Los Angeles FD 2013

[Thricenotrice]

Don't believe me? LAFD sent out e-mails to come to their written test workshops prior to going to the exam. This is the first department I've ever seen do that. They claim it's so they can hire a "diverse" group. They also required everyone to fill out a Preliminary Background Check (PBA) to weed put some applicants.

Countless large departments do this.... Example, Houston has just emailed me with the same sort of Info.
Welcome to the system.

Pass fail does not mean that every one who passes will move on to the next step. If you pass the test, it does not mean you will move to the next step. You can pass, but not pass high enough to move forward.

 

[Thricenotrice]

..17,000 and about how many open positions?

Regardless...the applicant to position ratio for fire department positions is just absurd.

That ratio is pretty good for the area. That's roughly 50 applicants per position. This is SoCal, that is normal (borderline good). Time to face reality......

 

[dhump4free]

..17,000 and about how many open positions?

Regardless...the applicant to position ratio for fire department positions is just absurd.

I've never been told an exact number by LA City guys but the interwebs and current LA FF's are all around the 400 mark.

 

[mike1390]

Sorry guys I have a hard time believing they're taking everyone who passes the test for an interview. I heard the number of applicants was somewhere around 17,000 and if they interviewed everyone who got an 80% or above we would go through the academy in 2014.

well considering thats when they are planning on having the academy....<_<

LAFD has tested the same way for years there is a min score and if you get that you are guaranteed an interview. Thats why the interview in weighted 100% because thats all it really comes down to. You have to realize if you aren't scoring between 95%-105% (veterans points) on the interview you will never get a job there.

The weeding out process started with the PBA questions, so drug users and criminals were out. Next will come the written, cant get a 70%? see yeah! of those who do get a passing score they will have to pass the CPAT (which is a joke and am surprised when I hear people say they actually train for it). So before you even get to the interview you have weeded out the people who are not intelligent enough and who are not physically fit to do the job.
I tested with LAFD in there last written never got my results due to the hiring freeze. But I remember sitting in the room at the training center and thinking you could eliminate half of these people if you made everyone do 20 push ups just to take the written.

 

[Rykielz]

well considering thats when they are planning on having the academy....<_<

LAFD has tested the same way for years there is a min score and if you get that you are guaranteed an interview. Thats why the interview in weighted 100% because thats all it really comes down to. You have to realize if you aren't scoring between 95%-105% (veterans points) on the interview you will never get a job there.

The weeding out process started with the PBA questions, so drug users and criminals were out. Next will come the written, cant get a 70%? see yeah! of those who do get a passing score they will have to pass the CPAT (which is a joke and am surprised when I hear people say they actually train for it). So before you even get to the interview you have weeded out the people who are not intelligent enough and who are not physically fit to do the job.
I tested with LAFD in there last written never got my results due to the hiring freeze. But I remember sitting in the room at the training center and thinking you could eliminate half of these people if you made everyone do 20 push ups just to take the written.

And their interview is no walk in the park. Definitely one of the harder interviews I've taken, right behind OCFA (where you are forced to give a 5 minute presentation on a random topic with 30 min to prepare).

Side note: The news was doing a broadcast on the CPAT a few months back and how several people had been training so they could pass it for "years". I remember thinking I don't want those people being responsible for my life or putting out a fire if they can't even pass a joke of a physical ability test like the CPAT. Go pass the biddle with a good time and then we'll talk.

 

[jgmedic]

in the orientation, they said 140 off the bat and then 100 per year for the next 4 years. Rumor has they're taking 800 to interviews. Again, it's LA City, so I wouldn't believe anything until it happens.

 

[Chris07]

Again, it's LA City, so I wouldn't believe anything until it happens.

That, my friends, is the key phrase.

 

[Thricenotrice]

Have an interview on Wednesday, anybody else have theirs recently or coming up soon?

 

[Jim37F]

Some numbers straight from the joinlafd.org recruitment website:

"The LAFD Firefighter exam is extremely competitive! Over 13,000 applicants were scheduled for the written test and over 9,500 candidates took it! Then, about 6,500 passed, and all who passed were instructed to submit proof of a valid CPAT on April 22, beginning at 8:00 am.

Because this exam is so competitive and there are so many candidates, the majority of CPAT proofs were received within the first hour! In order to be as fair and objective as possible, we process the CPAT proofs in order, based on the time that they were received in Personnel (not the time they were sent).

As a result, between candidates lined up around the Personnel Building, emails, and faxes, by 8:01 a.m. we had more than enough candidates to process for the first round of interviews!"

 

[Jim37F]

I didn't get my CPAT in until ~12:30ish (d'oh, teach me to sleep in after getting off the ambulance at 2:00am!), so I'm still waiting for my interview, fingers crossed it'll get scheduled by Sept.

No clue how many of the 6500 have actually passed and submitted their CPATs. Although a lot of people here call it a joke, like someone else said making everyone do 20 push-ups to take the written test would have cut a lot of people. I just don't think a lot of the joe schmoes off the street who never work out who thought the FD would be a cool gig and signed up for the test will pass the CPAT.

But assuming all 6500 have already submitted a CPAT, the department has already said they'll interview them all, even if it takes a year or two to do so. But it's the interview and the background investigations where the numbers will really start to be slashed. A 95% on the interview is the minimum needed to advance (which reminds me, I need to get my DD214 into personnel for those 5 extra points!)