A career with the City of Cambridge Fire Department provides you with the opportunity to work with dedicated professionals in an environment built on traditions, while meeting today's fire safety needs.

Firefighter recruitment

View our career opportunities for current openings with the Fire Department.  To receive notifications about updates to this page via email, click on the Subscribe button at the bottom of this page.

General eligibility criteria

The Fire Chief determines eligibility criteria equivalency for internal candidates. Please note that qualification requirements are subject to change and will be provided on the job posting when available. 

To apply to become a City of Cambridge Firefighter, you must:

  • Be 18 years of age or older
  • Be legally entitled to work in Canada (i.e. a Canadian citizen, a landed immigrant or have a work permit)
  • Have the prescribed visual requirements of 20/30 in each eye without corrective lenses and satisfactorily complete a colour vision test
  • Be educated to a minimum of Grade 12 level or equivalent
  • Be capable of handling intense and sustained physical effort
  • Successfully complete an aptitude test and interview
  • Hold and produce a valid Ontario driver's licence, and have a good driving record
  • Possess or obtain during the probationary period a Class "D" licence with a "Z" air brake endorsement
  • Understand and be able to communicate in English
  • Be willing to sign a waiver and/or a release form prior to participating in job-related performance tests
  • Pass a health and medical evaluation, and fitness assessment
  • Undergo timed, physically demanding job-related performance tests
  • Be certified in CPR/first aid
  • Be free of any criminal convictions for which a pardon has not been granted
  • Have a satisfactory Criminal Record Check with Vulnerable Sector Screening (successful candidates will be required to provide a satisfactory criminal record check dated within the last 30 days as a condition of employment)
  • Have certificates from the Ontario Fire Administration Inc. for Candidate Testing Services (Stages 1, 2, 3 and Swim Test) maintained current throughout the recruitment and selection process
  • Have demonstrated community service involvement
Aptitude tests

In addition to the above criteria, you may be given aptitude tests designed to measure your:

  • Ability to understand written and verbal information and instructions
  • Technical and mechanical skills
  • Reading, reasoning and mathematical skills
Performance tests

As an applicant, you will also be required to:

  • Pass a health and medical evaluation, and fitness assessment
  • Undergo timed, physically demanding job-related performance tests
Additional education

Many community colleges offer the Pre-Service Firefighter Education and Training Program in partnership with the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs (OAFC) and the Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM). Completion of this program doesn't guarantee employment, however it provides a more qualified pool of candidates for selection.

Graduates of this program receive:

  • A community college certificate upon successful completion of the program
  • Standardized training from a recognized college program within the Ontario provincial educational system
  • General education credits transferable to other programs

Upon successful completion of the program and being hired by a fire service in Ontario, graduates of this program can apply for the Ontario Fire College (OFC) Firefighter Certificate of Achievement.

All community colleges offering this program must provide a mandatory orientation and information session for prospective students, including information about:

  • Admission Requirements
  • Overview of Pre-Service Program
  • Hiring Process
  • Job Expectations
  • Performance Requirements