Lethbridge firefighter recruitment guide

Where Lethbridge hiring stands

Lethbridge Fire and Emergency Services (LFES) is an integrated fire and EMS service. Its staff are firefighters, advanced care paramedics and primary care paramedics, it runs five fire stations and its own dispatch, and a fire engine may also respond to a medical call.

New hires start as paramedics. The City's recruitment page says paramedic employees begin their career in the dedicated EMS division, and that entry into the Integrated Fire-EMS Division is based on available vacancies. The Lethbridge Herald reported on 4 December 2025 that the EMS division came from the collective agreement council ratified that month. Paramedics can stay in EMS for a whole career, or move across to firefighting through the LFES Fire Academy when a vacancy opens.

When this guide was checked on 15 October 2026, the most recent LFES posting Northline found was a Primary Care Paramedic posting for up to five positions, dated 29 July 2026 and mirrored on the Alberta Fire Chiefs Association job board, which closed on 19 August 2026. The City's own listing has since come offline. The City's application FAQs, which cover every City job, say it accepts applications only while a posting is open.

In May 2026 council voted to let the City's EMS contract with the province end on its 30 September 2026 end date. The Lethbridge Herald reported on 30 July 2026 that a six month transition keeps the integrated service in place until 31 March 2027. The recruitment page is silent on the EMS division after that date, so read the next posting closely when it opens.

Who can apply

The City's recruitment page and its application cover sheet ask for:

• Registration with the Alberta College of Paramedics as an Advanced Care Paramedic (ACP) or a Primary Care Paramedic (PCP). The City prefers ACP.
• At least an Alberta Class 4 driver's licence by your start date.
• A Class 3 licence with a Q air brake endorsement before you start the Fire Academy, obtained at your own cost.
• A driver's abstract dated within 3 months of the posting's closing date.
• A Police Information Check with a vulnerable sector search, dated within 3 months of the closing date.
• Proof that you passed the Lifemark F.A.R.E. within 6 months of the closing date.

NFPA 1001 is optional. The cover sheet asks whether you are NFPA 1001 certified with IFSAC or ProBoard and, if you are, to attach the certificate.

The July 2026 posting was for Primary Care Paramedics only, while the recruitment page accepts both levels. Read each posting for the level it is hiring.

The City also offers ride-alongs to anyone registered with the College as an EMR, PCP or ACP who has a criminal record check. A ride-along shows you the EMS division you would join first.

Firefighter Resume Guide

The F.A.R.E. physical test

The cover sheet asks, "Have you passed the Lifemark Functional Abilities Recruitment Evaluation (F.A.R.E)?" Lifemark runs the F.A.R.E. for Alberta Health Services paramedic and EMS applicants. Its page describes:

• A musculoskeletal screen.
• A lifting test: a crate lift, a crate front carry and a side carry.
• A 2 minute kneeling and forward trunk flexion hold.
• One timed circuit, completed within 15 minutes.

Lifemark lists the cost as $150 and says a certificate is valid for six months. It lists Lethbridge among its testing locations, with Edmonton, Calgary and Grande Prairie. LFES wants the pass dated within six months of the posting close, so time your test for the window you plan to apply in.

Earlier Lethbridge material described a different test. A January 2025 City news release called the seven station Firefighter Applicant Physical Test, taken at Red Deer Polytechnic or the University of Alberta, a requirement for joining LFES. That was the earlier Paramedic Firefighter entry. The current recruitment page and cover sheet name the F.A.R.E. Whether a firefighter physical test comes later, before the Fire Academy, is left open.

The Lethbridge process, step by step

The City's recruitment page lists the process in this order. Within the shortlist testing in step 4 it names four tests together, in an unstated order.

Step 1: Apply online with one PDF

You apply through the City's careers site with every document in a single PDF, following the Paramedic Application Checklist. The cover sheet is mandatory and goes first, followed by your cover letter, resume, proof of College registration, driver's abstract, Police Information Check and F.A.R.E. results.

The cover sheet asks for your College registration number, whether you work for an ALS service and for how long, whether you passed the F.A.R.E., whether you are NFPA 1001 certified, and whether you are in an ACP program. If you are, it asks how many practicums remain, which service you are doing them with, who your preceptor is and when you expect to write the ACP exam. If a document is still outstanding at the deadline, the cover sheet tells you to apply with what you have and email the fire department at firedepartment@lethbridge.ca listing what is missing.

Order the abstract and the Police Information Check close to the posting so both fall inside the 3 month window.

Step 2: Screening

Once the posting closes, the City reviews complete applications against the listed qualifications. An incomplete package is where a candidate can fall out before any testing, so check the PDF against the checklist before you upload it.

Step 3: Physical testing, by invitation

The page says selected candidates will be invited for physical testing, and leaves the test and the location unnamed. Keep your conditioning up between your F.A.R.E. and the invitation.

Firefighter Physical Preparation Guide

Step 4: Shortlist testing

The City lists four tests at this stage:

• A behavioural descriptive job interview.
• A medical written exam and scenario testing.
• Written psychological evaluation exams.
• A Written Firefighter Aptitude exam.

For the interview, prepare true stories from your paramedic work and from outside it, each told as one specific situation with what you did and how it ended. The City's application FAQs, which cover every City job, say a member of its People & Culture team contacts the candidates selected for an interview.

Firefighter Interview Preparation

The City describes the medical stage only by its name, medical written exam and scenario testing. Prepare written questions and scenarios at the level you are registered at.

Medical stage preparation

The aptitude exam is likewise described by its name alone, so practise general firefighter aptitude material under time and read the next posting for any detail it adds.

Lethbridge Aptitude Test Preparation

Step 5: Psychological interview and medical assessment

Candidates selected for the final stage have a psychological interview assessment. Successful candidates must also pass a comprehensive medical assessment.

Step 6: Two weeks of new recruit training

The City says successful applicants complete 2 weeks of intensive training covering:

• Zoll AutoPulse NXT
• Zoll X-Series Advanced Defibrillator
• Airtraq Video Laryngoscope
• High-performance CPR
• Handtevy Pediatric Emergency System
• International Academy for Professional Driving (IAPD)
• The Working Mind

Step 7: The Fire Academy, when a vacancy opens

The LFES Fire Academy is the route into the Integrated Fire-EMS Division, and entry is based on available vacancies. You need your Class 3 with Q before the academy starts. City news from July 2024, under the earlier entry model, described the academy as an intensive 12 week program. Its length under the current model is unpublished.

What the process costs

Lifemark lists the F.A.R.E. at $150, the one test fee in the published material. The Class 3 licence with Q endorsement is at your own cost.

What Lethbridge says about the service

LFES says it is dedicated to protecting and preserving the community with integrity, courage and compassion. Its team is committed to excellence in dispatch, emergency medical services, specialized rescue operations, fire suppression and fire prevention. It runs Hazmat, High Angle Rescue, Tactical EMS and Water Rescue teams.

Hold a true story for each of integrity, courage and compassion before the behavioural interview. Your first years will be in the EMS division, so draw some of them from patient care.

Lethbridge preparation priorities

• Have your College registration in place, or know your ACP practicum and writing dates if you are still in a program.
• Book the F.A.R.E. so the pass sits inside six months of the closing date.
• Order your driver's abstract and Police Information Check to land inside 3 months of the closing date.
• Build the single PDF in checklist order, with the cover sheet first.
• Prepare behavioural stories and medical scenarios at your registered level, and practise broadly for the aptitude exam.
• Plan and budget for a Class 3 with Q before the Fire Academy.