The F-03 Certificate of Fitness is issued by the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) and is required for any person who performs fire watch duties when a building's fire protection system — sprinklers, alarms, or standpipes — is partially or fully out of service. Our free F-03 practice test PDF lets you print and study offline at your own pace, covering every topic the FDNY written exam tests.
This printable PDF includes multiple-choice questions drawn from real exam objectives: fire watch initiation rules, FDNY notification requirements, impairment types, fire extinguisher operation, and recordkeeping. Download it once and review it anywhere — no internet required.
The FDNY F-03 written exam tests your knowledge of fire watch procedures, impairment protocols, and emergency response duties. Here is a breakdown of the core subject areas.
You must know exactly when to initiate a fire watch — FDNY rules require fire watch when a fire protection system is impaired for more than four hours in any 24-hour period. Questions cover posting requirements, how to walk the area under impairment, and the required frequency of patrols throughout the affected floors or zones.
Candidates are tested on when to call FDNY directly versus when to use the impairment notification line. Sprinkler and standpipe impairments require immediate FDNY notification; alarm system impairments have their own separate reporting rules. Knowing when to call 911 versus the impairment line is a common exam topic.
The exam covers planned versus emergency impairments for sprinkler, alarm, and standpipe systems. You must be able to identify valve types — OS&Y (outside screw and yoke), PIV (post indicator valve), PIVA (post indicator valve assembly), and gate valves — and determine whether each is in an open or closed position by visual inspection.
While the system is down, the fire guard must minimize ignition risks. Exam questions address hot work permit requirements during impairment, enforcing no-smoking and no-open-flame rules in the affected area, ensuring portable fire extinguishers remain accessible, and reducing combustible material loads.
You are expected to know extinguisher classes (A, B, C, D, K), the PASS technique (Pull, Aim, Squeeze, Sweep), inspection frequency, and proper placement when standing fire watch. Class A covers ordinary combustibles; Class B covers flammable liquids; Class C covers energized electrical equipment.
Questions cover evacuation routes, stairwell locations, assembly areas, and how to communicate with building occupants and emergency responders. The exam also tests logbook requirements — entries must include time, location, and observed conditions, and must be signed. Logs must be retained per FDNY regulations.
The PDF is great for offline review, but online practice lets you get instant feedback on every answer. Our F-03 Fire Guard practice test covers all the same exam topics in an interactive format — fire watch duties, impairment protocols, valve identification, FDNY notifications, and more. Use both formats together: download the PDF to study anywhere, then take the online test to confirm you're ready for exam day.