Starkville Fire Department is holding promotional exams for eight firefighters Thursday and Friday. Of the eight, two will be promoted.
Three current SFD captains are aiming for battalion chief and five current SFD lieutenants are aiming for captain.
The eight completed the first part of their promotional exam Thursday morning, which included a physical assessment and a written portion.
SFD Fire Chief Charles Yarbrough said the physical assessment is a 1.5-mile run.
“They had 17:42 minutes to complete the 1.5 miles,” Yarbrough said.
The time limit is based on military standards, yet the eight firefighters didn’t need that long.
Yarbrough said the fastest time of the day was 9:11 minutes, and the slowest time was 14 minutes.
“They get points based on how fast they run,” Yarbrough said.
Afterward, the firefighters took two written exams at the Starkville Sportsplex.
“Then there’s a 100-question territory test, and a 100-question test based on their rank,” Yarbrough said.
The territory test evaluates Starkville street knowledge.
“We have over 400 streets in the city, so we pick 100 streets in the city and they have to know where the street is,” Yarbrough said.
Street knowledge is important for firefighters especially.
“If you’re going to be an officer or a firefighter, then you’re expected to know all the streets in the city,” Yarbrough said. “To make sure they can get to the scene as quickly as possible.”
The second test evaluates the firefighters’ knowledge of their current and potential future ranks.
“They’re tested on stuff they already know based on their current position, and then they’re tested on stuff to help them with their next position,” Yarbrough said. “That’s the first part of the process.”
The second part of the promotional exam process will take place Friday.
“The second part of the process is the interview process,” Yarbrough said.
The interview process of the promotions will take place Friday morning at 9:30 a.m in front of a panel of ten people.
Four of the people participating in the panel are Meridian Fire Chief Mark Niemeyer, Greenville Fire Chief Ruben Brown Sr., Columbus Fire Chief Martin Andrews and Louisville Fire Chief Johnnie Roy Haynes.
SFD promotional exams occur when openings are available in the fie department.
“It’s very competitive,” Yarbrough said. “It’s really tough. I wish I could give it to everybody, but I can’t so I really got to make them work for it.”
“But they do a great job supporting each other,” Yarbrough added. “At the end, no matter who gets it, they’ll be supportive of each other.”
Yarbrough said the announcement for the promotions will be made Monday.