A recruit will be asked about his priorities in life, especially about his family, friends, and career. He may be asked to prioritize things like the importance of the suppression and prevention of fires as well as public education about fire safety. A recruit may have to explain the reason for his answers, and why he is interested in fire service.
To see if he is qualified for the firefighting life, a prospective recruit may be asked what he has already done in preparation for a career as a firefighter. He will be asked why he wants to be a firefighter in the city in which he is interviewing. A committee may want to know what appeals to him about that life and what does not appeal to him. It will also ask him about his greatest strengths and greatest weakness, and will ask him why he thinks he would make a good firefighter.
Situations will be another concern of the committee. It will perhaps ask him what he would do if given a task he felt was unsafe. They might also ask what he would do if he and another recruit are assigned tasks but he ends up doing all the work. Another scenario could have the captain giving him the most work while everyone else goes out drinking together. The committee will want to know how he will react to each of these kinds of situations.
Character traits will be important to the committee. They might ask the interviewee to define words like honesty and integrity, and also ask him why they are very important among firefighters. They may also ask him to define pride and loyalty and ask him why they are so important in the fire service.