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Fire academies / Austin, TX

Last verified August 29, 2026

Austin Fire Department Academy

Austin Fire Department runs this open-enrollment fire academy in Austin, TX. The Texas Commission on Fire Protection lists it as a Structure Firefighter provider. No dated cutoff on or after August 29, 2026 is on the sourced calendar. Published tuition: Paid cadet. Cadet starting pay is $22.55/hour ($46,904 annually). Probationary Firefighters will earn an annual salary of $66,019 upon successful completion of the academy (approximately six months)..

As of August 29, 2026. Where this academy's own pages disagree, every version is below. Act on the earliest restriction.

When can you apply?

ProgramCutoffStartEndDelivery
Austin Fire Department AcademyNot datedNot datedNot datedFull-time
Austin Fire Department AcademyOctober 26, 2025Not datedNot datedFull-time
Austin Fire Department AcademyNot datedNot datedNot datedFull-time
  • WINDOW CLOSED. Hiring Process and Hiring Process Updates (live 2026-08-29): "Austin Fire is not currently accepting applications for the academy." Official applications, when open, are only at austintexas.gov/jobs, keyword fire cadet. Next public step is the Candidate Interest Card (not an application).
  • Traditional 2026 process written exam and SOP: October 25 and October 26, 2025, Hilton Austin, 500 East 4th Street, Austin, TX 78701. Ranked list and military points PDFs are posted on the updates page. Eligibility list life: minimum of 12 but less than 24 months.
  • Lateral 2026 process: Application Status Closed. Written exam offered May 19, 20 and 21, 2026 at Austin Public Safety Training Center, 4800 Shaw Lane, Austin, TX 78744. Timed 1.5-mile run May 30–31 and June 1, 2026 at Ojeda Middle School, 4900 McKinney Falls Pkwy, Austin, TX 78744, 12 minutes or less. Ranked list PDFs posted. Recruiting homepage (same check date) also says "Austin Fire Lateral Application Opening Soon" and links "Austin Fire 2027 Lateral Class." Both are shown here.

How much does it cost?

Paid cadet. Cadet starting pay is $22.55/hour ($46,904 annually). Probationary Firefighters will earn an annual salary of $66,019 upon successful completion of the academy (approximately six months).

This is a hire academy, not an open-enrollment tuition program. 55/hour or $46,904 as tuition.

Lateral path (separate from the traditional cadet academy): compensation during the lateral academy is $31.74/hr. After graduation from the 14-week academy, members will have a base annual pay of $71,300 while on probation. At one year, pay will increase to $77,004 and again to $83,164 at year three.

How long is the academy, and what does it award?

ProgramWeeksHoursDelivery
Traditional fire cadet academyNot printedNot printedFull-time
Lateral academy14Not printedFull-time
  • TCFP Structure Firefighter course listed for this provider 09/8/2026–01/13/2027 (commission upcoming list)
  • City: cadets must be eligible for future TCFP and DSHS certification; the city pages checked this unit do not name the exact certs issued at graduation
  • Lateral path already requires TCFP Structure Firefighter (Basic) and DSHS EMT-Basic before hire

Do you need EMT to enroll?

Not stated on the sourced pages. The sourced page says: "While applicants do not need to be certified during the application process, eligibility for future certification with the Texas Commission on Fire Protection and the Texas Department of State Health Services is required."

What are the enrollment prerequisites?

  • Chapter 143 civil service hire; this is not open enrollment
  • Age: at least 18 and not over 35 on the day the written exam is administered
  • High school diploma or GED
  • U.S. citizen (birth or naturalized) or immigration status that permits full-time work; valid Social Security card
  • Read, write, and speak English
  • Current valid driver license issued from state of residence
  • Meet NFPA 1582 (latest edition) medical requirements (traditional pages). Lateral page cites NFPA 1580, 2025
  • Eligible for future TCFP and DSHS certification (traditional). Lateral: already hold TCFP Structure Firefighter Basic and DSHS EMT-Basic, plus 3 years full-time structural firefighting and active employment within the prior 2 years
  • Written exam and structured oral process, score 70 or higher (traditional). Lateral: written exam only on the pages checked
  • Pass/fail pre-hire: background/fingerprints, AFD-issued CPAT only (no outside CPAT cards), psychological assessment and interview, medical assessment. Lateral updates page omits CPAT from its pre-hire list
  • Cadet fitness on academy day one: 1.5-mile run under 12 minutes; 30 metronome push-ups at 80 bpm onto 5-inch prop; 30 metronome inverted rows at 80 bpm; side plank 1:13/side

Where is it, and who do you contact?

1501 S Mopac Exp. #200, Austin, TX 78746 (TCFP Structure Firefighter listing). Public Safety Training Center used for the 2026 lateral written exam: 4800 Shaw Lane, Austin, TX 78744. Do not collapse with Austin Community College at the same Shaw Lane campus.

Phones: (512) 974-0130 · (512) 974-0300. The academy prints more than one. They are not averaged.

Email: FireEmployment@austintexas.gov

Academy page

What else do the sourced pages say?

  • This is a department hire academy. A candidate cannot pay to enroll. They sit the city's fire cadet civil-service process, then are hired as a paid cadet. Austin Community College's fire program at 4800 Shaw Lane is a separate TCFP training site.
  • joinafd.com and austintexas.gov/joinafd resolve to https://www.austintexas.gov/fire-recruiting.
  • TCFP training-sites map lists Austin Fire Department at 1501 S Mopac Exp. #200, phone (512) 974-0130, fax (512) 974-0301, including Structure Firefighter. A second row, Austin Fire Department – OL, is at 4800 Shaw Lane, phone (512) 974-0300; its discipline list on that map row does not include Structure Firefighter. Both rows are shown here. College at 4800 Shaw Lane, Building F.
  • City academy-month conflict left standing: Hiring Process says June and October 2026; Updates says 142 mid-July 2026 and 144 late 2026; TCFP prints 09/8/2026–01/13/2027. Advise the candidate that the city's own pages disagree, and that TCFP's dated row is the only dated Structure Firefighter listing.
  • Named recruiting liaisons on the Fire Recruiting page are omitted from this public record. Contact is FireEmployment@austintexas.gov.

Which department pages sit near this academy?

Nearby is not a hiring endorsement. Confirm that department's own requirements.

Where should you go next?

Sources

Last verified August 29, 2026. Aggregators are not sources.