PA-NJ cert reciprocity (for vollie)

[MadOx23]

Just trying to get an idea of what I am in for. I am finally buying a house in PA (Northampton County). I have been a volunteer firefighter here in NJ for 5 years, have taken FF1 (120 hrs) HazMat Ops, Emerg Vehicle Ops, Pump Operator, Fire Officer 1 (45 hrs) and various other courses over that period. Wondering what, if any, reciprocity I can expect from a PA volunteer department. I will be living in Northampton County and commuting to Somerset County NJ, so I will neither have the time nor the inclination to go through another 120 hours of fire school...

[LYFDChief]

With those certifications listed, I would welcome you into my department. I don't suspect you will have any problems.

[MadOx23]

Thanks for your help and the quick reply. Stay safe!

[Bikefire]

There is a Firefighter I Challenge June 1st at Bucks County Pennsylvania Public Safety Training Center. That is the county just south of Northampton County. Excellent Fire school, with National accreditation.

Here is their phone number 215-340-8417.

[MadOx23]

Excellent, thanks for the information. Where is that located in Bucks County? I will be coming from Nazareth Borough.

[Bikefire]

It is located just south of Doyelstown on Pa Rt 611. I think the town of Edison? Got the link here for directions. http://www.bucks.edu/~fireschl/directions.html

[Capt1GVFD]

Before you invest 2 days taking the FF1 exam again, first, I would suggest you call the PA state fire academy and ask if there is reciprocity for certs you already have.

For example, if you are nationally registered as a Firefighter One with the National Board on Fire Service Professional Qualifications then a FF1 certification you achieved may very well be recognized in PA by the Pa Fire Academy. I am not certain, but I think that would do. You should get this cleared up as fast as possible since that class is a prerequisite for many of the more advanced classes. The curriculum for the national standard should be the same, as it all comes out of the IFSTA manual.

I am not sure what the answers are, but I would give the academy a call FIRST before I went and took any additional classes or got all worked up about it. See what they say. check out the website of the office of fire commissioner. It has a link to the fire academy. The academy website has their phone numbers and contact people listed.

Good luck and welcome to PA.

[dragonfyre]

This comes from first hand experience since we just had a new member move in from NJ.

I checked with the PA State Fire Academy to see if the NJ FF1 would be accepted here in PA. I was basically told no but there was no reason why we shouldn't be able to accept him as a firefighting member of the company.

NJ's FFI is equal to finishing the Essentials Program here in PA. It is NOT the equivilant of the National Pro Board FFI Certification.

Also, if you do decide to take the challenge at Bucks, inquire as to which certification it is. They offer the National Pro Board and another certification program. The non-Pro Board FFII program they offer does not require Vehicle Rescue Certification but I don't know if the FFI program lacks any certs needed by the Pro Board.

Welcome to the state of confusion.