The Seattle Fire Department strives to hire the best candidates for Firefighter positions. Our goal is to employ individuals who are well qualified and dedicated to a career in the fire service.

View the Seattle Fire Department Career Overview presentation.

Entry Level Firefighter Application

Apply Online during open application periods.

Please note that the Seattle Fire Department does not support a lateral transfer hiring program.  All candidates are required to apply via the Entry Level Firefighter process and attend our in-house Recruit School once offered employment.

Testing Process

Entry Level Firefighter testing is conducted by the City of Seattle Personnel Department, Fire Exams Unit. 

The Testing Process consists of the following elements:

Written Exam
Oral Board Interviews

Pre-Employment Process

The top candidates from the testing process are referred to the Seattle Fire Department for pre-employment processing. 

The Fire Department will always schedule more candidates through the pre-employment process than there are anticipated vacancies.  Each step in the process is competitive.

Employment Interview
Background Investigation
Psychological Exam
Physical Ability Test
Medical Exam
EMT Requirement

Offer of Employment

The Seattle Fire Department will conduct a careful review of all information collected from all of the above phases of the pre-employment process.  Job offers are extended by letter from the Fire Chief with, generally, a minimum of two (2) weeks notice in order to allow candidates to make necessary preparations.

The Seattle Fire Department seeks to employ the most competitive candidates into positions as Firefighter Recruits.

Candidates who are not selected for employment will be placed into the Seattle Fire Department's employment availability pool, and are eligible for consideration for future Firefighter Recruit Training Classes that may be hired within the eligible register year.