Firefighters-in-Training Graduate from Academy
HANDS-ON LEARNING: The Tulsa Regional Fire Academy, a partnership between the Tulsa Fire Department and Tulsa Community College, recently graduated its inaugural class of certified firefighters. The academy, which combines classroom learning with hands-on skills training and physical fitness, allows students to earn college credit while completing their firefighter training.
Fifteen firefighters-in-training (s) graduated from the Tulsa Regional Fire Academy ready to step into a job with a local fire department. These 15 students are the first class to complete a challenging concentrated semester of coursework which combines classroom learning, hands-on skills training, and physical fitness.
The 14 men and one woman are part of a blended program where they earn college credit and complete firefighter training at the same time. The inaugural class is a result of a partnership with the Tulsa Fire Department and Tulsa Community College.
“Our graduates will be walking right into jobs with area fire departments. We know that several of our students from the inaugural class will be employed as firefighters across the Tulsa area by January,” said Regional Fire Academy Director Chief Greta Hurt of Tulsa Fire Department. “The Tulsa Regional Fire Academy is an innovative model used to produce skilled and certified firefighters.”
The s started the Tulsa Regional Fire Academy in August and held classes Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. The training is done at the Tulsa Fire Safety Training Center at Northeast Campus, operated through a partnership between , and the City of Tulsa.
“TCC is committed to produce workforce ready graduates and the Tulsa Fire Safety Training Center, a state-of-the-art fire training facility, is just one way we have evolved our academic program,” said President and Leigh B. Goodson, Ph.D. “The Fire and Emergency Medical Services program is part of ’s culture, dating back to 1970 when we opened, as one of the original degree programs.”
The partnership allows students to be eligible for federal student loans since it provides college credit as it prepares the student to be a firefighter. Students in the academy earn a 16-credit hour Fire and Emergency Medical Services Certificate, Advanced Firefighter option from . Students can then apply those college credit hours to a Fire and Emergency Medical Services Associate of Applied Science degree. After successfully completing the academy, students will meet all of the minimum certification requirements needed to be employed as a firefighter in Oklahoma and many other states.
The Tulsa Regional Fire Academy is already recruiting for the fall 2019 class. Applicants must be at least 18 years old and will be responsible for the cost of tuition and fees. The application is available online, can be picked up from the Office of Engineering and Applied Technology on the Northeast Campus, or requested by email at tulsaregionalfireacademy@tulsacc.edu. Selected students must submit the Fire Academy Application, a doctor’s signed physical or release, copy of Oklahoma driver license and proof of insurance by June 1 for consideration. For more information call Chief Greta Hurt at 918-596-1989.
About
Tulsa Community College, founded in 1970, celebrates nearly five decades as a critical piece to northeast Oklahoma’s workforce in training generations of workers and providing higher education. Serving more Oklahomans than any other higher education institution in the state, has four main campuses and more than 23,000 students in credit courses each year. As one of 30 community college selected for the inaugural Pathways Project, a the national initiative funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is one of the most comprehensive community colleges in the United States. For more information on , visit www.tulsacc.edu.
Updated 01-17-2019
READER COMMENTS
