California needs firefighters and community colleges are stepping up

As wildfires burn faster and longer in California, community colleges are training the next generation of firefighters.

Among these schools is Pasadena City College, which has partnered with the U.S. Forest Service to train wildland firefighters this fall, including the launch of an eight-week academy starting in spring 2025.

PCC is the first college to partner with the Forest Service. The program aims to fill the growing need for EMTs and firefighters statewide, according to PCC Vice President of Instruction Laura Ramirez.

The state is currently about 1,250 wildland firefighters short to fully staff crews fighting massive infernos statewide , according to PCC.

“The wildland fire [program] is in response to a big employment gap along the entire state of California,” Ramirez said. “There is a need for wildland firefighters, you know, having to control the number of fires in the state. They don't have enough people.”

In another partnership with the Pasadena Fire Department and the Pasadena Unified School District, PCC will begin offering their EMT and firefighting courses at in the fall, giving students hands-on training at a firefighting facility also used by the city's firefighters.

“So they can see what type of work goes into it and not just sit there and go, 'Oh that looks nice on that PowerPoint' — now they can physically do it,” fire program professor Frank Brambila said.

To get the certifications to become a firefighter, students must first become an EMT and obtain the proper certifications. The fire academy consolidates the trainings to one location and becomes “a natural career ladder” for students, Ramirez said. Previously the school held the programs on two separate campuses.

High school students are eligible to join the fire program, but to qualify for the EMT program, participants must be at least 18 years old.

As the state prepares for more severe wildfires, having ready and trained firefighters is key.

“So the goal is to create a pipeline that will build our workforce here in the region,” PCC spokesperson Jillian Beck said.