Albany City previews firefighter CPAT, clarifies equipment, timing and retest rules

Marissa Tazinski, deputy director of human resources for Albany City, and Chief Joseph Gregory and Victor Graves of the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control on Tuesday walked candidates through a preview of the IAFF/IAFC Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT), describing the eight events, timing requirements and pass–fail rules.

The presenters said the CPAT consists of eight continuous events — stair climb, hose drag, equipment carry, ladder raise and extension, forcible entry, search, rescue, and ceiling breach and pull — that must be completed within 10 minutes and 20 seconds. "You must successfully complete all 8 events in 10 minutes and 20 seconds or less," the video narration stated. Victor Graves noted the timed portion begins with the three-minute stair segment (the 20-second warm-up is not included in the timed interval). "The 3 minutes...is the beginning of the 10 minutes and 20 seconds," Graves said.

Officials described proctoring and safety procedures: candidates will be accompanied by a proctor, backup stopwatches will be used to guard against mechanical error, and two warnings are permitted for minor infractions before a third results in failure. Presenters repeated that medical issues should be reported immediately to a proctor; safety concerns may forfeit a candidate’s opportunity that day but additional testing opportunities will be available.

Organizers provided station-specific guidance: the hose drag allows running and requires dragging 75 feet and pulling an indicated length within the marked finish; the equipment carry requires carrying two saws without dropping them; ladder events require hand-over-hand control and touching each rung; the forcible-entry station is assessed by force applied to trigger a buzzer; the search occurs in a zero-visibility tunnel where leaving early constitutes failure; the rescue requires dragging a 165-pound mannequin completely past the finish line; and the ceiling breach requires four sets of three pushes and five pulls with limited permitted drops.

Presenters also addressed conflicting information in slides and video about weight loads. Early in the presentation video the guidance referenced an additional 25-pound load and a 12.5-pound stair addition; Graves later clarified the operating standard for the session: candidates will wear a 50-pound load throughout the CPAT and an additional 25 pounds for the stair climb (75 pounds while on the stair event). "So you will be wearing 50 pounds throughout the entire test. There'll be another 25 pounds that will be added for the stair climb," Graves said.

On equipment and attire, organizers said the agency will provide the weight vest, gloves and hard hat; personal gloves are not permitted. Candidates were advised to wear closed-toe footwear, remove loose jewelry, and follow proctor instructions. Warm-up allowances exist, but dismounting or losing control of equipment during the timed test results in immediate failure.

During a Q&A, candidates asked about practicing the course before test day; Tazinski said there is no official practice facility and that candidates will get a walkthrough on test day. Candidates also asked about retesting after failing a station; Tazinski said candidates must retest on another day. The city will post a suggested workout and a list of medical/EMT providers on the "Join AFD" page of albanyny.gov and invited candidates to email civilservice@albanyny.gov for follow-up questions.

Tazinski said the CPAT session is expected to be scheduled in the April–May timeframe, with at least eight weeks' notice to candidates; exact dates and the number of invitees are to be determined and will be communicated by email according to test-score bands. The preview concluded with organizers promising posted materials and further email notifications as scheduling is finalized.