About the course

Individuals who get a job as a Type 1 FireRanger with the ministry or as a Type 2 firefighter with one of the private companies under contract with the ministry should have successfully completed the SP100 firefighting course. While you don't have to be 18 years of age to take this course, you must have reached age 18 before you can be hired by either the ministry or a fire crew contractor. A number of private training agencies and publicly funded colleges have been accredited to provide the SP100 course.

The 40-hour course is intensely focused on safety and will prepare you to assume the role of an entry-level forest fire crew member. You will be trained in the maintenance and operation of equipment, including the power pump, and in the proper use of suppression hand tools, communications equipment and camping gear. You will also learn about basic fire behaviour and fire terminology.

Effective as of the 2023 fire season, new FireRanger recruits hired with the ministry may be eligible for re-imbursement of the SP100 course tuition. Please contact the hiring manager for further details. Successful completion of the SP100 firefighter training course does not guarantee candidates will be hired.

Certification

SP100 Wildland Fire Fighter Certification is valid for one full season after the successful completion of the course. If you take the course in 2023 and pass, your certification is valid for the 2023 and 2024 fire seasons.

To maintain your SP100 certification up until 2025, you’ll need to do on-the-job training with either the ministry or a fire crew contractor. This requirement must be met every year to keep your certification current.

If you miss the 2024 fire season or are not employed with the ministry or a fire crew contractor, your certification will lapse for the 2025 fire season. In order to recertify for the 2025 fire season, you will be required to complete a one-day SP100 Recertification Training Course from an accredited training agency, which may involve costs to be incurred by the individual. If your certification lapses, please continue to monitor this webpage or contact the ministry regarding re-certification requirements.

Private SP100 training agencies

SP100 accredited training agencies for 2023:

Fire 1
Contact: Lori Anne Stanger
North Bay
Telephone: 705-622-2810
Email: fire1training@gmail.com
Web: Fire 1

Geraldton Community Forest Inc.
Contact: Cory Nephin
105 MacOdrum Drive, PO Box 400
Geraldton, Ontario, P0T 1M0
Telephone: 807-854-2335 ext. 7001
Email: cory.nephin@gcfi.net
Web: Geraldton Community Forest Inc.

Specialty Services Agency
Site 124, RR 4, PO Box 32
Dryden, Ontario, P8N 0A2
Telephone: 807-216-7650
Email:  mmacquarrie@drytel.net
Web: Specialty Services Agency

Wildfire Specialists Inc.
PO Box 179
Courtland, Ontario, N0J 1E0
Telephone: 705-698-4342
Email: bjan@kwic.com
Web: Wildfire Specialists Inc.

The above SP100 accredited training agencies operate as private businesses. Please contact them directly for information on locations and dates of training.

Colleges offering SP100 training

The following Ontario colleges provide the SP100 Wildland Firefighter Training Course.

To take the course, you must be:

  • registered at the college for full-time placement in a natural resources-based program
  • enrolled in at least 1 semester course that includes a forest fire management component

Algonquin College
1 College Way
Pembroke, Ontario, K8A 0C8
Telephone: 613-735-4700
Web: Algonquin College - Forestry Technician

College Boreal
21 Boulevard Lasalle
Sudbury, Ontario, P3A 6B1
Telephone: 705-560-6673
Web: College Boreal

Sault College Forest Conservation Technician Program
443 Northern Avenue
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, P6B 4J3
Telephone: 705-759-2554 ext. 2222
Email: studentrecruitment@saultcollege.ca
Web: Sault College Forest Conservation Technician Program