Fire Science Technology Certificate of Achievement

Cost: $1,380
Length: 18 weeks
Working 6 months later: Not reported

Program names and program descriptions appear here in English, because that is the only language the federal and state records publish them in. Occupation titles are translated where O*NET publishes a Spanish name. Everything else on this page is translated.

What happened to people who took this

People enrolled: 22

Small group — treat with caution

Finished the program: 100%Based on 3 peopleTypical California program: 85% of 1,951 reportingThat median pools every California program that reported this measure, whatever its length, credential, or field, and leaves out the ones that reported nothing. It is a reference point, not a rating of this program.
Working 6 months later: Not reported
Earnings in one quarter after: Not reported

The jobs this trains for

This describes the jobs people do, not the classes this program teaches. It comes from the U.S. Department of Labor, which asks people already doing the work. The Department publishes it in English only, so the job names and the sentences below stay in English on this page.

Trains for more than one job. The outlook shown is the weakest of them.

No regional figures for this program

This program's ZIP code reaches into more than one of the labor-market areas California publishes, and nothing in the state's own area titles says which one it belongs to. Either answer would look exactly like a correct answer here, so neither is given and the statewide figures stand alone.

First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers

Job ads may call this: Fire Chief · Engine Boss · Fire Captain · Fire Marshal

Some of what people in this job do. The Department rates how important each one is, and they appear in that order.

Assign firefighters to jobs at strategic locations to facilitate rescue of persons and maximize application of extinguishing agents.
Provide emergency medical services as required, and perform light to heavy rescue functions at emergencies.
Assess nature and extent of fire, condition of building, danger to adjacent buildings, and water supply status to determine crew or company requirements.
Communicate fire details to superiors, subordinates, or interagency dispatch centers, using two-way radios.

Show 4 more things this job involves

Serve as a working leader of an engine, hand, helicopter, or prescribed fire crew of three or more firefighters.
Instruct and drill fire department personnel in assigned duties, including firefighting, medical care, hazardous materials response, fire prevention, and related subjects.
Maintain fire suppression equipment in good condition, checking equipment periodically to ensure that it is ready for use.
Evaluate the performance of assigned firefighting personnel.

Typical pay in California: $130,863per year
Projected openings: 5,620
Projected change: +4.9%
Usually needs: Postsecondary non-degree award

Getting in

Experience needed first: Under 5 years in a related job
Training after you are hired: 1 to 12 months

Employers usually expect some time in a related job as well as the training. Ask the provider what their graduates did before they were hired.

These are the federal government's answers for the occupation, not rules this provider sets. California publishes the same two answers for every one of these jobs.

Firefighters

Pay, hiring, and what people studied

Job ads may call this: Hot Shot · Firefighter · Fire Fighter · Fire Engineer

Rescue survivors from burning buildings, accident sites, and water hazards.
Dress with equipment such as fire-resistant clothing and breathing apparatus.
Assess fires and situations and report conditions to superiors to receive instructions, using two-way radios.
Move toward the source of a fire, using knowledge of types of fires, construction design, building materials, and physical layout of properties.

Show 4 more things this job involves

Respond to fire alarms and other calls for assistance, such as automobile and industrial accidents.
Create openings in buildings for ventilation or entrance, using axes, chisels, crowbars, electric saws, or core cutters.
Drive and operate fire fighting vehicles and equipment.
Inspect fire sites after flames have been extinguished to ensure that there is no further danger.

Typical pay in California: $87,276per year
Projected openings: 25,610
Projected change: +5%
Usually needs: Postsecondary non-degree award

Getting in

Experience needed first: None
Training after you are hired: More than a year

New hires are trained on the job for more than a year after they start. The classroom part is the beginning of this work, not the whole of it.

Fire Inspectors and Investigators

Pay, hiring, and what people studied

Job ads may call this: Fire Official · Fire Inspector · Fire Investigator · Arson Investigator

Prepare and maintain reports of investigation results, and records of convicted arsonists and arson suspects.
Testify in court cases involving fires, suspected arson, and false alarms.
Package collected pieces of evidence in securely closed containers, such as bags, crates, or boxes, to protect them.
Conduct inspections and acceptance testing of newly installed fire protection systems.

Show 4 more things this job involves

Analyze evidence and other information to determine probable cause of fire or explosion.
Subpoena and interview witnesses, property owners, and building occupants to obtain information and sworn testimony.
Photograph damage and evidence related to causes of fires or explosions to document investigation findings.
Examine fire sites and collect evidence such as glass, metal fragments, charred wood, and accelerant residue for use in determining the cause of a fire.

Typical pay in California: $101,743per year
Projected openings: 1,410
Projected change: +7.7%
Usually needs: Postsecondary non-degree award

Getting in

Experience needed first: 5 years or more in a related job
Training after you are hired: 1 to 12 months

Most people hired for this job have already spent 5 years or more in a related one. Finishing this program may not be enough on its own. Ask the provider who hires their graduates, and what those people did before.

Program details

This is a hybrid or blended program providing both in-person and online instruction.

A program focusing on the theory and practice of fires and fire-fighting. Includes instruction in fire chemistry and physics combustible materials computer science building construction fire codes and related laws fire hydraulics fire command fire prevention inspection fire protection systems fire suppression systems fire arson investigation occupational safety equipment operation emergency medicine and communications.

Provider's home page →

We could not reach the page in the federal record when we checked on 2026-08-17, so this links to the provider's home page instead.

Someone else may be able to pay for this

This program was on California's Eligible Training Provider List when the state last reported it to the U.S. Department of Labor (2026-09-18). Programs on that list can be paid for through an Individual Training Account. Listings are renewed periodically and can lapse, so a program listed when the state last reported may not be listed today. Ask before you rely on it.

Ask before you enroll, not after

The order the rules set out starts at the center rather than at the school. Before a center can find somebody eligible for training services it has to gather enough to decide, at a minimum through an interview, evaluation or assessment and career planning. Referring a person to the provider they have chosen and setting up the account both come after that, and both are the center's to do — the account is a payment agreement with the training provider, and it is the provider that is paid through it. So the call belongs before enrolling and before paying. Anyone who has already done either should still ask, and ask what it means for them.

The place to ask is an America's Job Center of California

Blythe Workforce Development Satellite CenterAffiliate site
Phone: 760-921-5073
1 College DriveP.E. BuildingBlythe, CA 92225about 10.2 miles away
Hours: Monday -Friday, 8:00 am -5:00 pm
Has a veterans' representative

At a comprehensive center all the required partner programs can be reached; an affiliate site offers some of them. Distances are straight-line, so the drive is longer. Call before you travel: opening hours here are as the federal directory published them, and the state notes its own staff are not present at every location.

Find a center anywhere in California, and check what is on the list today:
CareerOneStop — American Job Center Finder (U.S. DOL) · California EDD — Office Locator · California EDD — Eligible Training Provider List

How this gets paid for, and what to ask →

Whether a person can have a program paid for is decided by their local workforce development board and the America's Job Center staff who interview them — not by this site, and not by the training provider. California has 45 local workforce development areas and each sets its own policies, so the answer can differ between two people in neighboring counties. Nothing here is a promise of funding or a determination of eligibility.

The rules cited here, and the state and federal sites linked to, are published in English.

How this site gets its figures, and what they do not tell you →