First Responders Academy (FRA)

San Antonio College’s First Responders Academy (FRA) near Atascosa, Texas is a state-of-the-art training facility of the protective services academic department at San Antonio College (SAC). FRA serves a trio of programs at SAC – Fire Academy, Law Enforcement Academy, and EMT/Paramedics. The facility is located on 53 acres and classes are held in 32,000+-square-foot of building space (add mobile home space too).

Fire Academy Training Facility

The facility includes a concrete block "burn building" used for fire training, a fire station for trucks and equipment and a fabric-covered Sprung building – dubbed "the Onion” – for use as a gym, (add any other structures), a series of modular and portable buildings to augment the 32,000-square-foot of building space.

Law Enforcement Training Facility

• 8,250-square-foot, two-story, high-tech "tactical room" designed for use by police and fire trainees, Dozen modular rooms that can be furnished to simulate everything from hotel rooms to classrooms. Only tactical room in 90 miles radius of San Antonio College.
• Steel catwalk for trainees to practice ascending or descending stairwells, alone or in teams, during a range of adverse conditions
• 240,000-square-foot pad for police cadets to learn defensive driving while speeding, weaving, and braking on courses laid out with traffic cones.
• An armory room with steel doors, wire mesh barriers, and reinforced walls for safe storage and distribution of the handguns and shotguns used in the law enforcement training program.
• Academy staff and faculty have their own bathrooms in the new facility and the locker rooms for faculty and trainees

EMT/Paramedic Training Facility

EMT/Paramedic Training at SAC and First Responders Academy


Training for the Emergency Medical Technician/Paramedic program takes place both at San Antonio College’s main campus and at the First Responders Academy. Training is designed to provide hands-on, real-world training for emergency medical services.

The program uses advanced medical equipment, simulation labs, and ambulances to help students develop critical life-saving skills. The curriculum includes both classroom instruction and practical training, ensuring that students are prepared for emergency situations in the field.

A simulation lab for paramedic training is located in the Nursing and Allied Health Center (NAHC) and paramedics are taught in SAC classrooms. EMT basic training is taught at the First Responders Academy.

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