National Fire Academy Completes Management Curriculum Overhaul

Emmitsburg, MD - The United States Fire Administration’s (USFA) National Fire Academy (NFA) has completed a top-to-bottom review and update of its Management Science curriculum. This comprehensive review includes new course content, addressing emerging issues and challenges faced by the nation’s fire and emergency medical services. Course names now reflect the increasingly diverse role contemporary fire and emergency medical services leaders play in their communities.

“Emergency services management skills have changed over the last few years, and the USFA’s NFA is modernizing several of its more popular courses to stay on top of this trend,” said NFA Superintendent Dr. Denis Onieal. “The Management Science curriculum now offers some of the leading courses that prepare today’s fire service leaders to better handle the challenges of managing organizations in today’s rapidly changing economic, political, regulatory and social climates.”

Located on the campus of the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland, the NFA has trained more than 120,000 students in 2009 through face-to-face deliveries; long-standing partnerships with State and metropolitan fire service training organizations, colleges and universities; and online learning. More than 8,000 students attend classes at the Emmitsburg facility each year.

“We are particularly pleased with the efforts of Management Science training staff, who so diligently contributed to these curriculum revisions and modernization,” said United States Fire Administrator Kelvin J. Cochran. “The creativity and vision of NFA leadership resulted in content designed to challenge students.”

“We are particularly pleased with the efforts of Management Science training staff, who so diligently contributed to these curriculum revisions and modernization. The creativity and vision of NFA leadership resulted in content designed to challenge students.”

U.S. Fire Administrator, Kelvin J. Cochran

New on-campus course titles include R107 - Communications for Emergency Services Success (formerly Fire Service Communications), R331 - Strategic Organizational Issues in Fire and EMS (formerly Organizational Theory in Practice), and R332 - Effective Leadership Skills for Fire and EMS Organizations (formerly Interpersonal Dynamics in Fire Service Organizations).

Three other courses in the Management Science curriculum were updated to include lessons learned and activities emphasizing the NFA’s Congressionally-mandated role to expand its presence in fire-based emergency medical services management training and education. The popular two-day courses Leadership I, II and III also have been re-titled to Leadership I, II and III for Fire and EMS to recognize the increasingly important role of emergency medical services in fire service delivery.

For more information about the new Management Science curriculum or other United States Fire Administration programs and offerings, visit www.usfa.fema.gov. You can also follow USFA updates on Twitter at twitter.com/usfire.

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