Guide
CHICAGO FIRE DEPARTMENT INTERVIEW: WHAT TO EXPECT
Chicago Fire places candidates on its eligibility list by a lottery, a random draw run by a validated computer system, not by written test score and not by an interview. If you pass the written test, your position on the list comes down to a number you did not earn and cannot improve.
DOES THE CHICAGO FIRE DEPARTMENT INTERVIEW DECIDE WHETHER YOU GET HIRED?
The City has not published that an oral interview exists as a scored stage at all. What is published is the lottery: all applicants who submit a complete application and meet minimum qualifications enter a randomized selection process, and the eligibility list is sorted in lottery order, not score order.
WHAT IS THE CHICAGO FIRE DEPARTMENT LOTTERY?
A randomized selection process run by a validated computer system. Applications are randomly assigned lottery numbers, which place candidates on the eligibility list in numerical order. Chicago's own materials call this stage the lottery, plainly, not a euphemism this guide is choosing for you.
DO YOU STILL NEED TO PASS A TEST FOR CHICAGO FIRE?
Yes. Candidates must pass a written test held by the City before hire. But passing does not set your rank the way it does at most departments. All applicants who pass the exam are placed on the eligibility list sorted in lottery order, not by how well they scored on the test.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE LOTTERY AND WRITTEN TEST?
Successful candidates get a conditional offer and must pass a comprehensive medical exam before appointment to the Fire Training Academy as a Probationary Firefighter/EMT. CPAT and additional medical screening happen during processing. The Fire Training Academy runs approximately six months.
IS THERE AN ORAL INTERVIEW FOR CHICAGO FIRE?
Not published. Whether an oral interview exists as a scored stage, panel composition, and scoring criteria are not stated in the City's published materials. This guide is not going to describe a panel and a set of criteria that Chicago itself has not put in writing.
HOW DOES CHICAGO COMPARE TO LA COUNTY FIRE AND FDNY?
Chicago is the clearest case of the three. At LA County Fire and FDNY, your rank still comes from a score you can study for and improve. At Chicago, once you pass the written test, your position comes from a random draw. Preparation still matters for clearing the written test and whatever unpublished steps follow it, but no amount of practice moves you up a lottery.
HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR CHICAGO FIRE?
Pass the written test, since that is the one gate you can directly control and the one the department has actually published. Beyond that, prepare generally: build a basic story inventory covering teamwork, pressure, and motivation, and practice speaking clearly, in case any later stage does involve a conversation with department staff. Do not build your prep timeline around a scored oral board that Chicago has not confirmed exists.
PRACTICE FOR WHATEVER COMES AFTER THE LOTTERY
Station Visit runs you through a full mock oral board so you are ready to speak clearly and confidently if a later stage at Chicago Fire calls for it. Every answer is scored, with specific coaching on what a panel is listening for. Your first interview is free.
Disclaimer
Station Visit is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Chicago Fire Department or the City of Chicago.
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HOW WOULD YOUR CLOSING ANSWER SCORE?
Reading about this helps. Finding out whether your own answer actually lands is the part that changes your score. Type a real answer below and the same grader used in the full mock board will score it. No account needed.
Want to see a full interview scored first? View a sample scorecard.
The question
Is there anything else you would like the panel to know?
Your answer
One free grade. No account required.
PREPARING FOR A SPECIFIC DEPARTMENT?
Panel format, scoring criteria, and passing scores vary by department. These guides cover what each one actually does:
- Los Angeles Fire Department oral interviewEight scored criteria, behavior-based, 70 to stay on the list.
- Houston Fire Department oral interviewCivil service process with a recruiter interview stage.
- Phoenix Fire Department oral interviewValues-heavy panel with a strong community service emphasis.
- LAFD vs LA County Fire oral interviewSame city, opposite hiring logic: interview score vs written test score.
- Orange County Fire Authority oral interviewTwo interviews: a scored panel, then a Chief's interview for fit.
- Long Beach Fire Department oral interviewCaptain's interview with a community member, then a Chief's interview.
- City of Sacramento Fire Department oral interviewChief's interview weighted 60 percent against the oral board's 40.
- San Diego Fire-Rescue oral interviewRuns its own Civil Service Exam, not FCTC. Applications open every 1 to 2 years.
- San Francisco Fire Department oral interviewTwo interviews, and the oral board explicitly scores your knowledge of the city.
- San Jose Fire Department oral interview5 to 8 panel questions, not necessarily fire-related, then a Chief's interview.
- Austin Fire Department oral interviewNo live panel. Your answers are video recorded and rated by assessors later.
- San Antonio Fire Department oral interviewA 230-question written exam gates everything before the interview.
- Dallas Fire-Rescue oral interviewDoes not publish its interview structure. Hard eligibility gates before you apply.
- FDNY oral interviewList-number driven. Your written exam score ranks you, not the interview.
Testing somewhere else? Add that department's exact questions to a custom practice board and get scored on them before the panel asks.
About the author
LUKE — FIREFIGHTER-PARAMEDIC
Luke is a working firefighter-paramedic with several years on the job, including time on the other side of the hiring table. He has sat on multiple oral boards and run mock interviews with candidates who went on to get hired, and watched strong candidates lose spots to people who simply interviewed better. The scoring rubric behind Station Visit was built with input from captains and battalion chiefs with 20 to 30-plus years in the fire service. He built Station Visit after running out of ways to tell friends the same thing: your answers are too generic, and you will not find that out until the panel has already scored you.
Last name and department withheld. Station Visit is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or speaking for any fire department, and keeping the department out of it keeps it that way. More about Station Visit