What is the Fire and Emergency Services Higher Education (FESHE) Program?
Working with coordinators of two- and four-year academic fire and emergency medical services (EMS) degree programs, the U. S. Fire Administration’s National Fire Academy (NFA) has established the FESHE network of emergency services-related education and training providers. The FESHE mission is to:
Establish an organization of post-secondary institutions to promote higher education and to enhance the recognition of the fire and emergency services as profession to reduce loss of life and property from fire and other hazards.
To accomplish this mission, NFA convenes annual:
- FESHE conferences on its campus in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Representatives from fire-related degrees programs, State and local fire service training agencies and national fire service organizations attend the three-day conference.
- Meetings of standing FESHE committees where model course outlines, conference agendas, recommendations and new initiatives are developed.
Through these conferences and meetings, FESHE members have made remarkable strides in developing the:
- National Professional Development Model and its practical application, the Matrix, for states to adopt and customize as they move from an often fragmented and stove-piped system of training, higher education and certification to one that is competency-based and completely integrated.
- Model course outlines for fire-related and EMS Management degree programs in partnership with fire-related publishers to write textbooks that support them.
- Fostering culture change in Line of Duty Death prevention through a partnership between the FESHE community and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.
- Promoting academic research and scholarship and the development of students’ research skills.
- Development and adoption of a national program mark. At the 2004 conference, the FESHE Program Mark was unveiled to the attendees. It represents the idea that within the ivory towers of higher education, firefighters and fire officers, armed with the knowledge and a college degree, can reduce the human and economic impact of fires in their communities. This mark is public domain and may be used freely.
Download the Program MarkHow these activities are tied together is detailed in FESHE’s Strategic Direction.
Download
Discovering FESHE Brochure (PDF, 831 Kb)
An organization of post-secondary institutions promoting higher education and enhancing the recognition of fire and emergency services as a profession.
Last Reviewed: March 26, 2008
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