ASAgent Santé#hospital ADSQAgent de sécurité QuébecThe security guard's notebook AAAgent Ambulancier#paramedic APAgent Policier#police
Firefighter at the City of Québec: $52,114 to $101,587 a year in 2026Lieutenant at the City of Québec: $111,744 in 2026Captain at the City of Québec: $121,903 in 2026Firefighter in Montreal: $50,808 to $88,367 a year (2023)Lieutenant in Montreal: $97,202 (2023)Captain in Montreal: $106,041 (2023)SOPFEU forest firefighter: $27.16 an hour in the first yearFirefighter in Quebec, median wage: $40.17 an hourPart-time firefighter in L'Assomption: $24.88 an hour (2025)Part-time firefighter in La Matapédia: $19.28 to $28.56 an hourFirefighter at the City of Québec: $52,114 to $101,587 a year in 2026Lieutenant at the City of Québec: $111,744 in 2026Captain at the City of Québec: $121,903 in 2026Firefighter in Montreal: $50,808 to $88,367 a year (2023)Lieutenant in Montreal: $97,202 (2023)Captain in Montreal: $106,041 (2023)SOPFEU forest firefighter: $27.16 an hour in the first yearFirefighter in Quebec, median wage: $40.17 an hourPart-time firefighter in L'Assomption: $24.88 an hour (2025)Part-time firefighter in La Matapédia: $19.28 to $28.56 an hour
Training

École nationale des pompiers du Québec (ENPQ): Firefighter I, registration, exams and Mon dossier

The ENPQ certifies Quebec's firefighters. Firefighter I lasts 255 hours, registration goes through a training manager and exam results arrive in "Mon dossier".

· Lire en français

The École nationale des pompiers du Québec (ENPQ), Quebec's firefighter school, issues the certificates a firefighter must hold to work in a municipality of 200,000 inhabitants or fewer. Its basic program, Firefighter I, lasts 255 hours. Here the acronym refers to the firefighter school, whose offices are in Laval. The École nationale de police du Québec, in Nicolet, uses the same acronym and has no connection with it. This text applies to women and men firefighters alike.

The role of the École nationale des pompiers

Section 49 of the Fire Safety Act (chapter S-3.4) establishes the École. Section 52 gives it its mission: to ensure the relevance, quality and consistency of the qualifying vocational training of firefighters and other municipal staff working in fire safety. Its website places its creation in 2000 and states that it reports to the Ministère de la Sécurité publique.

The ENPQ does not give courses on its premises. Its website describes administrative offices where programs and exams are designed. It administers the professional qualification exams, accredits training and recognizes diploma equivalences. Its certificates bear the seal of the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress (IFSAC).

The programs the ENPQ certifies

The "Programmes de formation" page of the ENPQ website presents eight programs, consulted on October 11, 2026.

ProgramLengthPrerequisite stated by the ENPQ
Firefighter I255 hoursMinimum reading ability
Firefighter II120 hoursFirefighter I or its equivalent
Pumper Operator30 hoursFirefighter I and class 4A driver's licence
Aerial Apparatus Operator30 hoursFirefighter I and class 4A driver's licence
Extrication30 hoursFirefighter I or its equivalent
Non-urban Officer90 hoursFirefighter I or its equivalent
Officer I150 hoursFirefighter II or Non-urban Officer
Officer II150 hoursOfficer I

Source: École nationale des pompiers du Québec, program profiles, consulted on October 11, 2026.

Firefighter I training: 255 hours

The program profile sets the total length at 255 hours. The course list published by the ENPQ divides them into four sections: 58 hours, 96 hours, 95 hours and 6 hours.

Passing the exams gives three certificates: Firefighter I, Hazardous Materials Awareness and Hazardous Materials Operations.

Training required by municipality size

The Règlement sur les conditions pour exercer au sein d'un service de sécurité incendie municipal (chapter S-3.4, r. 1), up to date as of June 1, 2026, sets the firefighter's training in section 3.

Population served by the fire departmentTraining required
Fewer than 25,000 peopleFirefighter I certificate from the ENPQ
From 25,000 to 200,000 peopleFirefighter II certificate from the ENPQ
More than 200,000 peopleDEP (Diploma of Vocational Studies) in Fire Safety Intervention

Source: LégisQuébec, chapter S-3.4, r. 1, section 3. The DEP is accepted in all municipalities.

A person may act as an apprentice, under the supervision of a qualified firefighter, while obtaining certification. This period does not exceed 48 consecutive months after hiring. It does not apply in a fire department serving more than 200,000 people.

Sections 4 to 6 require the Pumper Operator, Aerial Apparatus Operator and Extrication certificates for these tasks, except for the holder of the DEP.

How to register

Registration goes through a training manager, not through the ENPQ. For registration, costs and the schedule, the ENPQ website refers to the region's training manager. These managers are municipal fire departments, school service centres and other organizations. The ENPQ's online directory lists 99 of them on October 11, 2026, by region. The ENPQ publishes no fees on the pages consulted.

The qualification exams

The ENPQ's Guide de qualification professionnelle Pompier I, dated January 2019, provides for five multiple-choice theory exams of 30, 25, 40, 55 and 30 questions, and two practical exams. The passing mark is 60% for theory and 80% for practice.

The ENPQ sends results within 20 working days.

What "Mon dossier" is for

The ENPQ home page presents "Mon dossier académique" (the ENPQ's online file) this way: students, instructors and managers find the documents of their path there, namely transcripts, diplomas, evaluations and results. The link leads to the portal portail-pompiers.enpq.qc.ca. The 2019 guide states that exam results are entered there and that the candidate accesses it with a personal username and password.

This text summarizes public documents. It is not legal advice or union advice.

Further reading

Did you like this article?

Share this article

Facebook LinkedIn Reddit X Email

Frequently asked questions

What training is needed to become a Firefighter I?

You must take the Firefighter I program of the École nationale des pompiers du Québec, which lasts 255 hours, then pass its qualification exams. The certificate allows you to be a firefighter in a fire department serving fewer than 25,000 people.

How long does training to become a firefighter take?

The Firefighter I program lasts 255 hours and the Firefighter II program adds 120. The DEP in Fire Safety Intervention, required in cities of more than 200,000 inhabitants, represents 1,185 hours according to the ENPQ website, about one year of full-time study.

When will online Firefighter I training start in 2026?

The ENPQ publishes no start date for Firefighter I. The schedule depends on each training manager, who must be contacted directly. The pages consulted on October 11, 2026 announce no online Firefighter I training.

What studies are needed to become a firefighter in Quebec?

The regulation requires the Firefighter I certificate in a fire department serving fewer than 25,000 people and the Firefighter II certificate from 25,000 to 200,000 people. Above 200,000 people, it requires the DEP in Fire Safety Intervention. The ENPQ website adds that some large cities also require the DEC (college diploma) in Fire Safety Techniques.

How do I register for Firefighter I training?

You register with a training manager in your region, not with the ENPQ. The directory on the ENPQ website gives their contact information by administrative region.

Is the firefighters' ENPQ the same school as the one in Nicolet?

No. The École nationale des pompiers du Québec is established by section 49 of the Fire Safety Act and its offices are in Laval. The Nicolet school is the École nationale de police du Québec, which trains police officers.

Did you like this article?

Share this article

Facebook LinkedIn Reddit X Email

Sources

Read also