Fire Academy
Con Ed: Workforce Pell Eligible
Time to Completion:
24 Weeks
Schedule:
Daytime
Train for an in-demand career with help from the Pell Grant.
What is Pell Grant funding?
Starting January 2027, you can gain career-ready skills in high-demand fields like healthcare, public safety, and skilled trades with financial aid that does not need to be repaid.
Application coming soon.
Get the skills. Start your career. Spend less getting there.
Learn About Workforce PellWhat You’ll Learn
Forsyth Tech Fire Academy is an intensive 24-week program that combines Firefighter (approx. 14 weeks) and EMT (approx. 10 weeks) certification (8:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday). The program uses real-life scenarios and simulated conditions to prepare participants for the challenges they will encounter in the field. It offers comprehensive training that will assess and develop your physical and mental readiness. Participants will learn from highly qualified instructors with extensive experience and expertise, utilizing the latest technology to enhance the learning experience.
The Academy is held at the Emergency Services Training Center located at the Northwest Forsyth Center in King. The facility features state-of-the-art firefighter training equipment, including a six-story Burn Building that provides realistic, controlled burn scenarios, and a five-story Drill Tower designed for practicing entry and exit procedures in high-rise structures.
Course Details
Completion of Forsyth Tech Firefighter Academy will earn you the following certifications:
- Firefighter
- EVD
- NIMS/ICS 100, 200, 700, 800
- Technical Rescue (Passenger Vehicle Series)
- Emergency Medical Technician
To be accepted into the Forsyth Tech Fire Academy, you must be at least 18 years of age with a High School diploma or GED and meet the following requirements:
- Complete a rigorous physical ability exam
- Complete an application packet
- Obtain medical and physical exams at your own expense
- Affiliation by a Fire Department (contact us if not currently affiliated)
If you believe you can meet the criteria for acceptance and make it through the training, we urge you to apply. It will prepare you for a career with rewards like no other.
Contact Information
For information on applying, contact:
Scott Gauldin, Fire Coordinator, Public Safety Technologies
336.757.3667
Technical Standards for Firefighter Training
Our program technical standards have been developed to help students understand nonacademic standards, skills, and performance requirements expected of a student in order to complete this particular curriculum.
If an accommodation is necessary to participate in the program, it is imperative to identify a reasonable accommodations to those students who qualify under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Reasonableness is determined by Accessibility Resources and the program on a case-by-case basis utilizing the program technical standards. The accommodation needs to be in place prior to the start of the program, or it may delay your ability to start the program. It is the student’s responsibility to contact Accessibility Resources and request accommodations.
| SKILLS | DESCRIPTION | SPECIFIC EXAMPLES |
|---|---|---|
| MOTOR SKILLS | Firefighting is physically demanding work. Firefighters must be strong enough to carry heavy gear or remove victims and agile enough to maneuver in an enclosed space. | A firefighter needs the physical skills the job demands.Climbing ladders, pulling hose, wearing firefighter gear and using specific tools and equipment to perform the job. |
| VISION | Firefighting is a job based on all senses.Vision is critical to the job. | Being able to see clearly in a smoke obscured environment. Being able to read notes and signage in low light environments. |
| HEARING | Firefighting is a job based on all senses.Hearing is critical to the job. | Listening for someone to call out during search and rescue in an immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH) environment. Listening for sounds that give clues to what may happen if immediate actions are not followed (i.e. a leak from a pressurized vessel). |
| TECHNOLOGICAL | Firefighting, like most jobs has been subject to technology advances and new technology making the job safer and more effective. | Using Thermal imaging cameras, drones, and advanced gas detection equipment. Special equipment used to detect specific hazardous materials and life threating by products that can cause immediate injury or death. |
| COMMUNICATION | Firefighting is primarily a communication driven job requiring highly effective communication skills that involve specific instructions that in most cases be life threatening. | Giving instructions on how to perform life saving measures and/or instructions to mitigate an incident that could become progressively worse if instructions are not clear and concise. |
| CRITICAL THINKING/ PROBLEM SOLVING | In firefighting, critical-thinking skills have five basic components: Reasoning, analyzing, evaluating, decision making, and problem solving.Reasoning is the process of forming conclusions, judgments, or inferences from facts or premises. The shorthand version of reasoning is that a firefighter is expected to think in a logical manner. The concept of reasoning seems to be linked to the concept of proof and rationalization. | Critical thinking and problem solving in a complex rescue situation that may involve the use of sophisticated tools and equipment – a good example would be removing a victim from a collapsed structure and providing life saving measures for the individual. |
| INTERPERSONAL SKILLS | Interpersonal communication is important for the quality of working relationships in any fire service organization. Those in management positions who are sensitive and responsive in their communications with employees encourage the development of trusting, loyal relationships. | Working on a rotating shift where you are working and living with your colleagues for a 24-hour period is a real life application on interpersonal communication. Dealing with the public and educating them on specific codes and regulations is another example. |
| ENVIRONMENTAL TOLERANCE | Firefighting is physically demanding work. Firefighters must be strong enough to carry heavy gear or remove victims and agile enough to maneuver in an enclosed spaces, all weather environments, physically demanding situations and rapidly changing environmental conditions. | Working in any imaginable environmental condition. Heat, cold, wet, dry, oxygen deficient and immediately dangerous to life and health environment (IDL). |
| SAFETY AND HEALTH, JOB PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS (JPR’S) | National standards for firefighting specifies that firefighters meet the minimum requirements for an occupational safety and health program for fire departments or organizations that provide rescue, fire suppression, emergency medical services, hazardous materials mitigation, special operations, and other emergency services. |
This document is intended to serve as a guide regarding the physical, emotional, intellectual and psychosocial expectations placed on a student. This document cannot include every conceivable action, task, ability or behavior that may be expected of a student. Meeting these technical standards does not guarantee employment in this field upon graduation. Ability to meet the program’s technical standards does not guarantee a student’s eligibility for any licensure, certification exam, or successful completion of the degree program.