The fitness of firefighters is regularly evaluated using exercise tests. We aimed to compare, with respect to age and body composition, two test modalities for the assessment work capacity. A total of 424 Swedish firefighters with cycle ergometer (CE) and treadmill (TM) tests available from Jan 2004 to Dec 2010 were included. We compared results from CE (6 min at 200 W, 250 W or incremental ramp exercise) with TM (6 min at 8° inclination, 4·5 km h(-1) or faster, wearing 24-kg protective equipment). Oxygen requirements were estimated by prediction equations. It was more common to pass the TM test and fail the supposedly equivalent CE test (20%), than vice versa (0·5%), P