Qualification Events

1. PHYSICAL ABILITY TEST:

All Firefighter/Paramedic applicants must successfully complete the physical ability portion of the recruitment process before an offer is made.

The physical ability test is a pass/fail test and.

The physical ability test events include those described in the Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT) test guide, plus a ladder climb as required by the State of Illinois.

2. WRITTEN EXAMINATION:

Applicants not receiving a score that is at or above the minimum passing score on the written exam shall have failed and will not proceed to the oral interviews.

Study guides for the written examination are available during the specified application period.

3. ORAL INTERVIEW:

Applicants having successfully completed the written exam shall be scheduled for an oral interview with the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners, the Fire Chief or designee, 2 other members of the Fire Department and a representative from the Human Resources Office.

4. PREFERENCE POINTS:

After the completion of the physical ability test, written exam and oral interviews, applicants will have the opportunity to claim preference points in the following categories:

Veteran preference – 5 points for applicants engaged in military service for the United States for at least 1 year of active duty and who were honorably discharged. DD214 long form required as proof.
Educational preference – 1 point for an associate’s degree in fire service or emergency medical services or 2 points for a bachelor’s degree. No candidate shall receive more than 2 points for educational preference.
Paramedic preference – 1 point for applicants who are certified as an Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic (EMT-P)
Experience preference - Applicants employed by the City of Moline, Illinois, who have been paid-on-call or part-time certified Firefighter II/Basic Operations Firefighter, State of Illinois or nationally licensed EMT-B or EMT-I, or any combination of those capacities shall be awarded 0.5 points for each year of successful service in one or more of those capacities, up to a maximum of 1 point. Applicants employed by the City of Moline, Illinois, who have been certified Firefighter III/Advanced Technician Firefighter and State of Illinois or nationally licensed paramedics shall be awarded 1 point per year up to a maximum of 2 points. Applicants from outside the City of Moline, Illinois, who were employed as full-time firefighters or firefighter/paramedics by a fire protection district or another municipality for at least 2 years shall be awarded 5 experience preference points.

Upon the furnishing of verifiable evidence and proof of qualifying preference credit, preference points will be added to each candidate’s final grade after the physical ability test, written examination and oral interview. Candidates who are eligible for preference credit shall make a claim, in writing, to the Human Resources Office within 10 days after the posting of the initial eligibility list, or the claim shall be deemed waived.

5. ELIGIBILITY REGISTERS:

The Commissioners will approve three (3) eligibility registers as outlined below:

Preliminary eligibility register. An applicant shall be placed on this list based on the successful completion of the physical ability test and the applicant’s score on the written examination.
Initial eligibility register. An applicant shall be placed on this list based on the successful completion of the physical ability test, the applicant’s score on the written examination and the applicant’s results on the oral interview.
Final eligibility register. Applicants shall be ranked on the final eligibility register in the order of their relative excellence based on the highest to the lowest total points scored on the written examination, oral interview and preference points.

At the time a vacancy occurs, a background investigation and reference check are completed. The Fire Chief recommends the highest ranked candidate from the final eligibility register, provided said candidate meets all requirements. If the Board has reason to conclude that the highest ranked person fails to meet the minimum standards for the position or if the Board believes an alternate candidate would better serve the needs of the department, then the Board has the right to pass over the highest ranked person and appoint either: (i) any person who has a ranking in the top 5% of the final eligibility register or (ii) any person who is among the top 5 highest ranked persons on the final eligibility register if the number of people who have a ranking in the top 5% of the final eligibility register is less than 5 people. The selected candidate is made a conditional offer of employment and must pass a medical evaluation with a drug screen and a bonafide, valid, job related psychological evaluation.

Additional information is available by calling the Human Resources Office at 309.524.2069. The City of Moline is an Equal Opportunity Employer.