St. Louis County Fire Academy – Certification for Employment at St. Louis County Fire Service Agencies

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43 FIRE SERVICE AGENCIES

To work at any of the 43 fire service agencies in St. Louis County, you must be certified through the St. Louis Fire Academy.

OUR FOUNDING

The St. Louis County Fire Academy opened on January 14, 1980 with the goal to “provide high-quality, standardized training for recruits entering services in the county’s (many) fire districts.”

FIRST CLASS INSTRUCTION

Our staff of lead and assistant instructors at St. Louis County Fire Academy include line firefighters and fire officers at all levels in the fire service.

ALUMNI

Over the last 4 decades, the St. Louis Fire Academy has trained and certified thousands of firefighters. See our fully searchable and exportable list of Alumni under About Us.

Welcome to the St. Louis County Fire Academy

About the Academy

Opening in 1980, the St. Louis County Fire Academy began training and certifying firefighters for the 43 different fire departments and fire protection districts in St. Louis County. To work at any of these 43 fire service agencies, you must be certified through us.

There are two ways to go through the academy. The first is to be hired as a full-time, paid firefighter by a fire service district in St. Louis County. The other way is to go through the Academy as a self-sponsored student.

MORE ABOUT THE ACADEMY

Diversity

Fighting fires and rescuing people is for everyone, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, or other cultural socioeconomic status.

Employment

Upon certification, each individual seeks their own employment in the fire service. The fire service agencies in St. Louis County have their own individual hiring requirements. The STLCO Fire Academy does not hire firefighters, nor do they provide a job placement service.

Flexibility

We offer three classes each year, with typically 32 students in each class. Each class is a combination of new hires from St. Louis County Fire agencies and Self-Sponsored Students.

Crosstraining

94% of the 1551 firefighters presently working in the 43 different agencies in St. Louis County have either a Paramedics license (82%) or are E.M.T.s (12%). Other agencies in St. Louis County provide these important certifications.

Point Process

SELF-SPONSORED STUDENT ADMISSION PROCESS

MORE INFORMATION FOR SELF-SPONSORED STUDENTS

General Overview

The Greater St. Louis County Fire Academy is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational corporation that contracts with the St. Louis County Fire Standards Commission to provide firefighter training for St. Louis County. The St. Louis County Fire Standards Commission maintains the waiting list, determines when applications are released, and sets the minimum standards. For admissions information, please go to the Application Process page on this website.

We currently hold three (3) classes a year with 32 students in each class. Each class is a combination of New Hires from St. Louis County fire agencies and Self-Sponsored students. If we have 10 New Hires needing to be rostered for a class, the balance of the seats, 22, would be filled with Self-Sponsored students.

Our classes are scheduled Monday through Friday, starting at 8:00 am and concluding at 4:00 pm, with a few exceptions that will be communicated in advance.

Each class runs 14.5 weeks in length.

Effective September 1, 2025, tuition is $4,660.00, which includes your books and PT clothes. This fee is subject to change.

Tuition is always due in full three (3) weeks before the first day of class. The Academy does not offer any type of payment plan. After class commences, there is NO refund of tuition if a recruit fails to complete the training program for any reason, including excessive absences due to illness or injury, personal reasons, or is dismissed by the Academy for good cause shown. If a recruit repeats a class for any reason, the full tuition is applicable.

Payment may be made with a credit/debit card (Mastercard, Visa, Discover, and American Express) or cashier’s check. Card payments can be made over the phone. Personal checks and cash are NOT accepted. Please call in advance to ensure someone is in the office to receive your payment.

A 3% service fee is charged for all card payments. If you wish to avoid paying the fee, you may pay with a cashier’s check.

The Fire Academy has been approved for G.I. Bill® benefits effective July 7, 2013. To apply for benefits, please go to GIBill.va.gov. After you’re rostered for a recruit class, call Betty Stoecklin at 314-889-8670 to make the necessary arrangements. To determine eligibility for VA payments, call 888-442-4551.

G.I. Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government website at http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.

Oct132017

New Training and Burn Tower

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We began utilizing the new Training/Burn Tower in March 2017 during the 100th Recruit Class Structure Burns. We would like to thank Phil Lopez for his tireless work, Kim Besserman for his support and work with St. Louis County, Jim Usry for his assistance, Kurt Becker and the Fire Academy Board of Directors for their…