Fire Department Exams and Correspondence

Series

Identifier: 6001-10

Scope and Contents note

The Seattle Fire Department Exams date from 1955 to 1991 and include exam questions and answers for all positions (Firefighter, Lieutenant, Captain, Battalion Chief, Fireboat Engineer, and Fireboat Pilot), as well as promotional exams and women's pre-recruit program exams. After 1978, only firefighter exams are included. Information regarding written and physical tests as well as other means of evaluating applicants are included. Exam instructions, correspondence, and number of exams taken are included, as well as information on applicants taking exams, such as names and sometimes scores. Also included are permits for use of various spaces in which exams were given, reports and correspondence relating to protests filed in connection with examinations, job notices and requirements, and affidavits of exam proctors. Correspondence with the Civil Service Commission is also included as well as excerpts from Commission minutes.

Dates

Creation: 1955-1991

Creator

Seattle (Wash.). Personnel Dept. (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access note

Records are open to the public.

Historical Note

The Personnel Department was created in 1979. It administers the employee selection system, labor relations and negotiations, benefit programs, and the classification/compensation plan. The Department also manages employee records, implements affirmative action, and coordinates other personnel related programs. The City Charter of 1896 created the Civil Service system and established the Civil Service Commission and Civil Service Department to administer the system. The reorganization in 1979 abolished the Civil Service Department, replacing it with the Personnel Department, and established the Civil Service Commission as a separate City agency. In 1997, the Personnel Department was incorporated as a division within the Executive Services Department. In 2001, a departmental reorganization reestablished Personnel as a separate and independent department. The bulk of records in this record group are from the old Civil Service Department.