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City EMT program reports 189 alumni, 164 state‑licensed EMTs and growing internship pipeline into SFFD
Summary
Attica Bowden and program director Christine Ison updated the Fire Commission on City EMT’s expansion: two cohorts per year, a $11,200 stipend per student, high application volume for cohort 10, and an internship program that has funneled dozens of candidates into H2/H3 positions with SFFD.
Attica Bowden, founder and executive director of City EMT, told the Fire Commission on July 23 that the workforce program has produced 189 alumni since its 2021 pilot and that 164 of those alumni have passed the California state EMT licensing exam.
"Our very first cohort started in 2021 ... we launched in January with 15 students. And we are now in the interview phase for cohort 10," Bowden said. She said City EMT runs two cohorts a year, each 16 to 17 weeks, and pays participants a stipend of $11,200 for meeting program requirements.
Bowden told commissioners the program received 117 applications for the most recent opening and has been expanding its offerings beyond basic EMT training, including a wildland course, an emergency dispatch test‑prep program, and free community CPR classes in the Bayview and Sunnydale neighborhoods.
"We have 189... we call them babies, but they're actually alumni," Bowden said. "We have 189 who have graduated from the program and 164 who have successfully passed their state, license examination." She said the program is interviewing for cohort 10 and that 10 alumni are currently in background investigations with the Fire Department.
Program director Christine Ison said City EMT’s internship program (referred to in the meeting as the "99T" internship) has placed 70 students in ride‑alongs and field internships with the department and that the internship has yielded measurable hires: 37 of those interns became H‑2 firefighters or H‑3 level‑1 EMTs, and two more were completing a level‑1 academy at the time of the meeting, bringing the internship’s conversion to SFFD apprenticeships/hire pathways to 39 to date.
"Since our inception, we actually had 70 students who have participated in the much needed internship program," Ison said. "37 of those students became H‑two firefighters and H‑three level 1 EMTs. Two more are actually graduating this Friday... that brings us to 39." She and Bowden credited a wide array of active‑duty SFFD instructors and volunteers for instruction, ride‑alongs and mentorship.
Commissioners praised the program’s outcomes and urged continued city support. Several commissioners noted the program’s role in local workforce development, upward mobility for participants and helping SFFD meet recruitment needs during a wave of retirements (the department reported 63 retirements this fiscal year during the administration report).
Bowden and Ison asked commissioners to sustain advocacy and access to training facilities, instructors and modest funding to allow modest class size expansion (the program is exploring increasing cohort size from 25 to 28 students if funds permit). Bowden also highlighted the internship‑to‑hire pathway as a key outcome and urged continued partnership with SFFD to keep the pipeline active.
No action vote was required on the presentation. Commissioners and department staff said they would continue coordination on internships, background investigations and training access.
