Certificate of Achievement: Fire Officer

Fire protection is a highly specialized professional field, requiring extensive knowledge and use of scientific principles. The Fire Officer COA option teaches successful application of the fundamental principles of fire protection including suppression of fires, rescue, emergency medical services, hazardous materials mitigation, disaster response/recovery, community risk reduction strategies, pre-planning for fire protection, and long term community preparedness. Designed for the aspiring fire officer, this program provides managerial and leadership knowledge for the individual charged with supervising a fire company.

 

Program Learning Outcomes for this COA Option

Students who complete the program will be able to:

·       Describe emerging trends in fire service organizations for the fire officer.

·       Describe managerial and leadership traits for success as a fire officer.

·       Identify incident management best practices for hazard zone operations.

 

This certificate can be completed in 2 semesters and we project 30 completions per year. 

The Fire Officer Certificate of Achievement (COA) option prepares firefighters for entry-level supervisory positions at the lieutenant and captain ranks.

This program follows an industry specific curriculum outlined in the National FireProtection Association (NFPA) 1021 standard and course plans developed byCalifornia State Fire Training (SFT). The curriculum provides a strong foundation in fire suppression strategies/tactics; firefighter safety; community risk reduction; supervisory/leadership practices; incident management; supervising members during training evolutions; identifying signs/symptoms of member related problems; drafting departmental policies and procedures; budget preparation; data collection; building construction; developing pre-incident plans; conducting initial accident investigation; organizational behavior; processes for purchasing; public speaking; report writing; and change management. 

 

 

Course #	Title	Units	Sequence
FISCI 230	Human Resource Management for Company officers	2.5	Semester 1
FISCI 231	General Administrative Functions for Company Officers	2.5	Semester 1
FISCI 232	Fire Inspections and Investigations for Company Officers	2.5	Semester 1
FISCI 233	All Risk Command Operations for Company Officers	2.5	Semester 2
FISCI 235	Fire Instructor I	2.5	Semester 2
COMM 3 or COMM 4	Introduction to Human Communication/Thy Dynamics of Group Discussion	3	Semester 2
COMM 45	Public Speaking	3	Semester 2
ENGL 208	Writing Workshop	1	Semester 1

Total 19.5 Units

To qualify for the Fire Officer COA, a student must complete all of the required courses, totaling

This is a stackable degree that can support and AS degree.

German Sierra from Chabot/Las Positas college has a fire program and have been supportive of our curriculum upgrades. We work closely with them and we do not project any impact on their program because of the distance between our colleges. In addition City College of San Francisco has a similar program but they are to great a distance from Merritt College to experience any impact on enrollment.