Fire Science - Company Officer

The Fire Science – Company Officer [certificate of achievement/degree) prepares the student  with the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to promote and be a successful first‐line  supervisor. The program includes California State recognized course work that directly benefit  students who may wish to promote within the fire service to a supervisory position. Some  variation in degree requirements my exist for a particular program; therefore, it is essential that  students refer to the catalog of their intended institution and contact a counselor to ensure  that all required coursework is completed. 

 

Number of sections of core courses to be offered annually: 12, headcount of student annual enrollment in core courses: 264, estimated completers at the end of the second year: 24, estimated completers at the end of the fifth year: 60 

A)  The Company Officer degree/certificate are being created in response to the evolving filed  of Fire Technology. This A.S. will be part of the existing Fire Technology program and will be  offered in addition to the established Fire Technology A.A. degrees. The goal of this program of  study is to enable students and in‐service professionals to gain and acquire the skills,  knowledge and abilities to work in the fire service as a first‐line supervisor.    B) Upon successful completion of this program, the student will be able to:  1. Gain strong interpersonal and communication skills;  2. Apply necessary skills to be a successful Company Officer;  3. Understand and apply foundational knowledge as a Company Officer supervisor    

The main rationale for the development of the Company Officer program is to separate the basic  Fire  Technology  program,  which  is  predominantly  entry‐level  course  work,  with  specific  education for those seeking to promote within the fire service and/or gain knowledge as a  Company Officer or supervisor. Currently, there are very few colleges in California that offer this  type  of  program  and  industry  recognizes  the  need  for  giving  in‐service  professionals  an  alternative pathway toward a degree.    Also, as the college moves toward better defined educational pathways, the addition of a Fire  Officer/Company Officer program will help distinguish among the other Fire programs and  careers. These degrees are supported by the SRJC Fire Advisory Board, California Fire Technology  Directors Association in an effort to standardize training and education in the fire service for Fire  Officers/Company  Officers.  Recently,  all  required  core  courses  for  this  degree  have  been  approved by the Chancellor’s office with C‐IDs.  

Key	Course and Title	Units	Units that double count for GE
R	Fire 50 - Ethical Leadership	.5	0
R	Fire 69 - Intermediate Fire Behavior	2.0	0
R	Fire 80 - Human Resource Mgmt for Company Officers	2.0	0
R	Fire 81 - General Admin Functions for Company Officers	1.0	0
R	Fire 82 - Fire Inspections and Investigations for Company Officers	2.0	0
R	Fire 83 - All Risk Command for Company Officers	2.0	0
R	Fire 84 - Wildland Incident Operations for Company Officers	2.0	0
R	Fire 85 - Hazardous Materials Incident Commander	1.0	0
R	Fire 86A - Instructional Methodology	2.0	0
R	Fire 90 - Firefighting Strategies & Tactics	3.0	0
R	Fire 91 - Introduction to the Incident Command System	1.0	0
Total	Minimum number of units to meet major requirements	18.5	0

This program shares coursework with the existing Fire Technology program. 

Napa Valley College, over 40 miles away, does not offer a similar program.  College of Marin, over 40 miles away, does not offer a similar program.