Algonquin College offers Cert in Pre-Service Firefighter Education and Training, a certificate in Fire, Justice & Security programme in Ottawa, Canada. The programme runs for 36 weeks, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English.
At a glance
Degree:Certificate
Field:Fire, Justice & Security
Duration: 36 weeks
Delivery: On Campus
Language: English
We have no tuition fees on record for this programme yet — see the official programme page.
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Last reviewed September 2026 ·
Program details
Overview
Overview Prepare for a dynamic career in firefighting. The Pre-Service Firefighter Education and Training Ontario College Certificate program is a dynamic and challenging program that focuses on firefighting skills and competencies. Begin the program with an introduction to the firefighting profession and develop related skills and expertise, using theoretical and hands-on approaches. Experience more than 400 hours of experiential learning, including the opportunity to put your skills into action and take part in both a fire simulation and a live-fire training practice. This program focuses on the knowledge, skills, and professionalism required to prepare you for a future career in firefighting. Students who complete the required program components and meet the necessary prerequisites may qualify for testing administered by the Ontario Office of the Fire Marshal, leading to NFPA 1001 Firefighter I or Firefighter II certification. After graduating, you may find work with municipal, regional, territorial, airport or military fire service, as a: firefighter fire dispatcher fire prevention officer The field of industrial and fire safety also provide work opportunities for graduates.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Algonquin publishes these requirements for the Sept 2027 - Aug 2028 admissions year on this program's own page; the requirements for Sept 2026 - Aug 2027 are shown separately there and can differ. Program code 6236X01FWO. All applicants must satisfy both College Eligibility and Program Eligibility.
COLLEGE ELIGIBILITY: an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or its equivalent, or mature-student standing - 19 or older, and without a high-school diploma, by the time the program begins. Mature entry may be settled by academic achievement testing, for which a fee is charged.
PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY: Grade 12 English (ENG4C or equivalent); Grade 12 Mathematics (MAP4C or equivalent); and either Biology or Chemistry at Grade 11 or 12. No minimum grades are published for these subjects.
Applicants presenting transcripts from outside Canada must document the subjects above and may be asked for evidence of language proficiency; a domestic applicant holding international transcripts must have them assessed by the International Credential Assessment Service of Canada (ICAS) or World Education Services (WES).
ENGLISH: Academic IELTS 6.0 overall with nothing under 5.5 in any band; or TOEFL iBT 80 overall with 20 in each of reading, listening, speaking and writing where the test was sat before 21 January 2026, or 4 overall with 4 in each section where it was sat after that date; or a Duolingo English Test score of 110 overall with 110 in Literacy and nothing under 95.
If qualified applicants outnumber the seats, Algonquin selects on proficiency in English, Mathematics and Biology.
BEFORE 1 JULY: students must supply proof of current CPR at Basic Rescuer Level C with defibrillation from a recognised provider such as the Red Cross, St John Ambulance or Ottawa Paramedic Service, and a valid Standard First Aid certificate from a recognised provider.
Application Details
Start Date:Intake terms Algonquin lists for this program, read from its own availability table on 6 September 2026: Fall 2026 (AC Day 1 orientation 8 September 2026; Fall term classes start 9 September 2026). Term start dates come from the Registrar's Important Dates page, which also gives 11 January 2027 for the Winter 2027 term and 10 May 2027 for the Spring 2027 term. Availability changes as seats fill and an intake already under way may be closed, so check the program page before applying. Algonquin's academic year runs September to August.
Application Deadline:DOMESTIC APPLICANTS (Canadian citizens and permanent residents). Algonquin publishes no deadline unique to this program; the dates below are the college-wide Ontario colleges cycle and apply to every full-time day program. Applications go through ontariocolleges.ca, where 1 February is the equal consideration date each cycle: apply by then and your application is assessed alongside every other one received by that date, while applications arriving later are handled first-come, first-served for as long as places remain. For entry in Fall 2027 the ontariocolleges.ca application opened on 26 September 2026, colleges may begin issuing offers on 1 November 2026, the equal consideration date is 1 February 2027 and an offer must be accepted by 1 May 2027. The equal consideration date that governed the Fall 2026, Winter 2027 and Spring 2027 intakes was 1 February 2026 and has already passed, so those three starts are now first-come, first-served while seats last. Algonquin flags this program as competitive, which makes the 1 February date matter: qualified applicants who applied by then are rank-ordered on their screening results and offers go down that list, and everyone after it is admitted only while space remains or is waitlisted by date of application.
INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS. Apply directly to Algonquin on the International Application Form in its International Application Portal (AC360) rather than through ontariocolleges.ca, with a CAD 135 application fee. There is no single fixed international deadline: Algonquin asks you to confirm the program is open before applying, warns that a program's status can change to waitlisted or closed before an admissions officer reviews the file, and publishes a closing-date sheet for each intake. No Fall 2026 closing date is published for this program on that sheet, so check the program's international availability before applying. Note that this program's own availability table carries a single availability column rather than a separate international one, and the program is not listed on Algonquin's page of programs available to international students; confirm with the International Education Centre before applying from outside Canada.
