How to Become an Airport Firefighter (ARFF) in Texas

Airport firefighters are structural firefighters first. The extra credential is Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF): crash-rescue on a runway, foam on jet fuel, and a three-minute clock set by federal aviation law.

You do not start by taking an ARFF class. In Texas you earn TCFP Basic Structure Fire Protection, then complete a commission-approved Aircraft Rescue Fire Suppression program. The TCFP Aircraft Rescue Firefighter certificate is required once you are appointed to airport fire duty. The FAA then requires every ARFF crewmember at a certificated airport to be trained before the first shift and retrained every 12 months, including a live-fire drill.

What the job actually is

ARFF is the fire and rescue service that must be on the field whenever an airport is conducting the air-carrier operations that require a 14 CFR Part 139 certificate. The FAA ARFF page states it directly: operators of Part 139 airports must provide aircraft rescue and firefighting services during those operations.

Crews staff crash-rescue vehicles, apply foam and complementary agents, open aircraft for rescue, and work the airport emergency plan. Some do this at a dedicated airport fire department. Others are assigned to a city airport after a municipal hire. The federal rules apply either way on a Part 139 field.

The national professional-qualifications standard behind the Texas curriculum is NFPA 1003, Standard for Airport Fire Fighter Professional Qualifications. TCFP Chapter 2 is written to the 2015 edition.

The federal clock you are hired to meet

14 CFR 139.319 is the operational rule. Two numbers drive station siting and why ARFF staffing is not optional at a certificated airport:

• Within 3 minutes of the alarm, at least one required ARFF vehicle must reach the midpoint of the farthest air-carrier runway (or a comparable point on the movement area) and begin applying extinguishing agent.
• Within 4 minutes, every other required vehicle must reach that same point and begin applying agent.

The airport must keep enough trained people on duty during air-carrier operations to run the vehicles, hit those times, and meet the minimum agent-discharge rates.

Every rescue and firefighting person must be trained before the first ARFF duty and must receive recurrent instruction every 12 consecutive calendar months. Initial and recurrent curriculum must cover at least these eleven areas:

1. Airport familiarization, including signs, marking, and lighting
2. Aircraft familiarization
3. Rescue and firefighting personnel safety
4. Emergency communications systems on the airport, including fire alarms
5. Use of fire hoses, nozzles, turrets, and other required appliances
6. Application of the required extinguishing agents
7. Emergency aircraft evacuation assistance
8. Firefighting operations
9. Adapting structural rescue and firefighting equipment for ARFF
10. Aircraft cargo hazards, including hazardous materials and dangerous goods
11. Firefighters' duties under the airport emergency plan

Every ARFF person must also complete at least one live-fire drill before initial duty and again every 12 months. During air-carrier operations the airport must have at least one person available who is trained and current in basic emergency medical services. That medical training is a minimum of 40 hours and must cover bleeding, CPR, shock, primary patient survey, injuries to the skull, spine, chest, and extremities, internal injuries, moving patients, burns, and triage. Training records must be kept for 24 consecutive calendar months.

That is the FAA condition for the airport to keep operating air-carrier flights at its certificated Index. It is not a Texas statute.

Why airports are staffed at different sizes

14 CFR 139.315 sets the airport's ARFF Index from air-carrier aircraft length and average daily departures:

Five or more average daily departures in a single Index group: the longest aircraft in that group sets the Index. Fewer than five daily departures of the longest aircraft: the next lower Index. The minimum designated Index is A. Higher Index means more agent, more vehicles, and more trained people on duty.

The Texas certificate you actually carry

The Texas Commission on Fire Protection lists Aircraft Rescue Firefighter as a required certification for people employed and appointed to those duties, the same bucket as Structure Fire Suppression and Marine Firefighter. It is not a voluntary specialty like Wildland or Driver/Operator.

To earn Basic Aircraft Rescue Fire Suppression you must:

1. Hold basic structure fire protection certification.
2. Complete a commission-approved Aircraft Rescue Fire Suppression program (Curriculum Manual, Chapter 2).
3. Qualify for and pass the ARFF exam, unless you are exam-exempt.
4. Apply and pay for the certificate in FIDO.

Two exam exemptions are on the same TCFP page. An IFSAC NFPA 1003 Airport Firefighter seal skips the commission ARFF exam after you register it in FIDO. A TEEX TCFP course-completion certificate from the past two years that prints both the TEEX Pro Board seal number and the TCFP Training Prior Approval (TPA) number may also skip the exam (37 TAC §439.1(2)).

You cannot skip the structure-fire prerequisite. TCFP's description of Basic ARFF personnel says an airport firefighter must meet Fire Fighter II under NFPA 1001 and NFPA 1003, plus 14 CFR Part 139. That is why the first move is still a Texas fire academy and TCFP Basic Structure Fire Protection.

TCFP Chapter 2 (effective January 1, 2017; written to NFPA 1003, 2015 edition) recommends 120 hours, including skills evaluation, based on a 12-student class: 18 general, 20 response, 48 fire suppression, 34 rescue. Those hours are recommended. A provider can deliver the same job-performance requirements in fewer contact hours if the skills are met.

After Basic, the same TCFP page sets the upgrade ladder: Intermediate at 4 years plus listed professional development; Advanced at 8 years plus a new unused block; Master at 12 years plus an associate degree or at least 60 college credits that include 18 fire-science credits. Service time is time employed while holding certification.

One official Texas course: TEEX ARF200

TEEX ARF200, ARFF Academy, is an 80-hour, competency-based delivery of the TCFP Chapter 2 program. TEEX states that the state recommends 120 hours and that TEEX compresses the same outcomes into 80. Completers who meet the prerequisites become eligible to test for TCFP, IFSAC, and Pro Board certifications.

Prerequisites are TCFP Basic Firefighter or Firefighter I and II per NFPA 1001, plus Hazardous Materials Awareness and Operations. Texas residents must show TCFP structural-firefighter certification. The class uses IFSTA Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting, 6th edition, requires 100 percent attendance, and requires proximity gear for the TCFP skills.

TEEX is not the only lawful provider. Any commission-approved Chapter 2 program counts. As of 2026-08-12 the public ARF200 page showed no open sessions and directed departments to schedule through the Emergency Services Training Institute.

Military and out-of-state firefighters

If you already hold an IFSAC aircraft-rescue seal, Texas will recognize it. TCFP's transferring and military applicant pages both list aircraft rescue among the IFSAC disciplines Texas will register, including seals earned at another IFSAC-accredited Department of Defense entity.

The military fee waiver in 37 TAC §437.3(f) applies to Basic Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighter.

A non-IFSAC out-of-state record can be submitted for equivalency review.

Do not assume a DoD ARFF tour replaces TCFP Basic Structure Fire Protection. The structure certificate is still the prerequisite for Basic ARFF unless your IFSAC Firefighter I/II, HazMat, and medical documentation already get you that structure certificate first.

How people actually get hired

There are two common doors.

Airport-authority fire department. You apply to the airport the way you would apply to a city. The department often hires you as a structural firefighter/EMT and then puts you through ARFF after appointment, because TCFP requires the ARFF certificate once you are assigned to those duties, and 14 CFR 139.319 requires the federal initial training and live-fire drill before you perform them.

Municipal department with an airport. You get hired through the city's regular firefighter process, then bid or get assigned to the airport station after probation.

Either way, the candidate who is already a TCFP structural firefighter with a Texas EMT or paramedic license is the one who can be appointed. Airport departments often expect a paramedic after hire even if EMT is enough to apply.

A worked example: DFW Airport Fire Rescue

DFW Fire Rescue publishes eligibility, laterals, and pay. Use the airport's page and salary PDF as the source of truth.

Eligibility (official recruiting page, accessed 2026-08-12): U.S.

You must also have one of the following before you apply:

• TCFP Basic Structural Firefighter and TDSHS EMT (NREMT), or
• TDSHS paramedic only (DFW states it will send you to fire school), or
• 24 college credit hours from an accredited college, or
• 2 years full-time continuous active-duty military service with honorable discharge, or
• 2 years cumulative active-duty service with the Reserves, National Guard, or Coast Guard with honorable discharge

Lateral transfers require current TCFP structural certification or a reciprocity challenge, a current Texas or National Registry EMT or higher, at least 2 years of continuous paid full-time service at a comparable agency (including out-of-state, as approved by the Fire Chief), and no more than a two-year break between that job and the DFW application. DFW places laterals on its step scale by years of service: 2 years at Step 1, 4 years at Step 2, 6 years at Step 3, 8 years at Step 4.

Pay comes from DFW's official Department of Public Safety Salary Structure (Effective 12/29/2025):

The table also lists hourly rates for a 2,912-hour shift schedule and a 2,080-hour schedule. DFW notes that the 2,912 rate is not inclusive of mandatory overtime, and that a firefighter must be police-commissioned or fire-certified to move onto the Firefighter step. Battalion Chief steps require two years between steps.

See the DFW Airport Fire Department listing for the public directory record, then confirm every number on DFW's own recruiting page before you apply. Other Texas airports set their own pay and will not match this table.

A practical sequence

1. Confirm you can clear a public-safety background and hold a driver license.
2. Get EMT, or go straight at paramedic if that is the department's real hiring preference. DFW will hire a paramedic and send that person to fire school. Many municipal airports will not.
3. Complete a TCFP-approved basic fire academy and earn Basic Structure Fire Protection.
4. Apply to airport-authority departments and to municipal departments that staff an airport. Do not wait to be ARFF-certified before you apply unless the posting says you must already hold it.
5. After appointment, complete a commission-approved ARFF program (TEEX ARF200 or another Chapter 2 course), pass or exempt the TCFP exam, and pay for the certificate in FIDO.
6. Complete the airport's 14 CFR 139.319 initial training, including the live-fire drill, before you are used as ARFF staffing. Then plan on recurrent training and another live-fire drill every 12 months for as long as you work the field.

If you are still choosing between fire paths, start with the Texas firefighter guide and the TCFP explainer. ARFF is an add-on to that path, not a substitute for it.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need ARFF certification before I apply?

Usually no. TCFP requires the Aircraft Rescue Firefighter certificate when you are employed and appointed to those duties. Many airport departments hire you as a structural firefighter/EMT or paramedic and run the ARFF program after hire. Read the posting. DFW's published entry paths do not list a current ARFF certificate as an application prerequisite.

Is ARFF the same as being a regular firefighter?

No. You still have to be a structural firefighter. The extra work is aircraft familiarization, foam and complementary agents, runway response under a three-minute and four-minute federal clock, and annual live-fire currency. TCFP will not issue Basic ARFF until you already hold basic structure fire protection.

Can a military ARFF firefighter skip Texas school?

Not automatically. Texas will register an IFSAC aircraft-rescue seal, including a DoD IFSAC seal, and the military fee waiver covers Basic Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighter. You still have to satisfy TCFP's structure-fire prerequisite and the medical-training documentation TCFP requires for that structure certificate.

How much do airport firefighters make in Texas?

There is no single statewide ARFF pay table. Other airports publish their own scales. Do not use job-board averages.

What physical test do airport departments use?

The FAA rule does not name a Candidate Physical Ability Test. Departments set their own physical standard. If a municipal department uses the CPAT, that is a local hiring rule, not an ARFF federal requirement.

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Start with TCFP Basic Structure Fire Protection and a current EMT or paramedic license, then apply to the airport departments that are actually hiring. Confirm every requirement on the department's own page the week you apply.