FIRE SCIENCE
WHAT’S OFFERED
NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART
FIRE FIGHTER ENTRY LEVEL - MEDIAN SALARY*
$51,240 - $55,689
FIRE FIGHTER/PARAMEDIC ENTRY LEVEL - MEDIAN SALARY*
$62,170 - $72,370*
EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIAN
EMT-BASIC ENTRY LEVEL - MEDIAN SALARY*
$30,130 - $36,622*
PARAMEDIC
PARAMEDIC ENTRY LEVEL - MEDIAN SALARY*
$38,195 - $47,689*
*According to survey and webcheck of North Texas Fire Departments, March 2020
PATHWAYS BASIC FIRE ACADEMY Level 1 Certificate 1 Semester
EMT Basic Certificate 1 Semester
FIRE SCIENCE, OR FIRE ADMINISTRATION AAS 2 Years
EMT PARAMEDIC Level 1 Certificate 1 Year
LIFESAVERS IN TRAINING
FIRE SCIENCE
PARAMEDICINE AAS 2 Years
Whether students enrolled in the Fire Science program aim for a Basic Firefighter Certification or a Fire Science Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree, they can count on a highly-structured, militaristic program that demands intense physicality and discipline from its students. Academy instructors are career firefighters with various fire departments in the region, and they put their NCTC students through the paces of mastering complex, real-world skills like firehose safety, vehicle extrication, rappelling and fire containment. “It’s extremely physical,” says Strider Floyd, Emergency Services department chair, “… and there are multiple skills to master within each of those areas of instruction.” Basic Fire Academy training is offered in day and night settings and the program’s 18 credit hours are completed in one semester. As much as 75 percent of the instruction is hands-on, Floyd adds, with much of it conducted off-site in skills-training sessions at fire stations in Denton, Flower Mound and at DFW Airport — where students learn first-responder protocols and master the intricacies of handling and deploying the equipment safely. After two semesters, firefighters-in-training take the Texas Commission on Fire Protection’s basic certification exam — called the Basic Structure Fire Suppression Certificate — then they complete their EMT training. Once testing requirements for the EMT certification is complete, they are ready to launch their professional careers — an endeavor often requiring extensive background checks and polygraph tests for “character issues.” The Fire Science AAS degree requires a fourth semester of studies as students complete the required core of english, math, government and science classes.
EMERGENCY SERVICES ADMINISTRATION BAAS | 4 Years New partnership with UNT Dallas Full transfer of credits for both AAS Degrees
FUTUREFOCUS 2020
“Rigorous” is a popular term in academic circles, but it doubles its meaning when applied to North Central Texas College’s Fire Science program. Within the college’s Health Sciences division, NCTC’s Emergency Services department and its Basic Fire Academy is in high gear, continually churning out a new generation of first responders and firefighters for North Texas and beyond.
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