Guide
LONG BEACH FIRE DEPARTMENT INTERVIEW: WHAT TO EXPECT
Long Beach runs two separate oral interviews at step four of an eight-step process. The Captain's Oral Interview is one LBFD captain and one community member asking structured questions. The Chief's Oral Interview is two chiefs, ranking from Battalion Chief to Deputy Chief. You need to clear both.
WHO IS ON THE LONG BEACH CAPTAIN'S ORAL INTERVIEW PANEL?
One Long Beach Fire Department captain and one community member. They ask several structured questions designed to evaluate your experience and assess your communication skills. The community member is not decoration: half the room is a civilian, and answers heavy on fire jargon land badly.
WHO IS ON THE LONG BEACH CHIEF'S ORAL INTERVIEW PANEL?
Two Long Beach Fire Department chiefs, ranking anywhere from Battalion Chief to Deputy Chief. This is the second interview, and it comes only after you clear the Captain's interview. Its focus is different, and the chief's interview covers what changes and how to prepare for that shift.
WHAT DOES LONG BEACH WANT YOU TO KNOW BEFORE THE CHIEF'S INTERVIEW?
The department states it plainly: the better prepared applicant has a good working knowledge of the City of Long Beach, its rich diversity, the Fire Department, and the many events and attractions that make Long Beach unique. That is an unusually direct instruction and most candidates ignore it.
Build a short list around that sentence before you go in: the port, the airport, the diversity of the neighborhoods, and marine safety and lifeguard operations, which sit inside the fire department here rather than as a separate agency.
WHAT IS THE LONG BEACH WRITTEN TEST?
Long Beach uses the FireTeam examination through the National Testing Network. A minimum rating of 70 is required on the Human Relations Video component. The other portions of the FireTeam exam are pass/fail. Confirm exam vendor and scoring details on the live posting when a recruitment opens, since these can change between cycles.
WHAT ARE THE EIGHT STEPS OF LONG BEACH FIRE HIRING?
Apply, written examination, physical abilities test, oral interviews, background investigation, medical screening, selection, then the academy. The physical abilities test must be completed before interviews.
- Apply
- Written examination
- Physical abilities test
- Oral interviews: Captain's, then Chief's
- Background investigation
- Medical screening
- Selection
- Academy
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE LONG BEACH INTERVIEWS?
Final candidates get a conditional offer, then a thorough background investigation and job-related medical and psychological examinations. Long Beach specifically advises candidates to order and retain their own medical records after clearing the interview stage, which is worth doing the day you are told you passed.
PRACTICE FOR BOTH LONG BEACH INTERVIEWS
Station Visit runs you through a full mock oral board built around the same structured, behavioral questions Long Beach and departments like it ask. 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 the Long Beach Fire Department.
Related guides
HOW DO LAFD, HOUSTON, PHOENIX, LA COUNTY, OCFA, LONG BEACH, AND SACRAMENTO ORAL BOARDS COMPARE?
LAFD publishes the most detail: eight named criteria, a two to three person panel, and a minimum passing score of 70. Houston and Phoenix run comparable behavioral panels but do not publish their scoring sheets. LA County is structurally different from the rest: it does not run a scored oral board at all. Rank comes from the FCTC written test score, and an interview only happens for candidates already in the top band. OCFA, Long Beach, and Sacramento all run a two-stage panel-then-chief structure. Sacramento is the outlier worth noting: its Chief's Interview is weighted 60 percent against the oral test's 40, making it the deciding stage rather than a fit check that comes after scoring is locked in.
| LAFD | Houston | Phoenix | LA County | OCFA | Long Beach | Sacramento | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panel size | 2 to 3 | Panel plus a 1-on-1 recruiter interview | Panel, size not published | Not published | Not published | Captain's: 2. Chief's: 2. | Not published |
| Minimum passing score | 70 | Not published | Not published | 70% on FCTC written test | See note, verify on live bulletin | Not published for interviews. 70 on the written Human Relations Video. | 70% on the EMS Skills Test to reach the interviews |
| Who sits on it | Fire Department, Personnel Department, community reps | Department staff and a recruiter | Department staff | Not published | Panel interview, then a separate Chief's interview | Captain's: 1 captain + 1 community member. Chief's: 2 chiefs, BC to Deputy Chief. | Panel of department officers, then a Chief's interview |
| Published scoring criteria | 8 named criteria | Not published as a list | Not published as a list | Not published | Not published as a list | Not published as a list | Not published as a list |
| Question style | Behavior-based: what you have done, not what you would do | Behavioral plus scenario and motivation | Behavioral plus scenario and motivation | No scored interview. Rank comes from the written test score. | Panel assesses knowledge, skills and abilities. Chief's assesses organizational fit. | Structured questions on experience and communication, then a fit interview | Situational and behavioral |
| Eligibility list validity | 1 year from interview date | Certified list, duration varies by cycle | Varies by hiring cycle | 12 months | Lists do not carry over. Previous list members must reapply. | Not published | Requires active FCTC statewide list status at final filing date |
| Notable emphasis | Respect for Diversity and Service Orientation are scored criteria | 24 college credits or 2 years military required to apply | Heavy weight on community service record | Written score cannot be improved once you apply, so it is the highest-stakes number in the process | Biddle must be retaken with OCFA even with a current certificate | Chief's interview expects working knowledge of the city, its diversity, and the department | Chief's interview weighted 60%, oral test 40% |
“Not published” means the department does not release that figure publicly, not that it does not exist. Confirm details against your department's own hiring bulletin, since criteria change between cycles. Heard something different at a station visit? Add those exact questions to a custom board and practice against them.
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HOW WOULD YOUR VALUES 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
What does integrity mean to you in the fire service?
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.
- City of Sacramento Fire Department oral interviewChief's interview weighted 60 percent against the oral board's 40.
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