l Applicants must have a BSC, GED or equivalent and must pass the Fire Service's entrance exam, including a mathematics test.

• You must be 18, no shorter than 5ft 5in, have 20/30 vision and have a manual car driver's licence. Colour blindness is a bar to entry.

• You have to pass a physical fitness test comprising a 3,200-metre run, a 100-metre sprint, sit-ups and push-ups.

• You will also need to complete an ability test, which includes lifting and walking 30ft with an 145 lb dummy, lifting and walking 30ft with two five gallon canisters, climbing an aerial ladder more than 15 metres high at an angle of 60 degrees and pulling a 60 lb weight hand over hand to a height of 3.3 metres and returning it to the ground under control three times in a minute.

• Applicants undergo 22 weeks of training, covering all aspects of structural or aircraft fire rescue. You will have to qualify as an intermediate-level emergency medical technician as part of your training.

* For more information on applying visit Fire Service Headquarters at 49 King Street, Hamilton.