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Virtual Access To Executive Fire Officer Applied Research Projects

Posted on March 5, 2008 by Gregory B. Cade, U.S. Fire Administrator

In my role as the U.S. Fire Administrator, I am pleased to take a few minutes to make you aware of a significant effort underway at National Emergency Training Center (NETC) in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The National Fire Academy's Executive Fire Officer Program (EFOP) – one of the most tenured programs in the history of federal fire programs – began in 1985 and in 1990 a decision was made to require executive fire officers enrolled in the program to complete an Applied Research Project (ARP) for each of the four EFOP courses.

The purpose of the ARP is for the EFOP participant to identify an issue, problem, or opportunity that currently exists in the student's community and then to engage in research which creates new information in an effort to mitigate or solve the problem. When completed, the student's ARP is submitted to the National Fire Academy and formally evaluated using an academically based evaluation system and scale. The ARPs must achieve a minimally acceptable score of 2.0 (based on a 4.0 scale) and those ARPs that receive a score of 3.0 or higher are archived and available in full text for public review.

This collection of almost 10,000 ARPs is one of the most referenced sources of information in the NETC's Learning Resource Center (LRC). 2,615 research projects are accessible for public review and downloading via the LRC's Online Card Catalog.

The electronic archiving of the ARPs was anticipated in 1998 when EFOP participants were first required to submit an electronic copy of their research. Two years of ARPs were first made available electronically in 2002. During 2006 and 2007, work commenced on preparing and converting over 2,000 remaining ARPs for public access. USFA anticipates that the conversion of the remaining ARPs will be completed later this month, raising the total to almost 3,000 documents available online.

The result of this extensive effort is easier access to projects by existing EFOP participants who are engaging in research and the public. By using keywords within the Online Card Catalog search feature, a user may be able to identify documents which would be of benefit in conducting their research wherever they may be. USFA acknowledges the assistance of Scientific Commercial Systems Corporation (SCSC) and their employees in assisting with this work.

As a graduate and proud alumnus of the Executive Fire Officer Program, I am pleased to tell you about this extensive effort to electronically archive these valuable research efforts and to announce their availability to both the fire service and public. This is a significant body of knowledge that will ultimately lead to this nation's continuing efforts to stop fires, prevent deaths and injuries from fires, and promote preparedness and prevention through efforts such as sprinkler legislation, smoke alarm propagation, and firefighter safety programs.

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