The Tarrant County College Fire Service Training Center hosted a delegation from Singapore on Friday, July 7. The delegation requested the visit as part of Singapore’s efforts to enhance training facilities for firefighters and paramedics.
The group from the Civil Defence Academy, part of the Singapore Civil Defence Force, met with the College’s faculty and staff and tour TCC’s training site at the Northwest Campus. The delegation used the visit to assist in the design of a new training facility.
“We are pleased to welcome the Civil Defence Academy representatives and share our perspective on training first responders,” said Steve Keller, FSTC director. “We are fortunate to have outstanding facilities and resources, which serve as a model for training programs not just in Texas, but around the world.”
TCC is the region’s primary training facility for firefighters and other first responders. Fire Service Training Center courses combine classroom instruction with hands-on skills training. Facility features include a simulated city for live firefighting – with streets, residences, businesses, an apartment-hotel complex and high-rise buildings – along with a swift-water rescue site, trench rescue training area, confined-space rescue maze and simulated train derailment with hazardous materials scenario.
TCC holds three 14-week cadet classes each year, and the Fire Academy is certified with the Texas Commission on Fire Protection, which makes graduates eligible to take the state certification exam for basic firefighting. TCC consistently has a pass rate of (or near) 100 percent. In addition to the Fire Academy, the Fire Service Training Center offers an Associate of Applied Science in Fire Protection Technology and continuing education for professional and volunteer firefighters.
