Biddle Physical Ability Test (BPAT) Performance by Attempt in Southern California Structural Firefighter Candidates

The Biddle Physical Ability Test (BPAT) is a job task simulation that must be completed in ≤9:34 min:s by structural firefighter candidates to be accepted to a fire training academy. This study investigated the influence of prior attempts on BPAT time. Retrospective analysis was conducted on 1435 male and 72 female candidates. All participants received equivalent instruction on how to complete the BPAT which incorporated: dry hose drag; charged hose drag; halyard raise; roof walk; attic crawl; roof ventilation; victim removal; ladder removal and carry; stair climb with hose bundle; crawling search; stair climb with air bottles; and hose hoist. Candidates in the dataset were split into 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and ≥6th attempt groups. A one-way ANOVA, with Bonferroni post hoc, compared groups in BPAT time (all times combined and passing times only; p≤0.05). All candidates who failed to meet time requirements, did not finish, or were disqualified, were recorded. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd attempt groups were significantly (p≤0.007) slower than the 4th, 5th, and ≥6th attempt groups when considering all and passing times. The percentage of candidates that did not pass the BPAT relative to their attempt group was: 1st = 13%; 2nd = 6%; 3rd = 7%; 4th = 2%; 5th = 0%; ≥6th = <1%. Most candidates passed the BPAT. However, BPAT practice based on previous attempts generally led to faster times and more candidates passing. It could be beneficial for candidates to attend practice courses and fitness training sessions to improve BPAT performance.