Continuing Education Program is Needed for Firefighters

If you read this column with some consistency over the past year or so, it comes as no surprise to you that I am a huge advocate of training as a way to improve the fire service. The number of firefighter line-of-duty deaths in the United States has decreased each of the last five years, and training has been cited as one of the leading contributors to the decrease in deaths and injuries.
Training is clearly a life-saving technique. And with Governor Christie making changes to the state’s emergency services across the board, whether it be changes to the pensions of firefighters and police officers, altering the funds for volunteer ambulance squads, or a variety of other changes, he should take the opportunity to make a positive change to the fire service: institute a continuing-education program.
A continuing education program would be a great step towards ensuring that New Jersey’s firefighters are amongst the most highly-trained, efficient, and safe firefighters in the nation. And the institution of such a program wouldn’t be difficult – in fact, the state already requires a similar program from EMTs.
In the current setup for the state’s emergency medical technicians, EMTs are required to complete a specified number of training courses which award continuing education units, or CEUs, in a certain period of time. EMTs are also required to complete a set number of “core programs,” which are refresher courses that a geared to “refresh” the skills which EMTs learn in their initial training course.
One of the key problems with the training in the fire service is that once firefighters get their initially required training, the state’s Firefighter I program, they cease to attend another class.
Currently the state’s Firefighter I program is the only program mandated by the Division of Fire Safety in order for firefighters to be permitted to perform interior firefighting duties, but there are dozens of other classes available, including Firefighter II, the follow-up class for Firefighter I.
By taking a quick glance at Atlantic County Fire Academy’s Spring 2012 course offerings list, there are 29 classes in addition to Firefighter I and Firefighter I that are available for students to further their fire education, so there certainly isn’t a shortage of available classes that could be instituted as part of a CEU program for the fire service.
So, a continuing education program for firefighters would like something like the following: A firefighter would be required to complete the current mandatory class of Firefighter I, where basic firefighting skills are obtained and firefighters become certified to perform interior firefighting skills.
In addition to Firefighter I, Firefighter II would also become a mandatory class for all firefighters, where firefighters would be able to learn more advanced firefighting skills, such as rope rescue, basic flammable liquid operations, and basic fire investigation skills, all currently part of the Firefighter II curriculum.
Following the completion of Firefighter II, firefighters would receive their Firefighter II certification, which would hold a four-year expiration date. During the four year period, firefighters would be required to complete courses compiling a minimum of 24 CEUs, as well as take part in a firefighter refresher course within the final year of their current certification in order to qualify for recertification.
Such a program would require only the creation of a firefighter refresher program, as all other classes exist already; they would merely have to be assigned a CEU value. The state could utilize the website program already used by the state’s EMTs to complete their certifications, minimizing the cost of getting such a program up and running.
Training is the answer to minimizing injuries and death, both firefighter and civilian. Mandating such a program would be an insurance that the state’s firefighters remain in tip-top performance. Sounds like a win-win situation to me.