How many mechanical reasoning questions are on the Firefighter written test?

There is no national firefighter written test, so there is no single publisher to ask. Cal-JAC’s FCTC test is 100 questions in 2.5 hours and its free study guide prints the split: 20 video recall, 25 mechanical reasoning, 20 maths, 35 recall from written material. I/O Solutions’ NFSI is 155 questions in 2.5 hours, 105 cognitive and 50 personality. FPSI publishes neither a count nor a clock for the NFST. Ergometrics’ FireTEAM is video-based. Which of them you sit is decided by the department you applied to, and its job announcement is the only document that says which. The 30-question run on this site is its own practice length and deals the types evenly.

Is this section timed?

Not on this page. These sets are for learning the type — each answer comes with an explanation straight away. When you want the clock, the full-length run is 30 questions in 25 minutes, which is 50 seconds a question.

Are these real questions from the test?

No. Every question here is original, written to the published format. The real item banks are confidential and nobody outside the publisher has them.

Firefighter written test mechanical reasoning questions

Gears, pulleys, ladders, hose lines and head pressure — the fireground as physics.

50 questions in this set Untimed — explanation after each answer

Firefighter written test mechanical reasoning 1 of 10

Two meshed gears drive a piece of rescue equipment. The first turns clockwise. The second turns:

What this type asks

Twenty-five of FCTC’s hundred questions are this, and its free study guide names the concepts: fluid dynamics, levers, belt and pulley systems, gears, interpreting diagrams, and rope and pulley systems. That list is not arbitrary. A firefighter raises a ladder, hauls with a block and tackle, pries with a halligan, and works a hose line whose pressure depends on how far above the pump the nozzle is. The rules are few and they are all in the free guide: meshed gears turn opposite ways and an odd number of them leaves the last turning with the first; a rope system multiplies your pull by the number of rope parts on the load; a lever’s class is decided by what sits in the middle; and every vertical foot of hose costs 0.433 psi.

Gear direction, ratios and idlersBlock and tackle advantage, and how much rope to pullThe three lever classes, from a halligan to a nozzleHead pressure: 0.433 psi a foot, 2.31 feet a psiReading a diagram, a floor plan or a map

Now do it with the clock running.

30 questions in 25 minutes — 50 seconds each. That clock is this site's rather than any publisher's, because more than one publisher sells a test under this name and they are not the same length. Working under a clock is still the part untimed practice cannot teach.

Take the full Firefighter written test test

The other question types

Maths Reading and recall Full timed test

Frequently asked

How many mechanical reasoning questions are on the Firefighter written test?: There is no national firefighter written test, so there is no single publisher to ask. Cal-JAC’s FCTC test is 100 questions in 2.5 hours and its free study guide prints the split: 20 video recall, 25 mechanical reasoning, 20 maths, 35 recall from written material. I/O Solutions’ NFSI is 155 questions in 2.5 hours, 105 cognitive and 50 personality. FPSI publishes neither a count nor a clock for the NFST. Ergometrics’ FireTEAM is video-based. Which of them you sit is decided by the department you applied to, and its job announcement is the only document that says which. The 30-question run on this site is its own practice length and deals the types evenly.
Is this section timed?: Not on this page. These sets are for learning the type — each answer comes with an explanation straight away. When you want the clock, the full-length run is 30 questions in 25 minutes, which is 50 seconds a question.
Are these real questions from the test?: No. Every question here is original, written to the published format. The real item banks are confidential and nobody outside the publisher has them.

Sources

Every figure on this page comes from one of the documents below, with the date it was read. Requirements change; if a source has moved on since that date, the source is right and this page is out of date.

Firefighter Candidate Testing Center (Cal-JAC) — FCTC Written Test, test details for candidates Read September 3, 2026
Firefighter Candidate Testing Center (Cal-JAC) — FCTC Written Test Study Guide (free candidate guide, 25 pages) Read September 3, 2026
Firefighter Candidate Testing Center (Cal-JAC) — Test Prep (what FCTC gives and sells) Read September 3, 2026
Fire and Police Selection, Inc. — National Fire Select Test (NFST) candidate orientation guide Read September 3, 2026
I/O Solutions — National Firefighter Selection Inventory (NFSI), assessment information sheet as published by a testing college Read September 3, 2026
Firefighter Candidate Testing Center (Cal-JAC) — Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT) Read September 3, 2026

Hiring Test Practice is independent practice material and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or authorized by Criteria Corp, Wonderlic, Inc., National Testing Network, the electrical training ALLIANCE, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, NECA, Biddle Consulting Group, Inc., Pearson Education, Inc. or its TalentLens business, the California Firefighter Joint Apprenticeship Committee or the Firefighter Candidate Testing Center, Fire and Police Selection, Inc., I/O Solutions, Inc., Ergometrics & Applied Personnel Research, Inc., the International Association of Fire Fighters or the International Association of Fire Chiefs. CCAT® is a registered trademark of Criteria Corp; Wonderlic® is a registered trademark of Wonderlic, Inc.; CritiCall is a trademark of Biddle Consulting Group, Inc.; Bennett Mechanical Comprehension Test is a trademark of Pearson Education, Inc.; FCTC and CPAT are used to name tests administered by others. Test names are used only to describe what this material prepares you for. Every question here is original and none is taken from any actual assessment. Cal-JAC and FCTC publish that materials supplied directly by them are the only authorized FCTC Written Test materials; this site is one of the outside sources that warning refers to, and it links their free study guide rather than reproducing it.