Hi Brian
you asked what makes some one a senior firefighter well first off i should say things appear to be very different between new zealand and america first off we have recruits= learners red helmets now they can sit at that level for as long as they wish their duties are running hose ect road patrol ect absoulty no risk work
then we have yellow helmet=firefighter which is put the wet stuff on the red stuff hazmat and 1st aid then after that we have yellow helmet red stripe=qualified fire fighter includes basic pump operation and other add ons
then there is senior firefighter=yellow helmet with 2 red stripes by the time you get to that level you will be proficent in mva, hazmat, pump operation, firefighting, height work,scene assessment,all coms,driving,and depending where you are stationed you will more than likely be officer in charge on shift
now this is where the big diffrence between you guys and us is the training the example is to be a volunteer at firefighter level is only a 7 day intensive course however we train like demons at station. to do the qualified ff is another 6 days course as with senior firefighter. driver and pump are extras on top of that as with mva and working at height extras generally 2 day x2 blocks with homework
to be a full time fire fighter at firefighter rank is a 12 week course
i would be very interested to hear how this differs from the states

Good luck on your test man!