Fire Academy

TRAVIS COUNTY EMERGENCY SERVICES DISTRICT #4 - VOLUNTEER CADET ACADEMY - Under the auspices of Chief Don A. Smith, and with the support of the Board of Fire Commissioners, Travis County ESD#4 began a Volunteer Cadet Fire Academy in 1999. The Academy began as a joint venture between the City of Austin, Travis County Commissioners Court, the Austin Fire Department and Travis County Sheriff's Department Training Academy. All classes are limited to twenty students due to funding and class room size. The Academy is designed for the student that probably won’t, or can’t, go to college, but is looking for a career opportunity. Classes are scheduled Monday thru Friday weekly, from 0900-1700hrs, (with about two hours of PT after class), and all day every other Saturday. Class XI graduated in April of 2011. Travis County ESD#4 boasts an 82.6 per cent employment rate, either in the Fire Service or EMS service, of all graduates to date. We have graduates in just about every department in Travis County, San Antonio, Houston, Corpus Christi, New Braunfels, Jollyville, Buda, Kyle, Martindale, Pflugerville, Georgetown, Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander, and most recently New York City!

Instructors for the Academy are drawn from Travis County ESD #4 Staff, Austin Fire Department, neighboring fire departments in Travis and Williamson counties, Houston Fire Department, and TEEX (Texas Education Extension Agency from Texas A & M). Military veterans are eligible for college credit hours and GI Bill benefits. With the funding from three sources, the Academy is able to pay a stipend to each student of $300.00 every two weeks; this is an unusual practice, as most Academies charge, up to $7,500.00 for a class. In addition, ALL equipment, textbooks, supplies and fire clothing to include uniforms are furnished to each student. (As one interviewer stated, we furnish everything you will need except shoes, underwear and an open and willing mind and body.) We will issue approximately $5,500 worth of clothing and equipment to each cadet. It is the cadets’ responsibility to take care and safeguard this gear. If it is stolen from his/her vehicle or home, we will expect reimbursement from them or their insurance company. If it is broken, damaged during training, then it is our responsibility to fix or exchange it.

The Academy is scheduled for a six month period, usually from the middle of October, to the middle of April of the following year. It is an intense, compressed six month course of study with the first 16 weeks dedicated to fire training and the last 11 weeks devoted to EMS training, (See Appendix A for a sample class schedule). It is the intent of the Academy to give the student the knowledge and skills to pass the State Fire Commission on Personnel Standards Examination for Certification as a Basic Structural Firefighter at the conclusion of the fire training portion, And to pass the National EMT Registry Examination to become a nationally registered EMT at the conclusion of the EMS portion of the course. Most fire departments in Texas require an individual to be certified as both an EMT-B and a Basic Structural Firefighter before they will consider hiring that individual. Basically, all we expect of the student is an open and willing mind, strong body, with total dedication and perseverance for a six-month period We will do our best to instill the knowledge and skills into the student for a successful completion of the course; it is up to the student to absorb the knowledge and learn the skills required to pass the final certifying examinations. Classes are usually scheduled from 0900hrs to 1700 hrs, with hourly breaks and an hour for lunch. Cadets bring their own lunch or go out for lunch. The class usually breaks about 1630hrs, Cadets change into PT gear and then have about a two-hour workout. This usually gets them home about 1830 or 1900 hrs, and then they can clean up, eat and get their homework done for the next day. There will be a daily exam on the previously covered and/or assigned material, with frequent unannounced exams; in addition there will be a mid-term final and a final exam, followed by the State Certification for Basic Firefigher Certification, and then a mid-term and final examination for the EMS class prior to the National EMT examination. Cadets are expected to be on-time to class, do their homework, and participate in all drills, including week-end drills. A total of three (3) excused absences may be granted by Senior Instructors for the duration of the entire Academy. The Academy is so condensed and rapidly paced a student just may not be able to make up any more time than that; for that same reason it is STRONGLY advised a Cadet have all living arrangements, money, transportation, etc. in place in order he/she does not have to try to work a part-time job. In the past, some students have tried and failed to carry a part-time position. If you don’t believe you can devote the entire six month period to the Academy, we ask that you please let us know so that someone else may fill your seat that can. We only have 20 chairs we can fill and we would like to make the utmost utilization of them and our limited funds.

You can always request to be put on the list for the next years’ academy and get priority for that class. We can not guarantee to hire any graduate after graduation; however any and all employment notifications of open positions of which we learn, anywhere, are communicated to the graduates. We do give our graduates first chance for any openings that may occur in our department. This is done on a competitive basis, based on an employment examination, class standing, class attendance and time spent volunteering at stations. All Cadets are considered to be active volunteers for the department for as long as they are enrolled in the Academy and maintaining a minimum of a 70% average. All cadets are covered by Workers Compensation Insurance for as along as they are an active volunteer in good standing with the department. Workers Compensation Insurance will cover all medical expenses of any accidental injury occurring during training. A drop below a 70% average will earn a meeting with Senior Instructors; the first session isn’t so bad, the second is worse and the third usually means termination. Once a Cadet has graduated, he/she may remain a volunteer for as long as they wish; usually until they are hired by a department. If they are certified as an EMT-B and Firefighter, they may work part-time on a ‘called’ basis. (A general All Call page is put out, requesting someone to cover a shift for a vacancy which has occurred – this may be a full or half-shift request). After approximately six weeks of fire training is finished, a Live Burn class is scheduled at the drill field. This will usually be the second Saturday Class. The first is usually a CPR - AED certification class so that Cadets can be of assistance on some medical calls. After the Live Burn exercise, Senior Instructors start making assignments for ride-outs at the stations. They will assign a Cadet to a certain shift at a particular station; the cadet will go from the end of that day’s class to the assigned station and ride-out with that crew until the next morning. The next morning the Cadet will arise, shower, change into appropriate classroom clothing and report to the class room by 0900hrs. Our expectation of a Cadet is to show respect and politeness to all instructors and their fellow Cadets. Instructors come from all over, and you never know when YOU might be applying for a job with their department.

A Cadet MUST maintain at least a 70% class average for the duration of the fire portion of the course. Some EMS instructors require an 80% average for the EMS portion of the course. We expect all Cadets to keep an up-beat and pleasant attitude during the course. Grumpiness and a bad attitude are contagious and will not be tolerated. Should a Cadet need assistance, ask any of the station crew where you are riding out – they will be more than willing to share their knowledge and experience with you. Also ask the class instructor for assistance. We recommend that you form study groups as this helps everyone. All of our staff is willing and able to assist a Cadet at any time, so don’t be afraid or too bashful to ask for help. Attendance and punctuality are a must. If your alarm doesn’t wake you, have someone call you – usually three tardies result in a very bad outcome.