It started with more than 230 and is now down to a list of 150, and there’s no saying how many will end up as members of the Warwick Fire Department in the next two years – maybe 20, maybe a few more or less. That depends on how many members of the force retire and whether the department fully fills the ranks.

The list is ranked with the strongest candidate first, by applicant number, not by name.

The list was compiled on the basis of how applicants performed on written and oral tests. The written exam that was administered in December at Veterans Memorial High School accounted for 60 percent of the score, with the balance being the oral.

But even being on the top of the list isn’t a guarantee of being selected for the next academy. To reach that point, recruits must complete an agility test that requires a number of actions, including carrying a dummy within eight minutes.

An outside company was retained by the department to draft and administer the test.

“We don’t even have the test or the answer sheet,” Assistant Chief David Morse said in an interview last week. Applicants were given 2-1/2 hours to complete the test, which was given in the Vets High cafeteria as well as other rooms because of the turnout.

“It was done by an independent testing company and given at the same time,” Chief James McLaughlin said of the process. “We don’t want to be making the test or correcting it.”

He said the oral test was administered by the department hierarchy plus a “visiting chief” from outside the city. He said all 150 who ended up making the list were interviewed.

As for the agility test, McLaughlin said applicants were previously required to get certificates of physical agility prior to taking the written and oral tests. Those certificates are good for a year. McLaughlin said waiting until the city is ready to form a new academy, and testing only those selected, will reduce cost.

At this point, the chief could not say when the department plans to run another academy. It could be this year, but the number of retiring personnel and the city budget will drive that.