Guide
THE FIRE CHIEF'S INTERVIEW: WHAT IT ACTUALLY IS
Several departments run a second interview after the scored panel, this one with a chief. It is not a repeat of the board. The panel decided whether you can do the job. The chief is deciding whether you belong in this department. Candidates who prepare hard for the panel routinely walk into this one cold.
WHAT IS A FIRE CHIEF'S INTERVIEW?
A second-stage interview conducted by one or more chief officers after you have already cleared the scored panel. OCFA describes its purpose as determining organizational fit. It is usually shorter, less rubric-driven, and more conversational than the panel board, which makes it harder to prepare for, not easier.
WHICH DEPARTMENTS RUN ONE?
Among departments covered on this site, OCFA runs a Chief's interview after its panel interview. Long Beach runs a Chief's Oral Interview with two chiefs ranking from Battalion Chief to Deputy Chief. Sacramento runs a Chief's interview after its oral board, and weights it 60 percent against the oral test's 40 percent. That is the hardest evidence on this page that the chief's stage is not a formality: at Sacramento, it decides more of your outcome than the scored board does. LAFD does not run a separate chief's stage.
HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM THE ORAL BOARD?
The board scores your answers against criteria. The chief is forming a judgment about you. Board answers reward structure and specific evidence. Chief's interview answers reward knowing this department, being straight with people, and not sounding like you are still performing. The worst thing you can do is run your rehearsed board answers again.
WHAT DO CHIEFS ACTUALLY ASK ABOUT?
Why this department specifically. What you know about it. How you handle being the newest person in a station. What you would do if you disagreed with someone senior. Long Beach states outright that the better prepared applicant has a working knowledge of the city, its diversity, the department, and what makes the place unique.
HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR A CHIEF'S INTERVIEW?
Research the department properly, not the job. Station count, call volume, recent news, what the community looks like, what the department has been dealing with. Do a station visit and be able to reference a real conversation. Then practice saying why this department in a way that would not apply to any other.
WHAT IS THE MOST COMMON MISTAKE CANDIDATES MAKE?
Treating it as a second oral board. Candidates re-deliver polished STAR answers to a chief who is trying to have a conversation, and it reads as canned. The panel wanted evidence. The chief wants to meet the person who is going to be living in their station for 24 hours at a time.
SCORED PANEL BOARD VS CHIEF'S INTERVIEW
| Scored panel board | Chief's interview | |
|---|---|---|
| Who runs it | Captains, BCs, HR, sometimes community | One or more chief officers |
| What it decides | Your score and rank | Organizational fit |
| Scored against a rubric | Yes | Usually not |
| Best answers | Specific evidence, tight structure | Knowledge of this department, straight talk |
| Common failure | Generic answers | Repeating your board answers |
| Preparation | Story inventory, out-loud reps | Department research, station visit |
PRACTICE THE BOARD FIRST
Station Visit runs you through a full mock oral board so the scored stage is second nature by the time you get to a chief's interview. Every answer is scored, with specific coaching on what the panel is listening for. Your first interview is free.
Disclaimer
Station Visit is not affiliated with or endorsed by any fire department or hiring agency.
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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