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To become certified in Basic Structure Fire Suppression you must:
You may be exempt from the exam requirement if you have never been certified and hold an IFSAC seal or TEEX Proboard certificate.
It states that the individual has successfully met the requirements of the applicable NFPA standard.
If you hold NFPA 472 Hazardous Materials Awareness, Hazardous Materials Operations, NFPA 1001 Structural Fire Fighter I, and Structural Fire Fighter II seals you do not have to take the commission’s structural exam.
Add this seal to your FIDO account by uploading a copy of each to the Submissions page, Register IFSAC Seal button.
If you are exempt from testing because you have a qualifying IFSAC or TEEX Proboard seal, move to the next step.
If you hold a TEEX ProBoard certificate indicating that your course was taught to the 2008 (or later) edition of NFPA 1001, you do not have to take the commission's structural exam.
It is important to note that the TEEX ProBoard certificate must have the TEEX pro board seal number and the TCFP training prior approval (TPA) number printed on the certificate in order to comply with §439.1 (2).
Add this certificate to your FIDO account by uploading a copy of each to the Submissions page, Register TEEX Proboard button.
View certified training facilities here.
View upcoming training here.
You must complete a commission-approved Structure Fire Suppression training program as outlined in Chapter 1 of the commission's Certification Curriculum Manual.
A "basic structure fire suppression training program" is a school, course or academy that teaches everything in the commission's Basic Fire Suppression Curriculum.
Many of the skills you will learn in the basic fire suppression course are "hands on" skills. These skills include tasks such as:
The basic fire suppression training includes several dozen skills. An important part of your training is learning how to perform all of these tasks safely. For the state performance evaluation, you won't know ahead of time which of the skills you'll have to perform. We will randomly select several to test you on.
The structure curriculum covers all of the National Fire Protection Association's (NFPA) qualifications for:
If you attend a commission-certified training program, the program will include an official, formal evaluation of your performance of these randomly selected skills. A commission-approved field examiner will conduct the evaluation.
If you're not sure your program includes this evaluation, ask your training coordinator or give us a call 512-936-3838.
The basic fire suppression certification test is the written part of the state examination process.
Passing Score: 70% or higher on each section
Academy Examination Procedures(PDF)
If your exam scores have expired, retesting is required to be eligible for certification (in addition to any other prerequisites). Contact the training and testing division of the commission at 512-936-3811 or testing@tcfp.texas.gov for more information.
If you have passed your exam with a 70% or higher please move to step five.
If you haven't passed your exam, retake it.
The following medical training or certification (or equivalent) must be submitted prior to being eligible for basic certification:
Log into your FIDO account to upload a copy of the required medical training. You may upload a copy of a completion certificate, wallet ID card, or a copy of National Registry or TxDSHS through the Submissions page, Medical Training button.
You must make an appointment for a fingerprint-based background check at an IdentoGo office. This must be completed for TCFP, even if you have already done this for another agency.
You can schedule this appointment by following the instructions found on FAST-Pass (PDF). This may be completed outside of Texas if necessary as IdentoGo has locations throughout the U.S.
The results of your criminal history background check will be available to us electronical within three to five days after your appointment. Once the commission reviews, a completion record is added to your Records in FIDO.
FIDO is a web portal that allows you to access your exam grades, apply for certifications, and more.
You will need a FIDO account to apply for certification.
If you have ever tested with the commission or held certification, you already have an account. Please do not create a new FIDO account. Contact the commission at 512-936-3838 for assistance.
If you need any guidance, check out our FIDO Tutorials to learn how to create an account and other important information.
Step 1: Log into FIDO.
Step 2: Click on the Applications on the left menu.
Step 3: Click on the green Apply button (if it is not green, you are not eligible).
Step 3: Follow the instructions to create an invoice.
Step 4: Click on Invoices on the left menu
Step 5: Click the green Pay link on the far right of the screen.
Step 6: Follow the instructions on Texas.gov to enter credit card information for payment to have certificate issued immediately.
Step 1: Log into FIDO
Step 2: Click Records on the left menu
Step 3: Click Certifications within the green bar
Step 4: Click Print next to the name of the certificate. This will open a PDF that can be downloaded and saved or printed. The commission does not mail hard copies of certificates.
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