Fire Etc or College?

[rec24]

Need some opinion, I'm set to go to Vermilion Fire Etc in March, but having doubts and applied to Humber, Seneca, Cambrian, Conestoga and Durham for Sept pre-servive starts. What do you guys think, wait to see if get in to one of the colleges or go in march. Things is, if i go in march, need to take out loan,and have to pay full tuition by Feb 17, and I won't know if i get in to colleges till mid march i think. So i have till Jan 17 to decide cause i have to throw down a $1500 depostit to vermilion. Let me know what you guys think, thanks.

[DoubleHelix]

Personally I think Humber's program is great but im biased because im a past student. But the thing is, is that its not 3 months its 10 months so things sink in more. They all have their advantage but I dont think you can duplicate the work placement. That was by far the best experience of my life and just awesome in every way. It made the 10 grand double the worth.

[FireEMTGuy]

I'm also relitavely biased as I am a past student of fire etc. However ask yourself what school offers you the best bang for your buck.

Fire etc's "Firefighter training program," sends you home with:

NFPA 1001 Level 1/Level 2
NFPA 472 (Dangerous goods Awareness)
NFPA 472 (Dangerous goods Operations)
NFPA 1051 (Wildland firefighter)
Standard first aid and CPR

I don't know what the other programs at the other colleges offer. Also depends where you want to work. Some cities have 1001's as a prereq. Just some thoughts.

[DoubleHelix]

Humber you will get:
Pre Service
Eligible to write your OFM exam
Hazmat Awareness - soon to be operations
WHMIS
OFM Pump operators course
Emergency Patient Care
Work Placement


They both are awesome and if in 2 or 3 years im still not hired I might go and do like Texas A & M or something like that because my skills will probaly not be as fresh as they are now.

[Michael13]

My opinion is check and see how long that school has been offering the program. The school I go to for Fire Engineering, is its its first year, so theres no equipment and the teachers have very little to teach us with. Their pre-service program is also only 2 years old, and theres alot of bugs to work out. the gear and location sucks in my mind. Reserch as much as possible. If i could start over, I would have applied to Senaca. But I didnt want to live anywhere near T.O. But when I look now, i wish i at least looked at Senaca.

[Jurassic]

hey, i was accepted to Seneca and turned it down and completed my NFPA and many other certs out in BC. I don't regret it at all, because i'm one for going out all out for a short period. We had min. 10 hr days but in 12 weeks it was over. Unfortunately, out here in ontario I think i'd rather have the pre-service. For some reason I know that cities like KW, Cambridge, Guelph like it better than NFPA (probably cuz they have some sort of agreement with the schools). The coop must be a great experience and as soon as all the "meetings" are completed (should be within next few days i think) I will opt for getting my preservice equivalency. But then again like the other poster mentioned, it depends where you wanna work. My dream is vancouver and they only take NFPA so with preservice here you'd be limited to staying in this province. They are both great, but with NFPA i think you get more "hands on" fire training, and with preservice you get more "theory" and take electives and shit which i already went through in university.

Hope that aids in your decision making and best of luck. Knowing lots of grads from fire etc. i know it's a wicked school for props and fire training, just lacks a bit in structure and "strictness". should be a good time for you.

[DoubleHelix]

Also if getting your NFPA is a big concern for you heres something you might not have known. Go to goolge and type in like proboard firefighting or something like that. It's a website to get NFPA certificates. I am applying for my NFPA 1001 right now and as soon as I get my HAZMAT Operations then I get the level higher up.

[scoop422]

I believe that after you write the components 1, 2 and 3 from the OFM you can get firefighter 1 and 2 equivolency.

[Pumper99]

OK.......here's what I've been told about the Pre-Service Diploma from several fire officials including the Fire Chief of Toronto.

The OAFC is moving toward mandating that all departments in the province of Onterrible must hire new recruits that have a pre-service diploma from a college that is endorsed by the OFM. This will all happen within the next 3-5 yrs............the smaller departments are already doing it and the larger ones, like Toronto, are moving that way now. I've heard arguments on both sides of the fence over this issue..........but whatever your views/thoughts/comments are, that's the way things are heading.

So like someone mentioned on this thread earlier, it all depnds where you want to work. Programs like Fire etc. Texas A&M, and others alike are all excellent. In my mind, way better hands on training than a pre-service program.........but the advantage of the pre-service program is that 1) it's supported/endorsed by the OFM and 2) when you do your practicum with the department of your choice it's like a working job interview.......if you perform well while on the job and the crew likes you, chaces are you'll get on with that department next recruit cycle.

I'm currently in the pre-service program. It's a good program which will hopefully one day lead to a career.

Best of luck with whatever you choose........

Yours in Fire Safety,

Pumper99

[DoubleHelix]

The practicum part isn't totally true. I know in my college we got put wherever they wanted to put us we did not get to choose. Also it i sort of like a job interview but say you go to Toronto like I did. It's not really like if you make a good impression you'll get hired. With Toronto being so big and other cities too, they get tons of work placement students and it does seperate you but not by a whole lot. I got a letter from a platoon chief and 3 good verbal references but I doubt that will help me a huge deal in Torontos next recruitment.

[Pumper99]

Well, I can choose any department I want, providing that is they accept me as a student. That's the beauty about the practicum for us.........I'll pick a smaller department that I would like to work for so I can get to know the guys on a more personal level. I agree, getting placed in Toronto would be an awesome experience, but it's difficult to make a name for yourself when there are over 3000 people to deal with. For the next Toronto recruitment you'll be looked at a little closer than the next guy with no Toronto Fire Service experience.
I also to the TFS Career Preperation Course........and all the guys teaching it, including a couple very high ranking officials said that by having TFS experience will help. With your Humber diploma and work experience you'll do fine.

[DoubleHelix]

Yeah most of our instructors were HUSAR trainers so we definetly got the best training around.

[mtlienz]

Originally posted by Pumper99
OK.......here's what I've been told about the Pre-Service Diploma from several fire officials including the Fire Chief of Toronto.

The OAFC is moving toward mandating that all departments in the province of Onterrible must hire new recruits that have a pre-service diploma from a college that is endorsed by the OFM. This will all happen within the next 3-5 yrs...

So is it going to be a minimum requirement, in the near future, to have the Pre-Service Certificate to apply?

[Pumper99]

Yes, that's what I've been told.....which is the only reason I'm enrolled in the program right now.

Pumper99