Using Simulations for Firefighter Exams

The typical purpose of using simulations for promotional exams is to provide an economic, efficient, and safe means to evaluate a candidate’s operational competency in the field, as opposed to live evolutions.

Tip: Conducting exercises using SimsUshare CTC (Command Training Center) automatically provides a timestamped transcript of candidate movement in virtual incidents, which can be useful for post-incident evaluation and potential candidate challenges to the exam.

Tactical scenarios have long been part of promotional processes.  Some have been as simple as whiteboard scenarios or sand tables, others have been actual scene photos, and others have been actual photos with simulated fire or smoke drawn in. Some benefits to using computer-based simulations over, or in addition to previous types of tactical scenarios during promotional exams (such as live evolutions) are:

1. Added realism by using local photos as well as smoke and fire that is dynamic to the scene
2. Consistent objectives and timing, especially important for ensuring all candidates receive the same conditions
3. Easily resettable
4. Benchmarking and evaluation for proficiency.

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