Certifications & Employment
Certification Opportunities
Having the right certification is an essential component when applying for job opportunities. The Santa Cruz County Office of Education Wildland Fire Academy program provides students opportunity to earn the following CAL FIRE & National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) Certificates:
Fire Fighter 1C: Wildland
NWCG – L180 Human Factors in the wildland fire service
NWCG S-130 Basic Wildland Fire Orientation
S-110 Basic Wildland Fire Orientation
NWCG S-190 Introduction to Wildland Fire Behavior
National Incident Management System (NIMS) Certificates
FEMA IS-100B Introduction to Incident Command System
FEMA IS-200 Basic Incident Command System for Initial Response
FEMA IS-700B NIMS, An Introduction National Incident Management System
FEMA IS-800B NIMS, National Response Plan
CAL Fire Orientation
CAL FIRE C-212 certificate of completion
Benefits and Earnings
CAL FIRE Fire Fighter 1 is eligible for the following:
$3672 - $4643 Base Salary (paid every month)
$1824 - $2305 Extended Duty Week Compensation (paid every 4 weeks)
$50,833 – $64,247 Annual Compensation (max of 9 months)
In addition to the above pay items, employees are eligible for medical benefits (health, dental, vision) and may be eligible for other pay differentials.
Benefit information can be found on the CalHR website and the CalPERS website.