The National Fire Agency said on the 30th that it will overhaul firefighters' existing fitness test events into a "field-based circuit." The evaluation method will change to measuring the completion time as candidates perform, without rest, a total of four events across five stations in sequence—pulling, climbing, dragging, pulling again, and carrying.
For in-service personnel, the new evaluation method for the fitness test will be applied starting in 2028 after a two-year grace period. The National Fire Agency plans to expand its application to recruitment exams after pilot operations for in-service personnel.
The National Fire Agency also developed a systematic, customized fitness improvement program to reduce the burden on examinees and in-service personnel following the introduction of circuit-style fitness events. It produced videos with level-based exercise methods to build strength and cardiorespiratory endurance and posted them on its website.
National Fire Agency Commissioner Kim Seung-ryong said, "This overhaul of fitness events is an essential process to build the tough, real-world fitness required at actual disaster scenes," and added, "We will ensure that examinees who aspire to become firefighters can prepare for the fitness test fairly and transparently."