How the Working with Numbers test works
The NFA tests are the written part of National Firefighter Selection, used by fire and rescue services such as North Wales and North Yorkshire. Working with Numbers is one of three papers, sat on paper with an administrator, with your answers marked on a sheet that is scanned.
The 32 questions come in six scenarios set around fire service work, such as pressure gauges at a factory fire, fuel supplies, breathing apparatus and managing hoses. Each scenario gives information as a table, chart, gauge or short description, followed by five or six questions with four answer options. Some options read “Cannot say”.
You get rough paper but no calculator. Each correct answer earns a mark and nothing is taken off for a wrong one.
How to work through a scenario
Take each scenario in the same order:
- Read the question before the data, so you know which figure you are hunting for.
- Check the units and labels on the table or gauge. Minutes and hours, or litres and cubic metres, are an easy mix-up.
- Estimate first. A rough answer often rules out two options before you work anything out exactly.
- Write your working on the rough paper in short, clear steps so you can check it quickly.
- Choose “Cannot say” only when the scenario truly lacks the figure you need, not when the sum is hard.
- If one question stalls you, guess, mark it and move on. A blank cannot score.
Worked example
A breathing apparatus board shows that a firefighter went in at 14.35 with enough air for 45 minutes. The time now is 14.58. At what time will the air run out? The options are 15.10, 15.20, 15.30 and Cannot say.
14.35 plus 45 minutes is 15.20. As a check, from 14.58 to 15.20 is 22 minutes, and 23 minutes used plus 22 left makes 45. The answer is 15.20.
Tips for the real Working with Numbers test
- Practise times across the hour without a clock face: 9.48 plus 25 minutes is 10.13.
- Round up when the question is about what you need. If one bucket covers 15m² and the floor is 40m², you need 3 buckets, not 2.7.
- Revise your times tables and long division by hand. On the day it is pen, paper and your head.
- Answer only from the information given. You do not need any firefighting knowledge.
- Do the free practice booklet many services link to. Its questions are in the same style as the real paper.
- Arrive at least 15 minutes early. The booklet warns that late arrivals can be turned away.
Practise Working with Numbers on CogniPrep
Our Working with Numbers test has 32 questions in six fire service scenarios, with a 45-minute clock on screen and four options per question. You can move back and forth between questions, nothing is taken off for wrong answers, and there is no calculator. You get your number correct and a T-score from the official 2005 norm table, with a band, but no pass or fail, because services set their own standards.