a search and rescue watercraft. Its calls include structure fires, medical emergencies, motor vehicle collisions, water and ice emergencies, hazardous materials and technical rescue. Alberta Health Services provides emergency medical services, with an ambulance based at the fire hall.

Who can apply

The 2025 package listed these minimum requirements:

• Grade 12 or a GED, supplemented by recognized technical training.
• An unrestricted Alberta Class 3 or 4 Q commercial licence, or higher, with air brake endorsement. Graduated licences were excluded.
• NFPA 1001 Level II certification.
• NFPA 1072 Hazmat Awareness and Operations.
• Graduation from an EMR or FMR program, or a higher level of medical training.
• Valid Standard First Aid CPR C or BLS, and AED certification.
• A Pleasure Craft Operator's licence.
• A five year driver's abstract with minimal infractions, obtained within the last 30 days.
• The ability to complete the fireground physical, the swimming assessment and a VO2 max test.
• Clear criminal record and vulnerable sector checks that the City deems satisfactory.

If you were still completing the commercial licence, the package accepted proof of course registration with a defined completion date, at your own expense.

It also listed preferred qualifications: NFPA 1002 for driving, pumping and aerial; PCP, ACP or ITLS; additional IFSAC or Pro Board certifications; Safety Codes training; ICS Canada courses; trade certificates; post-secondary education; and previous firefighting experience.

The boating licence and the swim match a department that answers water and ice emergencies and runs a marine unit. Get the Pleasure Craft Operator's licence early, and start swim training well before a tryout is booked.

Firefighter Resume Guide

The Chestermere process, step by step

The 2025 package set out eight steps, in this order. The package calls the process competitive.

Step 1: Application

In 2025 applications went by email to jobs@chestermere.ca with the subject line "2025 Firefighter Application", and questions went to recruitment@chestermere.ca. The package asked for photocopies of:

• A cover letter and resume with a primary email address.
• Fire certificates.
• CPR, BLS and EMS certificates.
• Your driver's licence and Pleasure Craft Operator's licence.
• A five year driver's abstract from the last 30 days.
• Proof of high school or equivalent.
• Post-secondary or trade certificates, if you have them.

The City considered only qualifications backed by a document, and only submissions received by the deadline. Because the abstract had to be under 30 days old, order it close to the deadline, once the rest of the file is ready.

Step 2: Application review

The City assessed each application against the minimum requirements. The package warned that a notice of regret may be delayed, so a quiet inbox after the deadline tells you little.

Step 3: Written exam

The exam was online, taken from home through a secure link. The City said its content would be based on the IFSTA 7th edition, Alberta MFR protocols and the City of Chestermere website. There was only one opportunity to take it.

Study all three sources, and sit the exam only when you are ready, since you get one attempt.

Step 4: Two day tryout

The next step was a two day tryout at Station 116. The package listed seven components:

• Chestermere Fire Services fireground physical
• Chestermere Fire Services swimming assessment
• Fire skills assessment
• Medical skills assessment
• Presentation and teamwork assessment
• Station assessment
• Formal interview

Failing the fireground physical or the swim ended the application. The package sets out the events of both tests in its appendices, so when a new package appears, read the appendices first.

You had to bring a medical clearance form signed by a physician, who reviews your health against standards that follow NFPA 1582. The form says you must present it on your evaluation date. You also brought one piece of government issued ID, signed a PAR-Q and a liability waiver on the day, and were asked for character references.

The tryout runs physical, skills and interview components over two days in a row. Train for back to back days, and practise speaking clearly about your experience when you are already tired.

Firefighter Physical Preparation Guide

Firefighter Interview Preparation

Northline Interview preparation options

Step 5: Reference and criminal record checks

The City contacted references about employment history, work habits and interpersonal skills. Top candidates provided a criminal record check at their own cost.

Step 6: Pre-placement medical and VO2 max

Top candidates completed a pre-placement fire medical through LifeMark Sunridge, including a physician exam, vision test, pulmonary function test, audiogram, ECG, chest X-ray and blood work. The result was a fitness for duty decision.

Candidates also had to schedule and complete a VO2 max assessment using the Gerkin protocol, at TCR Sport Lab Ltd. in Calgary, within 14 days of being contacted. Failing it removed the candidate. Fourteen days is too short to build an aerobic base, so keep training after the tryout.

Step 7: Official job offer

The offer was contingent on the medical, the physical and the assessments.

Step 8: Probation

New hires served a 12 month probation, with on duty skills and knowledge assessments. The first seven weeks were an onboarding phase guided by the Training Officer, on a four on, two off, four on, four off rotation. After that, recruits moved onto the platoon pattern of 24 on, 48 off, 24 on, 96 off, rotating through more than one platoon.

The 2025 timeline

The 2025 package gave these dates, marked subject to change:

• Applications closed 7 February 2025 at 1700 hours.
• Written exam invitations went out by 21 February 2025.
• The exam ran the week of 3 to 7 March 2025.
• The tryout was estimated for 31 March to 4 April 2025.

Under eight weeks separated the deadline from the tryout. If the next intake runs on a similar schedule, that leaves little time to start physical or swim training after you apply.

What the process costs

The 2025 package named two costs the applicant carries: the criminal record check, and the commercial licence course if you were still completing one.

What Chestermere says about the job

The City's recruitment page lists lifelong learning, teamwork, humility, integrity and respect, and says a career with the department is for people dedicated to more than responding to emergencies. It names fire prevention, inspections, community outreach and keeping fit across a whole career as part of the work. The department's core values are pride, professionalism and proficiency.

The package also gave candidates its own advice: review every document, prepare early for the physical and skills tests, learn about the City of Chestermere, follow instructions precisely, keep your contact details current, and be patient, punctual and respectful of the recruitment team's time.

The 2025 tryout included a presentation and teamwork assessment. Prepare to present, and build interview examples that show humility and teamwork, since the City lists both among its values.

Chestermere preparation priorities

• Get the Pleasure Craft Operator's licence, EMR or FMR, NFPA 1001 Level II and NFPA 1072 in place before the window opens.
• Scan every certificate now, and order the driver's abstract within 30 days of the deadline.
• Study the IFSTA 7th edition, Alberta MFR protocols and the City's website for the one attempt exam.
• Train swimming alongside your fireground fitness.
• Build an aerobic base that will carry you through a VO2 max test on 14 days' notice.
• Prepare a short presentation and interview examples about teamwork and community work.