The Complete Guide on Taking a Firefighter Academy

Firefighter Academy

A firefighter academy is a common first step for many aspiring firefighters. It was the first thing I did after I was out of high school. Actually, I did it a year after I was out of high school because of the wait list. Most fire academies can be pretty intimidating and also requires you give up a lot of your time and money to go through it. Though you may fear the unknowns about going through a firefighter academy, let me reassure you there’s nothing to worry about, kind of.

What I’m going to do is give you a run down of how I prepared for my firefighter academy and how you can prepare for your future firefighter academy, I also talk a little about what you can do after the fire academy to try to find a job as quick as possible. Hopefully I can answer any questions you might have before a firefighter academy.

Throughout this guide I will be referring to 2 different firefighter academies that I am particularly familiar with. One Firefighter academy is the academy from Fresno City College (the fire academy that I went to) and the other is the Truckee Meadows Firefighter Academy (which I live next to now).

I will be answering questions that you may have before going into a fire academy and showing pictures from each fire academies website. You can view each website here for yourself: Fresno City College Truckee Meadows College

I signed up to my fire academy in the central valley (Fresno Community College) in California. At this time was just 18 years old and played a lot of soccer to stay in shape. I knew that I wanted to become a full-time firefighter since I was in high school and was already a part of my cities fire explorer program.

If you’re trying to find an academy near you all you have to do is go to google and type in “fire academy near me” to find colleges that have them. Usually, it will be a community college that has a firefighter academy and youll go through them.

 

Firefighter Academy

Once you find one around you, look up how to sign up for it. Do this ASAP because (like it was for me) there might be a wait list. I’ve seen waitlist for up to 4 years! If there is a waitlist you don’t have to worry because there are things you can do in the meantime. Hearing about the year long wait for the fire academy told me that I had a year to get ready for it so I could be an all-star student and rank high in the class.

Most Firefighter academies have a ranking list of the students from each class that takes into account the students fitness and academic scores from the class. After talking to many career firefighters I realized that one thing they almost all had in common, they ranked high in their academy class. Know that your reputation follows you after the academy.

 

A quick side note; If you have the option to join your cities firefighter explorer program please do. Usually an exploer program will have high scool students train and learn basic firefighting tecniques once a week. Doing this helped me in my firefighter academy and carrer like I couldn’t beleve.

One important factor, how much does an academy cost?

 

Firefighter Academy

Firefighter Academy

Here are 2 screen shots of the two different firefighter academies’ pricing page. I went to the bottom one in the great town of Fresno. As I said before, it’s defiantly an investment on your part. Obviously, those prices don’t include housing.They want people who actually want to be firefighters and who are serious about it and not people who are doing it just for fun.

I know for most of you (especially if you’re just coming out of high school) dropping $3,000 – $5,000 and maybe even more on a firefighter academy seems a lot but this investment in yourself will help you in the future.

There are different payment options you might look into.  You can ask your college about getting a scholarship for the academy, ask your parents for help, get a loan, or if you have the money just pay it all upfront. I know my academy we were able to pay with different payment options by paying monthly.

I know in my academy we were able to pay with different payment options by paying monthly or bi-monthly. One of the bigger costs for the class are the turnouts (firefighter safety gear) you’ll need to purchase before class starts, another reason you should join a firefighter explorer program, mine gave me turnouts to use in the academy which saved a fortune.

What are the entry requirements?

 

Firefighter Academy

Firefighter Academy

Again, there are different requirements for the different college you go to. If your school requires you to take some classes before you can join the academy make sure you sign up for those classes as soon as you can. You can always cancel the class if something comes up but sucks if you have to wait to join the academy because of one class.

Usually, there are 2 main requirements that most colleges require (that aren’t isn’t listed) and that’s an interview and a physical ability test. The interview is not a hard one, they just want to make sure you will be a mature student and not cause problems with other students. They ask questions like:

Why do you want to join the Firefighter academy?

Do you have a job? If so, will you be able to get the required time off for the academy?

How to you plan to pay for the class?

Stuff like that.

If they do or don’t have a physical ability test you will still need to be in top shape when you began the academy. I believe you should be well past the minimum requirements on your first day as in most academies, your physical fitness ties in with your grade.

What exactly do I need to buy for the academy?

 

This list is what I needed for my academy, understand your college might ask for you to bring more things or less depending on the requirements:

  • Firefighting Turnouts
  • Class books
  • Uniforms (including boots and belt)
  • Workout clothes
  • Shoe shining kit
  • Credits of the class to the college
  • Study materials (binders, pens, paper, etc.)

What are the time requirements on my part?

 

Firefighter Academy

Firefighter Academy

I ended up doing the night academy because that was the earliest one I could sign up for. I was not working at the time but a lot of my classmates were (due to taking the night shift academy). If you’re working an 8-5 job then you would still be able to do the academy though I highly discourage you from doing that if you have the option.

My academy was Tuesday through Friday from 6pm-10pm and 8am- 5pm on Saturdays. The academy was a total of 10 months altogether.

As you can see from the TMCC class schedule the academy is only a semester long. You will have to do research at your own college to figure out how long your academy will be. I cannot say that taking a shorter firefighter academy is better or worse, every fire academy is different.

I’m too old or I’m a girl, should I still try to become a Firefighter?

 

YES!!! In my department we have girls working as firefighters and they do a great job at it. In my fire academy we also had woman in our class, though I will be honest and say that the majority of individuals for the class will be males. Don’t be intimidated though, if it’s something you want to do then do it – believe in yourself.

In my academy we had different ages ranging from 19 y/o to 38 y/o. You’re never too old (or young for that matter) to become a firefighter. There may be age requirements that your college has so just make sure you take a look to see if you meet them.

What should I do while I wait to start my fire academy?

 

One class you should take while you wait to get into your firefighter academy is an EMT-Basic class. They’re usually a semester long and are offered at the same school where you fire academy is at. An EMT class will mostly likely be needed for most firefighting tests you will be taking in the future so it’s good to get it over with before your academy.

Remember to sign up for any prerequisite classes that are required to start the fire academy if your college requires it.

 

Prepare for your academy!
Essentials of Fire Fighting and Fire Department Operations (6th Edition)

 

This is the book that most Firefighting academies use, though I would wait before purchasing until you know for sure. Once you know which book you will be using for the class you should purchase that book and go over it a couple hours a week. It’s a lot easier when the information isn’t brand new to you. If you have seen the information before you will pick it up a lot faster.

Start working out!!!!

I can’t stress this enough. The more fit you are the easier the academy will be for you. In my academy (a couple months before the start date) they gave us a paper that stated what the physical requirements were for the academy. A lot of it was personal weight based.

You can take a look at a couple of my workouts on the blog; Firefighter Workout #3, Firefighter Workout #4, The Cpat Workout.

Some of the requirements we had to do were squats, bench press, and deadlift a certain percent of our body weight. The others requirements had us do a certain number of push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups and a timed 3-mile run. I won’t go too into them because the academy you go to will have their own standards (if any).

I started hitting the gym every day, and I recommend you do that same. If you’re lucky enough to get a list of the requirements then start working on those. If not, you should start working on getting “in shape” by doing some running (start running stairs if you can), push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups.

I also recommend you getting all your gear, uniforms, and supplies early so that you don’t stress last minute. Like I said earlier, some academies require you to buy your own turnouts which you end up only using for the firefighter academy and that’s all. If you can find a pair, borrow a pair, or get a pair donated then try to do that so you don’t have to spend too much money.

Ok, Let us review what we have talked about before you go into your firefighter academy:

 

  • You can easily look for a firefighter academy by typing in google “Fire academy near me”
  • The cost of a fire academy can be from $3,000 – $5,000 if you have to buy all your gear
  • Every fire academy has different entry requirements, look at your academy early to find out.
  • Every fire academy also has different time requirements, usually, will have more than 1 option.
  • You need to start working out now for your academy!!
  • Take your required classes or and EMT-B class while you wait to get into the fire academy.

 

This post will not talk about your time in the firefighter academy because that would make it too long. You will learn a lot during the academy and about the things you should and shouldn’t do in class. Just remember to try your best, don’t talk out of turn, be the first to volunteer, don’t fall behind and always know that you’re always being looked at by your teachers, don’t make a bad name for yourself this early in the game.

 

What do I do after I completed firefighter academy?

 

The good news is that after your firefighter academy you can now start applying for different fire departments. You have to understand though that you will probably have no experience under your belt and it will be quite difficult for you to get a job.

When I was looking for a job I ended up getting one as a wildland firefighter and did that for 4 seasons. I had my EMT-Basic license and after the 4 seasons I was hired full-time at the department that I currently work at.

When I was trying to get a full-time firefighter job I must have applied and tested for 20+ jobs. It was very intimidating because I would be freshly out of my academy and I was testing against a couple hundred people for just 3 positions. I knew I didn’t have a chance but it was still good to be testing all the time because it was good practice for me. I did get a couple fo interviews (you can see my post about fire interviews here) but I never got a call back.

Try your best not to get discouraged when taking the tests and remember to keep trying, your break will come soon. It does get expensive and tiring driving from town to town to just take a test, then drive home, then drive back for an interview, drive back home, just to be told you didn’t get the job, trust me – I understand.

There are different routes you can take after your academy if you don’t get a job right away. One way to go is the wildland firefighter route. These are the firefighters that you see on tv fighting the big fires in the forests. Many people take this route as it’s easier to get a job in it. I’m not going to get into too much detail here about it because that’s not what this post is about but just know there are different types of wildland jobs like type 2 crews, hotshots, smokejumpers, wildland engine crews, and others. Look them up online to see what fits your needs best if thats the route you plan to take.

You can go the EMS route and learn the medical side of the job. Get your EMT-basic card to start off if you don’t have it already and find a job as a tech. in a hospital or working on a private ambulance service. It is highly recommended that after you get a little hands on medical experience (if you haven’t found that firefighter job yet) that you get your paramedic license. Many firefighting departments are now requesting that you have your paramedic license before you even apply.

One more thing you can do while you test for firefighter jobs is going back to school. Start working on your degree in fire science  (or another one that interests you). A lot of people usually find a job (wildland firefighter or EMS job) and also go to school to get their degree so they can be a great candidate for the fire department they want to work for.

There are some requirements that departments ask for that would be in your best interest to get. The CPAT (Candidate Physical Ability Test) is a physical agility test that departments will sometimes require you to take before you apply. It does cost $150 and lasts for a year but it’s wise to get it before you need it.

I wrote an in-depth post about the CPAT test you can view by clicking HERE

Firefighter Academy

Ok lastly, most aspiring firefighters sign up for some sort of website that tells them who is hiring Firefighters. This would get really expensive over time and was one of the worst parts about trying to get a job.

I actually took it upon myself to help this process and created an iPhone app that shows candidates who’s hiring in any Firefighter or EMS field. The Firefighter Jobs app  hasn’t been out for a long time but I’ve been getting a great response from it so far. You can download the app HERE.

So there you have it ladies and gentlemen, my guide to getting ready for a Firefighter Academy. I know it was quite longer than a lot of my regular post but I believe this information isn’t widely available on the internet these days. I really do hope it helped and if you have questions about taking a Firefighter Academy please send me a message, comment below, or send me a personal email. I reply to all my messages.

Thank you VERY MUCH for reading (and making it all the way to the bottom of the article). I can’t say how much it means to me and the Firefighters Lifestyle staff.

If you are not a part of my mailing list please Subscribe to receive news about up and coming posts and information about the app. Like us on Facebook if you haven’t yet. We also have an active Reddit page for you to join if interested.

Thank you again and have a GREAT day.

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