Firefighter Training Requirements

[Shafer607]

I am doing some research on the MINIMUM requirement for a brand new firefighter to be able to begin structural firefighting. I want to know what your state requires for training. I also would like to know what the MINIMUM requirement is to be a fire officer in your state.

[ff7134]

The state required that you have you 36 hr Firefighter card to be a structural firefighter. The person must be 18y/o and a HS graduate or GED.

As for officers, that is all up to the department. Most of the departments require the State Fire Company Officer I as a minimum. The State class is the same as the NFA Class. Some departments around me don't and they go by the "Good Old Boy" way. I know mine and a few others you must have the Company Officer III, and at least an Associates degree, for Asst. Chief and above at least a Bachelors.

Hope that helps, if you need anymore info email me.

[EdShanks]

Like ff7134 said - the bare-bones basic, to become a volunteer, is 36 hours. I believe career departments are required to have 240 hours. (I'm so darn old it was 200 hours when I went through it!). More and more volunteer departments are requiring the 240 hours of training, though, whether the state demands it or not.

I have yet to figure out why the requirements are so different - the fire doesn't care whether we're paid or volly.

[pfd3501]

Ed

As a chief of a all volly fire department, I can see both sides of the 36 hour issue

Should we have more training? Absolutely

How much is enough for a volunteer? That's the million dollar question.

In the 36 hour class you learn how to put on an air pack, basic fire behavior, basic pump operation, basically how to put the wet stuff on the red stuff.

Some of this goes back to how much time the volunteers have for training, and how much the departments have to spend on training them. If you think there is a big disparity in how schools are funded, you need to go around to different departments and see how they are funded (or not funded).

[firenresq77]

To be a Volunteer FF in OH, you need to have the 36 hour Volunteer FF training, which is basically enough to get you killed

To be a Part-time FF you need to have the Minimum of FF-I which is 120 hours. If you already have the 36 hour, there is a 84 hour class to bump you up to the FF-I

To be a full-time FF, you need to have the FF-II, which is 240 hours. If you have FF-I, you can take a 120 hour class to bump you to the FF-II

As was said earlier, the State does not require any specific courses to become an officer.

My dept. requires FF-I certification, EMT-B, 24 hours of leadership training, Hazmat Ops, must be in the top 50% of those attending runs, can't remember if there's anything else. Steve, Todd, or Joel, am I missing anything???

[ff7134]

You know after looking at the 36hr class (I took it awhile ago) their is no way that it is enough. It is just enough to get you killed.

Now before anyone gets their "underwear in a bunch" let me finish. I think that the minimum should be FFI. And I know that funding is a major thing...my dept is a combo dept so we have a little bit of everything. I know that when I started we didn't have a ton of money for training...I think the state should fund getting these guys with FF 1a up to FFI certs....and if they don't want to do that amount of training then you can't be an interior FF.

I still think that the biggest downfall to Ohio FF is the departments that really don't do alot of training period. I can think of at least 5 depts that worry more about having meetings and shoot the bull than training. They are going to be the ones most likely to not recognize flashover signs and ther basic fire-behavior warning signs.

I guess thats just my opinion.....

[Weruj1]

I fully support starting at the 1-B level and I keep hearing that soon that will be the standard........I do hope so.........volly or not. Back when I got on I was 18 and never really understood at that time when the instrictor said " I have taught you all just enough to get yourselves killed", I know I sat there and had no idea of the implications he mentioned, however as time goes on...........nothing could be farther form the truth ....

[ff7134]

Boy what an eye opener I had when I went to Reynoldsburg after having my 36. I sat their and thought "Why in the Hell wasn't I shown that???" Oh I remember.....we only had 36 hrs instead of 240. I have now sat through (2) 240 classes. Once at a local training school, and once down at the Academy. And other than better equipment....they were about the same. I say it shouldn't matter where you get your 240....because we all have to take the same test.

[WTFD10]

Jeff, I agree with your statement that continuing education is very important

I'm a big advocate for higher certifications for volunteers (even though I haven't made it to I-B or I-C yet ) and I started a thread on this very subject back when these state forums were first put up. Since then, I have changed my opinion slightly:

The Michigan county just to the north of me requires ALL of their firefighters to complete FFII (240) within 2 years of being hired (paid) or joining (volunteers).

That being said, my department (most of us only have 36 hours) can run circles around some of their departments on the fireground. And I don't mean to sound arrogant when I say that.

I feel the reason is we have required weekly 3 hour drills that build on what we were taught in the 36 hour class and much of the info taught in FFII is learned that way.

Yes, the 240 looks great on paper and inititally you will be much better trained than a 36 hour firefighter but you must have continuing education throughout your career.

Yes, FFI or even II would be great for volunteers but I now feel that a continuing education requirement similar to EMS would be even better.

[EdShanks]

pfd3501 wrote: "How much is enough for a volunteer? That's the million dollar question."

Chief, I respectfully disagree. The million dollar question should be 'how much is enough for a firefighter?' We do the same jobs on the same fire scenes. I know there are factors such as the time required, but two 3-hour evenings a week would have it knocked out in 40 weeks. I'll even go so far as to say that maybe the entire 240 hours isn't necessary for a small, underfunded department that sees little action, but 36?!?! With all that we're expected to do, that's just not enough time to even touch on what we're exposed to. When people don't know who else to call, they call the FD. We all respond to alarm drops of one kind or another, even if it's just a 911 call reporting someone's smoke alarm is sounding off. We're expected to know something about them - not necessarily how to reset a complex industrial system, but we should all have enough of a working knowledge so that we can make use of the information the alarm system gives us. And as cars change and more exotic options are available, anyone who responds to a car fire had better know what's going to kill or maim them if they don't pay attention. I remember when all you had to worry about was the shock-absorbing bumpers that, if heated to the point of failure, would shoot away from the car and take your legs off. Now there's the sodium azide that powers the air bags, there are some (only one or two, thankfully) that have charges like a .22 cal. blank integrated into the seat belt system, so that in the event of a wreck they fire and tighten up the belts, reducing passenger injuries,... And things like this are all before the other things a FD might do - MVA response, EMS calls, and so on.

Prior to my 16 years (currently) on my career department, I was a vollie for 6 years in a village department. The first fire truck I drove and pumped was a 1950 International, 750 gpm pumper. We also, at that time, had a 1959 Pirsch, a 1971 Pirsch (both straight-8s) and a 1976 Dodge 1-ton grass truck. Oh, and I can't forget the chief's favorite of the fleet - a 1929 Stutz pumper! I sure know what a limited budget and time constraints are all about. The full-time service isn't all that different in a lot of those areas.

I went through the 36-hour school in 1982, and the 200 hour class I took in 1988 covered things in depth that the 36-hour classes barely skimmed.

I just think 36 hours isn't enough time to teach a firefighter what he or she needs to know on the job. When the career classes went from 200 to 240 hours, the vollie requirements should have been raised too, I think.

[Ohiovolffemtp]

While many if not most departments require their part-time personnel to have the FF1 or FF1-B (120 hour) certification, it is NOT required by either state law or Division of EMS rules.

You must be 18 when you take the test for your FF1A, or any other FF certification (or EMT). However, you do NOT have to be either a HS grad or have a GED. Many education institutions require this, but neither state law nor division of EMS rules require it.

I've had to research both of these questions several times as a fire & EMT instructor.

[firenresq77]

Originally posted by Ohiovolffemtp
While many if not most departments require their part-time personnel to have the FF1 or FF1-B (120 hour) certification, it is NOT required by either state law or Division of EMS rules.

You must be 18 when you take the test for your FF1A, or any other FF certification (or EMT). However, you do NOT have to be either a HS grad or have a GED. Many education institutions require this, but neither state law nor division of EMS rules require it.

I've had to research both of these questions several times as a fire & EMT instructor.

OK, I'm going to have to find this, because I know I've seen it. The requirement for FFI is not a local thing. The HS Diploma/GED thing probably is......

[WTFDChief730]

Very well said WTFD10, On paper we all can agree that the 36 hr. course is not nearly enough to really train someone to do this line of work. To me, I look at the 36 hr. course as a basic intro to the fire service with just enough time to review some of the basic subject areas. Its what a department does as far as continuing their training of members that really makes the difference. Obviously I agree with you on the statement that we run circles around our volly brothers to the north who have to be trained to the FFII level, its because we take an aggresive proactive attitude in training our members every week for 3 hours. I always compare ourselves to the big city paid guys we are encircled by, only because I work for them too , but working for both departments I feel we are just as good and just as knowledgeable as they are, the only thing we lax compared to them is on the job experience, they go to alot of fires and we dont. You cant beat on the job training. I agree with the continuing education, only because of those departments out there that rarely drill or just drill once a month, you have to keep your skills up, plus the fire service changes so much you just have too.

[WTFD10]

Well thanks Chief. See, I'm not always stubborn and bull-headed

I still want to get those certs though LOL

[Weruj1]

look at Ron go !!!!!!!!!!!

[ff7134]

I think if the state would make it mandatory for x amount of hour of training a month and that is had to be turned in to the state then you wouldn't need CE hours. That should be your department specific training. Hell I could go to a High Rise Fire Class for CE....but the likely hood of that happening in my area is 0!!!! But department training on drafting and tanker shuttle...that is something that I use at fires. I think that some (not picking on volunteers)departments are more concerned about their Cheese Sale money and the next fund raiser than the job that may get them killed due to they don't train. I asked a guy from another county that was in a class with me how much they train.....he said unless I go to an outside class (he pays for it)maybe 2-3 times a YEAR!!!!! Yet they have a business meeting once a week every week. And I do understand they need the money....but Christ you need to train too. You just have to have some type of priorities...my dept has volunteers and they train once a week for at least 3 hours. And alot of them come up if they can and train w/us at the station when we do our crew training.

Their has to be something...some way to improve the amount of training that is done. Because our lives and the lives of those we are sworn to protect depend on it.

[firenresq77]

Ohiovolffemtp - I don't know if this is exactly what I was looking for but.......

4765-11-11 Firefighter I.

(A) A program to train part-time firefighters shall require that participants successfully complete a fire training program of not less than one hundred twenty hours that meets all the objectives in the current NFPA standard 1001, firefighter I. The training shall commence and end within a consecutive twelve-month period.

(B) A program to train certified volunteer firefighters to the firefighter I level shall require that participants successfully complete a fire training program of not less than eighty-four hours that meets all objectives in the current NFPA standard 1001, firefighter I. The training shall commence and end within a consecutive twelve-month period.

and the definition of a Part-Time FF

(N) "Part-time firefighter" means a person who provides fire fighting services on less than a full-time basis and meets both of the following criteria:

(1) Is routinely scheduled to be present on-site at a fire station or other designated location for purposes of responding to a fire or other emergency;

(2) Receives more than nominal compensation for the provision of fire fighting services.

Am I wrong on this?????????

[UFD460]

Ohiovolemtp..better take a look at the Ohio revised code ..I think it says different..part time must be at least FFI..go to www.com.state.oh.us..then go to laws,rules and regulations

[UFD460]

try this www.com.state.oh.us/odoc/sfm/...its the state fire marshall's website

[firenresq77]

Originally posted by UFD460
Ohiovolemtp..better take a look at the Ohio revised code ..I think it says different..part time must be at least FFI..go to www.com.state.oh.us..then go to laws,rules and regulations

try this www.com.state.oh.us/odoc/sfm/...its the state fire marshall's website

The information I posted above is from either the Ohio Revised Code or the Ohio Administrative Code. (Sorry, it took awhile to find and i can't remember where I pulled it from)........