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Zion Fire Academy apprenticeship
The trade nobody told you about.
Get paid to learn fire protection: four ten-hour days in the field with a Zion crew, then Friday in the classroom and lab. Zion sponsors your NICET and Texas licensing track.
The model
4 / 10 + Friday.
Monday through Thursday you work paid ten-hour days with a crew. Friday is Academy Day: eight hours split between inspection, testing & maintenance and your specialty track — fire alarm, special hazards or BDA/ERCES.
Field, Mon–Thu
Real installs, inspections and service calls with a journeyman. Hours count toward your 4,000-hour (6,000 for Design) program requirement.
Classroom, Friday
Four hours paid by Zion, four hours you invest in yourself. Code navigation, panel labs, riser work, practice exams. Only a genuine emergency cancels class — and it gets logged.
Milestones
Each milestone updates your ZRPM score and unlocks the next access level — apprentice to technician. 85% on practice exams before any NICET sitting.
Apprentice story · October 2026
Hired in May. Both Texas fire alarm exams passed by October — first try.
Most people who enter this trade spend years as a helper before anyone puts them on a real path to a license. If that's you, it's not a lack of talent. Nobody is actually teaching you.
Nick Bleggi joined Zion Fire Protection in May 2026 with no fire alarm license. A month later he started the Academy's fire alarm track: four days in the field with a Zion crew, Friday in the classroom, and the online course, ZionFlash decks and practice exams in between. He passed the State Fire Marshal's Fire Alarm Statutes & Rules exam (TFM-11) with an 88% on his first attempt, then the Fire Alarm Technician exam (TFM-12) with another 88% — first attempt again. The passing score is 70%.
Next on his ladder: the Texas fire extinguisher license and NICET Fire Alarm Systems Level I. At Zion, the FAL is where you start, not where you stop.
"Honestly, the fire alarm training over-qualified me for the state exams. The courses, the flashcards, and especially the practice tests are incredible."
Five career paths
Pick a ladder. Climb it with us.
- Fire Alarm Technician — Texas FAL licensee first, then NICET Fire Alarm Systems I and II plus 24 months of documented field work to promote to technician.
- Water-Based Inspector — NFPA 25, NICET ITWBS, Texas RME-I.
- Sprinkler Designer — NICET Water-Based Systems Layout, hydraulic calcs, 6,000 OJT hours.
- Special Hazards Technician — clean agent, pre-engineered and kitchen systems; NICET Special Hazards.
- BDA / ERCES Technician — public-safety radio coverage: testing, installation, commissioning; FCC GROL; NICET In-Building Public Safety Communications.
Sponsored credentials
Zion invests in your licenses. They stay yours.
Tuition, exam fees, code books and classroom time for your track are covered by Zion under a training-sponsorship agreement you review and sign before each sponsored course. Your Texas licenses and NICET certifications belong to you, no matter what. Full details are shared with team members during onboarding and in the Zion Team portal.
Free workshop · second Friday of every month · 10:00 AM
Not sure this trade is for you? Spend 2.5 hours with us first.
Changing careers on a guess is scary. You shouldn't have to commit before you've seen the work. So come see it.
- An honest introduction to the fire protection industry — the work, the pay path, the licenses.
- A tour of the company and our training labs: panel stands, sprinkler riser, BDA head-end.
- The tools you'd carry, in your hands.
- A short practice test so we both know where you stand. No experience required.
- Candidates who qualify are handed the apprenticeship agreement and contract on the spot and can start work right away — with three months of heavy online coursework toward their first license.
Zion Fire Protection training room · 3275 N McDonald St, Suite 1, McKinney, TX 75071 · 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM Central · Seats are limited; online sign-up required.
Reserve your seat
Free. We'll email a confirmation and a reminder.
See it
Sixty seconds on the trade.
Start here
No experience required. Show up ready to work.
Come to the free workshop on the second Friday, or apply directly at zion.us. We hire for attitude and train for everything else.