The Jamestown Fire Department is looking for a few good men and women to join their rank-and-file.

Part of the process to earn a spot on a paid, professional, fire department is passing a Firefighter Candidate Physical Ability Test.

The department will host a free, open to the public physical ability test Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Northwest Arena, 319 W. Third St. for interested candidates who are 17 years of age and older. Those under the age of 18 must have written permission and a signed waiver of liability by a parent or guardian. To pre-register for the event call the Jamestown Fire Department headquarters at 716-483-7598. While pre-registration is encouraged, same-day registration is acceptable. Additionally, participants must wear long pants, non-slip footwear and provide a valid driver’s license or other appropriate proof of identification, the last four on their social security number and emergency contact information.

“We’re excited to offer this test,” said Shawn Shilling, a fire battalion chief with the JFD. “We already have 40 individuals signed up to take the test, and we’re planning on 50 per-day to test, or 100 total for the two days.”

Shilling also explained how the firefighting service is starting to have problems filling its manpower requirement, both on the paid and volunteer sides of the service. We use a civil service competitive exam process to determine who we offer jobs with. However, we used to offer an exam once every two years, and we had 130 candidates on that list. However, on the last test we offered we only had 70 candidates apply; I’m told on the volunteer side they’re all hurting on recruiting candidates.”

According to the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the candidate physical ability test is the standard assessment for measuring an individual’s ability to handle the physical demands of being a firefighter. The assessment is a timed test that measures how candidates handle eight separate physical tasks or functions, designed to mirror tasks that firefighters would have to do on the job.

Events include the stair climb (climbing stairs while carrying an additional 25 pound simulated hose pack); ladder raise and extension (placing a ground ladder at the fire scene and extending the ladder to the roof or a window); hose drag (stretching uncharged houseline’s, advancing lines); equipment carry (removing and carrying equipment from fire apparatus to fireground); forcible entry (penetrating a locked door, breaching a wall); search (crawling through dark unpredictable areas to search for victims); rescue drag (removing victim or partner from a fire building) and the ceiling pull (locating fire and checking for fire extension.)

Shilling said the Jamestown Fire Department will have positions to fill soon.

“We have at least two more people we need to hire under the SAFER grant (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response), and we have four current firefighters who will be retiring this year, which means we need at least six more firefighters to add back to our staff. Also, the fire chiefs for Dunkirk and Fredonia will be attending this week’s CPAT screening event,” he said.

This trend of not having enough qualified applicants within the public safety sector seems to be a continuing dilemma for command staff members in their prospective fields.

As previously reported by The Post-Journal, Chautauqua County Sheriff Jim Quattrone and Jamestown City Police Chief Tim Jackson, both reported having trouble attracting qualified applicants or potential hires to their departments.

“That’s why we opened the CPAT testing to those still in high school,” Shilling said. “We want to open and widen the pool of available potential applicants. The fire service is an attractive and rewarding job with a future.”

However daunting a task the firefighter selection process may seem, Shilling still believes that this is the best job in the world.

“This is the best job in the world,” he said. “You get to serve your community, help and save people, make a good wage with benefits and a retirement. The CPAT is just one step in joining our department.”