‘Oihana Kinai Ahi translates to the “development of skills necessary to becoming a firefighter”. The name captures my dedication and passion in growing our local community within the department. I believe that the community is best served by the people who were raised within it. If accepted, ‘Oihana Kinai Ahi will give you the tools to become the best firefighter recruit candidate you can be.
Class Details
The ‘Oihana Kinai Ahi class will consist of 40-60 hours of classroom instruction over the course of several months. In general, classes are once a week and will become twice a week as it gets closer to the written exam dates for Maui Fire Department (MFD), Airport Rescue Fire Fighting (ARFF) and Federal Fire. The class will prepare you for all three parts of the application process: written exam, physical agility test (PAT) and interview.
Written Exam Preparation
Many firefighter aptitude tests evaluate candidates on a range of skills used in their daily work. This has been consistently evaluated by the following areas of a written exam.
- Reading comprehension
- Math
- Map / spatial awareness
- Mechanical aptitude
- Overall test taking skills and strategies
Instruction will be given in a private classroom by local firefighters on how to best perform on the written exam. This will be based on proven firefighter aptitude preparation text books and personal experiences. Students of ‘Oihana Kinai Ahi will be required to purchase the selected text books prior to class and will be given assignments based on them. They will also be given practice exams to be completed in class and at home. See an example of a practice exam below.
Physical Agility Test Preparation
Students of ‘Oihana Kinai Ahi will be preparing both mentally and physically for the physical agility test (PAT) throughout the class. Students will practice skills featured in the PAT events such as conditioning, swimming, strength, speed, breathing, and more. Practice sessions will be held periodically throughout the course with a final mock obstacle course before the scheduled PAT.
Interview Preparation
The importance of the interview can not be stressed enough. This is the final and most important step in the hiring process for fire departments. In order to best prepare for this, students will practice public speaking and delivering presentations in class. Mock interviews will also be conducted for each candidate that makes it to the interview round.
'Oihana Kinai Ahi 