Who gets the jobs?

The 31 applicants gave their all in the entrance test

The final 3000-meter run is one of the biggest hurdles for the new candidates for the Salzburg professional fire department.(Bild: BF Salzburg)

Running, climbing, rescuing people - the Salzburg professional fire department demands this and more from new applicants. There were four times as many applicants as jobs in the entrance test. How many got through and what they had to master.

The new candidates have to be patient for another day or two. Then they will find out which of them passed the tough entrance test at the Salzburg professional fire department. It will be close. Because 31 candidates have been vying for the seven to nine positions that will soon be available - roughly the same number as in previous years.

The professional fire department is looking for new personnel.(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

Completing the exercises is very exhausting. The applicants' profession and a hearing are also decisive factors.

Neuer Branddirektor Werner Kloiber , Salzburger Berufsfeuerwehr

Bild: Werner Kloiber

A 30 meter high turntable ladder had to be climbed within two minutes.(Bild: BF Salzburg)

It has been clear since Monday: around 20 passed the sports test on Saturday. "We rank them according to points and involve the City of Salzburg's personnel department. Then we inform the candidates," explains the new fire director Werner Kloiber. The only female candidate did not pass, "but did a great job for her first time". Some of the men were standing for the second or third time.

Fire director hopes for applications from women
"I hope the female candidate will apply again and that more women will do so in future," says Kloiber. The crux of the matter is that a technical or skilled trade is a prerequisite for recruitment. A theoretical aptitude test and a hearing are also decisive. Of the more than 50 applicants this year, around 40 met the formal requirements and 31 were allowed to take the sports test.

This is a tough one. Among other things, the candidates had to swim 300 meters, dive, do push-ups and alternating jumps without a break and complete manual tasks. Their head for heights was tested on the turntable ladder. You had to climb 30 meters within two minutes.

One of the most challenging tasks was the rescue of a 75-kilo doll over 66 meters.

Ausbildungsoffizier Stefan Krakowitzer

Bild: BF Salzburg

 Training officer Stefan Krakowitzer explains: "The most difficult part is the combination of all the athletic stations in a row. The most challenging is, among other things, the rescue of a 75-kilo dummy over 66 meters and the run." This is where most candidates fail. Those who are accepted begin basic training in February. This is where the men really learn the job of a firefighter.