How to Become a Firefighter in Plano, Texas
The short answer. Plano Fire-Rescue's employment page (read 2026-09-03) prints "Our next entrance exam(s) will be in 2027." The civil-service notices page has no fire exam PDF posted. The city's FY 2025-26 Fire Civil Service Compensation Plan (effective October 1, 2025, read 2026-09-03) prints Recruit (01A) at $74,182 a year. The requirements page asks for TCFP structural firefighter and a DSHS EMT-Paramedic or Licensed Paramedic card, age 18 to 35 at testing, and must not have reached 36 as of appointment. The physical is Plano's own PAT (10 events, 8 minutes 34 seconds), not CPAT.
Ready to Serve is not the City of Plano and does not place you.
When you can apply
The employment page, read 2026-09-03: next entrance exam(s) in 2027. The Candidate Interest Card "is not an application for employment." The same employment page still carries two "Register for the Firefighter / Paramedic or EMT entrance exam" links to PeopleSoft JobOpeningId 226254. Those links sit under the 2027 banner. Their status is unverifiable from this page. Do not act on them.
Captains on that page: Brian Kanzaki, 972-941-7295; Steven Thimons, 972-941-5351. The same page, re-read 2026-09-03, also says: "For more information regarding the implementation of the 24/72 schedule, please review our FAQ (PDF)."
What Plano prints you must hold
From the requirements page, read 2026-09-03:
- High school diploma or GED
- 18 to 35 at the time of testing. "Must not have reached 36 years of age as of the date of appointment."
- U.S. citizen, eligible to work in the United States
- Read, write, and speak English
- Current TCFP structural firefighter certification
- Current DSHS EMT-Paramedic or Licensed Paramedic
An older copy of this article printed EMT-Basic as the minimum and "paramedic preferred." That is not what the requirements page prints today.
Pay, from the city's plan
Fire Civil Service Compensation Plan FY 2025-26, effective October 1, 2025, read 2026-09-03. The PDF says the monthly and annual rates "are for informational purposes only and illustrate potential pay based on hours worked which are not guaranteed."
| Range | Position | Annual figures on the plan |
|---|---|---|
| 01A | Recruit | $74,182 |
| 001 | Firefighter, hired before October 1, 2025 | $80,862 / $90,466 / $105,898 |
| 01B | Firefighter, hired on or after October 1, 2025 | $80,862 / $87,121 / $93,380 / $99,639 / $105,898 |
Paramedic certification pay on Exhibit B: $400 a month ($184.61 per pay period). Intermediate $60, Advanced $80, Master $120 a month.
An earlier version printed an entry band that is on no page opened for this revision; it is gone.
Physical Ability Test (not CPAT)
The PAT PDF (read 2026-09-03) is "Plano Fire Department Physical Ability Test," ten timed events, helmet, gloves, and SCBA without mask. Maximum accumulative time eight minutes and thirty-four seconds. Event 10 is a 180-pound dummy drag. NFPA 1582 is the medical guide. An older copy of this article printed CPAT 10:20. That clock is not on this PDF.
Next step
Watch the employment page and the notices index. File the interest card if you want a ping; it is not an application. Hold TCFP structural firefighter and a DSHS paramedic card before the 2027 sitting. Texas order of operations: how to become a firefighter in Texas. TCFP: what is TCFP certification.
Sources
- Plano Fire-Rescue Employment, read 2026-09-03. "Next entrance exam(s) will be in 2027."
- Fire-Rescue Certification & Eligibility Requirements, read 2026-09-03.
- Civil Service Entrance Exam Notices and Requirements, read 2026-09-03. No fire PDF posted.
- Fire Civil Service Compensation Plan FY 2025-26, effective October 1, 2025, read 2026-09-03. Recruit $74,182.
- Fire-Rescue Physical Ability and Health Requirements (PDF), read 2026-09-03. PAT 8:34.
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