There are several in Central California. It just depends on where you are looking for. Here are a few that I know of.

Monterey Peninsula College- www.mpc.edu

Fresno has one but I don't have their web address

Visalia- www.tkfiretraining.org

Allan Hancock College. Santa Maria- www.hancockcollege.edu

Chabot College up in the San Francisco Bay area has an extensive list of fire academies, paramedic schools and other fire related information on their website. Do a search for Chabot College and you should get the right link. Hope this helps.

You can also check out Modesto and Columbia College programs

My website (Chabot College) at www.chabotfire.com should help you. You can click on the link for "FIREFIGHTER 1 CERTIFICATION AND ACADEMY INFORMATION" and you'll see most of the academies in the state listed there. Hope that helps.
Steve Prziborowski, Captain

Almost forgot ..... make sure that the Academy is approved by the State Fire Marshal not just using the curiculeum.

thanks for the info.
but i thought fresno city college's academy was approved by the State Fire Marshall, on your website Cpt Prziborowski it says it's not...anyone attend the academy there?
thanks
matt

The college is run through Fresno City College. Here is a link that should take you to the info page with the phone numbers and a brief overview.
http://www.fresnocitycollege.com/fireacademy/
I went through the academy back in 1998. I've never asked if it was approved by the State Fire Marshall, but you do recieve a
Fresno City College Certificate of Completion
CSFM Certified Firefighter 1 Training Record
CDF Basic Wildland Firefighter Certification
Hazardous Materials First Responder Operational Certificate
Confined Space Rescue Certificate
Basic ICS, I-100, I-200 Certificate
I've never heard of anyone that went through having problems with it not being certified and we've had cadets get hired with Sac Metro, Stockton, Fresno, Clovis and Kern, just to mention a few. If you have any other questions about it, feel free to send me a pm.

calvin, thanks for the reply and the link...how does one get sponsored by a fire dept.? do you just need to know the right people? also, do you know calvin, how many rotations each year FCC has for the academy and how hard it is to get in? is there a waiting list that i can get on even though i'm not in the fresno area? thanks...
matt

Sorry for the delay, haven't checked the board in awhile.
To get sponsored is basically if you are already affiliated with a department. Be it volunteer, reserve or some other function. They hold 2 classes a year, one day (M-F 8 to 5), one night (M-T 6 to 10 and 8-5 on Sat). The day class is graduating today and the night class starts Jan. 18th. The waiting list is about a year, longer for the day class. Just give the fire tech office a call, they'll put your name on a list, send you some info and when the next opening for a class comes up they'll see if you are still interested. I would call and get your name on the list as soon as you can. Sometimes a lot of people change their mind and the list gets used quickly.
Let me know if I can answer anything else for you. I help out there occasionally and should be able to get whatever info you need.

The main reason that I don't have Fresno City College's Firefighter 1 academy listed as a "State approved academy" is because I did not see any documentation supporting such. The last list I have of state approved academies does not have their academy on there. That may have changed - anyone have any information to make me say that it is? Thanks.
Steve Prziborowski, Captain
www.chabotfire.com

Los Medanos Community College in Pittsburg, CA also offers an academy once a year, starting in January. Most academies I have seen have prerequisites of 9 units of Fire Science and EMT-B certification (which you already have). Visit Los Medanos Community College at www.losmedanos.edu

Does Cuesta College have a program?????
Be......OUT-standing!