COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The clock is ticking for anyone interested in becoming a first responder in college station.
Applications for firefighters and EMT's are due January 26th.
But as KRHD's Rachel Widder explains, you don’t have to be certified to apply – because the fire department will now sponsor you.
The College Station Fire Department may be doing things a little bit differently, but over here at TEEX, the next set of brave men and women are getting certified, regardless of if they have already been hired or not.
To qualify as a first responder with college station fire you must have at least 12 college credit hours or military experience.
The CSFD will be hiring wants to hire roughly 20 new recruits through this process.
Stuart Marrs, the CSFD PIO, said the change addresses a growing trend.
"When I tested, I tested against about 100 other people for 3 positions. Now fire departments are competing with other fire departments to get enough applicants.
We're not going to let anybody who is uncertified to go out and run calls and only then after they're fully certified with the state of Texas will they be assigned to a station and start running calls," Marrs said.
Randy McGregor, TEEX Assistant Director, said even if students aren't hired before going through the certification process, it will help to get them on the right track.
"All that basic training, TEEX provides here, in different formats to accommodate the needs of the students. There are certain criteria that must be taught, must be met, in order to pass certain exams and become certified.
TEEX covers all those aspects plus additional training too, that we feel is necessary to help better prepare them," McGregor said.
If you're interested in being a paramedic, EMT, or firefighter, you can find the full list of courses TEEX offers here.