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Whats in Your Firefighter I and II Curriculum?

I have been discussing this in my department with a few members that think they are qualified as interior firefighters, yet they dont have even Firefighter I training. They feel that Essentials of Firemanship still qualifies you for interior work, yet I feel its todays equivalent of Scene Support Operations.

I got to the Level II firefighter the old way; I took numerous classes before finaly getting a letter from the State of New York stating I attained that level. I had to take classes like Fire Behavior & Arson Awareness, Initial Fire Attack, Fire Attack II, Ladder Company Ops, Extrication and so on, I forgot the whole list that was included in my letter.

So I was just curious to see what the curriculum is for the Level I and II firefighter near you? Please share anything that your local instructors add to the training to improve it as well. Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks and stay safe.

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Permalink Reply by Michael Bricault (ret) on May 19, 2011 at 11:24am

-The Firefighter I and II curriculum for us is like that of many large FD's in that the curriculum is set by the state, administered by the Academy and intended to meet all applicable NFPA standards for that of professional firefighter.

-Our basic training phase, like many FD's, is a a five month long, Monday thru Friday, 8-5 process that involves morning PT, uniform and equipment inspections; classroom lecture and drill field work with live burns, etc. Weekly written and practical testing, drug screening, physical fitness testing... a long, long grueling process. During all this, to insure compliance, the sate will evaluate the process and administer state certification testing as well in order for personnel to be awarded IFSAC FF I &II certification.

-Being familiar with the NY State system, I can tell you that the Essentials of Firemanship is curriculum that has been administered for at least the last 60 years that I know of and there really has not been much updating to this course. This training is insufficient to qualify a volunteer in NY for interior firefighting and is no longer used at all at the professional level.

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