IRONTON, OHIO – Ask any small fire department, be it paid or volunteer, and no doubt one of the biggest challenges is the state-mandated continuing education courses that firefighters must take to maintain their certification.
Attending the necessary courses often meant traveling to a larger city and taking time away from work and family. There were cost involved, too.
Now, the State Fire Marshal’s Office has developed an online training program that offers a number of necessary courses not only to firefighters but also to emergency medical service technicians.
The Ohio Fire Academy Online Training …

Clarksville, TN – Howell Albright, a 35-year veteran of Clarksville Fire Rescue, has been named Deputy Chief of the department.
Fire Chief Mike Roberts and Clarksville Mayor Kim McMillan announced Albright’s appointment to the position at Thursday’s City Council Executive Session.
Albright, 57, is a Clarksville native and the longest serving member of the fire department. He had been Chief of the Training Division for the past 15 years.
“I promise to work diligently to move the department forward,” he told Council members and those in attendance at the meeting.
Albright, who has been …

EXETER — State Fire Marshal Jack Chartier remembers back in the early ’80s when the Rhode Island Fire Academy headquarters was above a steakhouse in North Providence.
“We had a desk, phone and closet,” he recalled.
Over the next 30 years, the academy bounced around the state like a traveling circus. Home was Exchange Street in Providence, North Kingstown and, until Tuesday, the Cranston Street Armory Building in the West End of Providence.
On Wednesday morning, Chartier stood in the high-ceiling engine garage and addressed about 100 firefighters, police officers and politicians who …

The head of Baltimore’s fire academy has been reassigned, Fire Chief James S. Clack said Tuesday, a week after officials started
an investigation into cheating at the academy.
Chief Lloyd Carter will now head the department’s recruiting efforts, Clack said. He denied that the transfer was related to the cheating investigation, which centers around allegations that an lecturer
handed students a scenario for a lifesaving practical exam.
“It’s unfortunate this is happening during the investigation, but it’s more about having someone interested who can lead recruiting,” said Clack. “This is more about …

The Ghana Nation Fire Service (GNFS) has held a passing out ceremony, today, at the Fire Academy and Training School (FATS) to honor and welcome the recruited fire fighters into the service to serve the nation and the excellent
people of Ghana.
The Recruit Course 41, which lasted for four months, is made up of 300 recruits comprising of 205 men and 95 women.
In a keynote address by the Reviewing Officer, the Deputy Minister for Interior, Upright
Kwabena Akyeampong, congratulated the commandants and instructors of the FATS for the efforts they …

Wildland fire agencies from Arkansas and Oklahoma will sponsor the annual Arkansas River Valley Wildland Fire Academy beginning at Arkansas Tech today.  The two-week Academy is hosted by the Professional Development Institute..
The goal of the Wildland Fire Academy is to provide concentrated, quality and professional training in an inter-agency environment for personnel seeking to increase their experience and knowledge in the incident management arena.
Approximately 150 participants from Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri have registered to attend the Academy. The event will provide …

A proposal to cancel this year’s police and fire academies is at the top of the Long Beach City Council meeting agenda today.
The council meets at 5 p.m. in City Hall, 333 W. Ocean Blvd. It can be viewed live on Charter Communications Channel 3, Verizon FiOS channel 21 and at www.longbeach.gov.
City Manager Pat West is asking the council to cancel the academies that are planned in the current fiscal year because of ongoing budget deficits. The city is expecting a general fund deficit …

Grant County Fire District 3 firefighters Michele Talley and Nigel McNeill attended the National Fire Academy (NFA) in Emmitsburg, Md.
The duo attended the Command and Control Incident Operations Class, according to a spokesperson. They were trained on how to apply the national Incident Management System functions to a variety of fire emergency situations, including effective organization and establishment of strategic command operations for multiple alarm incidents.
The program helps firefighters work  more efficiently with interagency and mutual aid resources.
Talley and McNeill graduated from the NFA with certification.
It is estimated …

The South Carolina Fire Academy is hosting its annual Southeastern Fire School with 15 training courses for paid and volunteer firefighters.
The event will be held Saturday and Sunday at the South Carolina Fire Academy. It is the largest training event conducted by the Fire Academy each year.
Fire Academy Superintendent Ed Roper says firefighters also will get the opportunity to meet new South Carolina fire marshal Adolf Zubia.
Courses will include safety, flammable liquids and gases, trench rescue, auto extrication and strategies for forest fires. Roper says this year’s fire school will …

The U.S. Fire Administration’s (USFA) National Fire Academy (NFA) has completed development of the first two new Emergency Medical Services (EMS) courses in response to the U.S. Fire Administration Reauthorization Act of 2008. An additional six courses are in the process of development or revision. The Reauthorization Act included direction for the National Fire Academy to provide advanced EMS training.
‘In recognition of the value that fire-service based EMS provides American communities, the USFA’s NFA is revising and improving the EMS program to meet the needs of EMS agencies,’ said NFA …