Faculty
Seneca’s Fire Protection programs are a North American benchmark in providing a comprehensive fire protection education combining the best aspects of both prevention and fire suppression.
Meet Fire Protection Faculty and Graduates
Programs
Certifications
As a Seneca Fire Protection Engineering Technician or Technology student, you can obtain the following certifications:
- CFAA from Canadian Fire Alarm Association
- C.E.T. (Certified Engineering Technologist) from Ontario Association of Certified Engineering Technicians and Technologists
- C.E.Tech. (Certified Engineering Technician) from Ontario Association of Certified Engineering Technicians and Technologists
- BCIN (Building Code Identification Number) from Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
- NFPA certifications from Office of the Fire Marshal, IFSAC and ProBoard seal
- NFPA 472 Hazardous Materials Awareness
- NFPA 1031 Fire Inspector Level I and II
- NFPA 1033 Fire Investigator (for graduates hired by a fire department)
- NFPA 1035 Fire and Life Safety Educator Level I and II
- NFPA 1041 Fire Service Instructor Level I
- CRM (Canadian Risk Manager) from Canadian Risk Managers
- CIP (Certified Insurance Professional) from Certified Insurance Professionals
Please note: Certifications may require specific courses to be taken, specific grades to be achieved and may require an additional fee for the certification process. Some may require work experience before being finalized.
Labs
Benefits
Our industry-leading programs are driven by comprehensive curriculums that prepare you for highly competitive fields.
Pathways
Pathways are agreements that allow you to move from one program to another or one institution to another to further your education and obtain an additional credential. Click on the programs below to learn more about pathway options:
Work Experience
Work-integrated learning (WIL) opportunities provide you with hands-on experience before graduation. WIL options are outlined in the “Work Experience” section on each program page.
Transfer Credits
If you have completed equivalent courses from another postsecondary institution, you can apply for transfer credit through the Office of the Registrar.
News and Events
Annual live burn demonstration
Each fall, the School of Fire Protection Engineering Technology hosts a live burn demonstration at Newnham Campus, displaying the speed at which a fire can spread through a dorm room.
Fire Protection labs benefit from gift-kind donation
Support from industry helps Seneca’s fire protection students learn and train on the most up-to-date equipment, have access to industry experts and prepare to enter the workforce.
Read Fire Protection labs benefit from gift-kind donation story
Gallery
Frequently Asked Questions
These programs have a common first semester, so there is no need to decide right away; as long as you are enrolled in one of them, you are on the right path!
The two-year Fire Protection Engineering Technician program focuses on the fire alarm protection industry.
The three-year Fire Protection Engineering Technology program uses the extra year of studies to prepare students for the alarm industry as well as:
- Sprinklers (Design, Installation, Maintenance)
- Code-consulting
- Insurance / Risk Management
- Fire Inspection/Prevention, Public Education, Fire Investigation
Both programs have high employment rates, but the three-year FPT program provides more diversity in career paths.
Graduating from either program offers acceptance to the firefighter, pre-service education and training program.
Our programs have intakes starting in September and January. Starting in September, second semester would be from January to April and third semester would be the following September. Starting in January, second semester would be from May to August, and third semester would be the following September with the students who started in September.
Due to the laboratory requirements for sprinklers, alarms and other systems, this program is offered full time, during the day.
Please review the technical requirements for online learning. In addition, students studying in programs within the School of Fire Protection Engineering Technology are encouraged to have computers with the following minimum requirements:
Operating System: Windows is recommended to avoid any issues with specialized software
Processor: 3GHz or higher (2.5-2.9GHz minimum)
Memory: 16Gb (8Gb minimum)
Display: 1920 x 1080
Display Card: 4 GB GPU with 106 GB/s Bandwidth and DirectX 11 compliant (minimum: 1 GB GPU with 29 GB/s Bandwidth and DirectX 11 compliant)
A typical semester has 20 hours per week, Monday to Friday. A typical day will have about four hours of class but these classes can be scheduled anytime between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. We do our best to schedule classes as close together as possible, but this is not always possible.
Yes, you need to take a skills assessment for this program.
Skills Assessment is a tool used to determine academic placement for your math class during your first semester. Students in most certificate, diploma and advanced diploma programs will need to take the assessment to have the correct course added to their timetable.
We have several agreements with universities to allow students to continue towards a degree. You can see all pathways to Seneca programs at Academic Pathways. Graduates of the Technician or Technology program can continue on to the Pre-service Firefighting program if they would like to pursue firefighting.
If you have previous fire protection education, or work experience, you can submit transcripts to the Academic Pathways team to get credit for similar courses in our program. While at Seneca, if you want to take courses ahead of schedule, this is dependent on having the pre-requisite course as well as the course being offered that term and fitting your schedule of required courses.
Yes, you can apply to enter our co-op program and you will do your co-op as your summer job between second and third year, as a successful applicant. Our program laboratories also offer work experience using the devices and systems you will be responsible for when you start your career!
Each year fire protection students have a dedicated career fair on campus to help graduating students get hired. Companies from across North America attend our fairs. Companies also set up interviews on campus, to find their next employees from our graduating class.
No, every diploma program is required to have General Education courses, mandated by the Ministry of Education. Our programs require college English, three general educations and technical writing courses.
Yes, the better you can make your résumé, the more likely you are to receive interviews and to be successful in the hiring process.