Texas A&M Forest Service
Protecting Texas from wildfire since 1915
- Location
- College Station, Texas
- County
- Brazos County
- Established
- 1915
Ready to Serve has no record of a current opening. Departments open and close testing on their own schedule, so check the official page before you rule it out.
Record figures
No source on fileNo document cited for this section.
Confirm anything you are going to act on with the department itself.
- 526
- Sworn personnel
- 60
- Stations
- 5,187
- Calls per year
About the department
No document cited for this section.
The Texas A&M Forest Service is the state's lead agency for wildland fire response and forest conservation, operating from a College Station headquarters and 59 regional offices across Texas. In 2024, the agency deployed 526 personnel to fight 5,187 wildfires burning 1.3 million acres, saving 4,444 structures worth $569.2 million. As part of the Texas A&M University System, TFS also manages forest stewardship programs, seedling production (245.8 million seedlings in 2024), and has trained 72,695 firefighters through local department grants.
Pay
No document cited for this section.
- Overtime
- Variable schedule based on incident deployment and seasonal activity
- Incentive pay
- Resource Specialist I (wildland firefighter duties) proposed minimum $20.45 hourly on live Workday postings. No annual figure printed.
- Overtime on emergency response. $500 yearly incentive for passing the arduous pack test.
Benefits
No document cited for this section.
- Health Insurance
- Medical, dental, and vision through Texas A&M University System
- Defined Benefit Pension
- Texas A&M System defined benefit plan with lifetime annuity. Eligible at age 55 + 5 years, Rule-of-80, or 30 years service (3 with A&M)
- Life Insurance
- Employer-provided life insurance and flexible spending accounts
- Variable Schedule
- Incident-based and seasonal deployment schedule with standard office hours during non-fire season
What a candidate must hold or clear
Eligibility
No document cited for this section.
- Education
- 2-year natural resources technical degree preferred; high school diploma minimum
- Certifications
- NWCG Red Card required; FFT-1, TPL-1, and Dozer Operator certifications preferred; TCFP or SFFMA Basic Firefighter preferred
- Fitness
- 2-mile walk carrying 25-pound pack in 30 minutes or less; must be maintained annually
- Driver's License
- Valid Texas driver's license required
Training and education
No document cited for this section.
- Wildfire Training
- NWCG-standard training through partnerships with Texas fire departments; specialized wildland certifications
- Capacity Building
- Grants and training programs that have trained 72,695 Texas firefighters
- Incident Management
- State-level Incident Management Team training for complex wildfire operations
12 recorded
Assignments and specialties
No document cited for this section.
Operations
- Wildland Fire Suppression
- Prescribed Fire Operations
- Dozer Operations
Technical rescue
- Incident Management Teams
- All-Risk Response
- Fire Weather Forecasting
Prevention and investigation
- Forest Stewardship
- Fire Prevention
- Community Wildfire Protection Plans
Support and community
- Seedling Production
- Capacity Building Grants
- Firefighter Training
Living in College Station
No document cited for this section.
- 128,023
- Population
- $335,000
- Median home price
- 88
- Cost-of-living index
- Home to Texas A&M University — one of the largest universities in the U.S.
- College town atmosphere with affordable cost of living (16% below national average)
- 59 regional offices provide coverage across the entire state of Texas
- Strong Aggie culture with world-class research facilities
- Bryan-College Station metro offers small-city quality of life
- Gateway to East Texas forests and Gulf Coast recreational areas
Accreditation
No document cited for this section.
- Held
- NWCG Compliance
- Held
- State Lead Agency for Wildfire Response
Contacting the department
No document cited for this section.
Applications, testing dates and eligibility decisions are handled by the department. Ready to Serve does not take applications, forward candidates, or speak for any agency.
- Official site
- https://tfsweb.tamu.edu/about/jobs/
About this record
- Compiled by
- Ready to Serve is a free public resource for first-responder candidates. It is not a government agency, not affiliated with any department listed here, and not a recruiter for any department. Figures come from each department's own published documents, cited with the date they were read.
- Affiliation
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- Unstamped sections
- A section without a stamp was assembled by Ready to Serve without a document to cite. Confirm details with the department before you rely on them.
- Corrections
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