Professional Firefighter (PF12)  Diploma


Program Description:

The Professional Firefighter Diploma program was established to enhance the current Dual Enrollment firefighter program already in the surrounding high schools. However, the diploma is not limited to high school students. High school graduates seeking firefighting as a profession will now have the choice of a diploma, rather than a TCC, to obtain firefighter certification. As an encouraging tool for MOWR, high school seniors can begin the diploma program their senior year and complete firefighter certification at Albany Technical College. High school students enrolled into the diploma will have the opportunity to earn college credits, as well as, receiving CPR Certification and several Incident Management certifications thru the National Incident Management System (NIMS); including NIMS 100, 200, and 700 certificates. Upon graduation from high school students enrolled into the diploma program will complete Firefighter I and Firefighter II certification at Albany Technical College.

Entrance date:

Core courses: Each semester

Occupationally specific courses: Each semester

Program admission requirements:

Minimum Test Scores

ACCUPLACER NEXT GENERATION– Reading 224 ACCUPLACER- Sentence Skills 60
Writing 236 Reading Comprehension 55
Arithmetic 229 Arithmetic 34

High School diploma or equivalent required for admission.

Credits required for graduation: 51

Beginning Spring 2022 (January 2022), ALL FIRST TIME college students will be required to take the College Success (COLL 1020) course.

Basic Skills Courses 8 credits
ENGL 1010

Emphasizes the development and improvement of written and oral communication abilities. Topics include analysis of writing, applied grammar and writing skills, editing and proofreading skills, research skills, and oral communication skills.

3
MATH 1012

Emphasizes the application of basic mathematical skills used in the solution of occupational and technical problems. Topics include fractions, decimals, percents, ratios and proportions, measurement and conversion, formula manipulation, technical applications, and basic statistics.

3
EMPL 1000

Emphasizes human relations and professional development in today's rapidly changing world that prepares students for living and working in a complex society. Topics include human relations skills, job acquisition skills and communication, job retention skills, job advancement skills, and professional image skills.

2
Occupational Courses 43 credits
COLL 1020

Prepares students for success in college, on the job, and in the community. Topics include information access, basic computer skills, academic strategies, financial literacy, career exploration, and civic engagement. A Student Success Plan is the capstone project.

3
FRSC 1100

This course is a survey of the philosophy and history of Fire Protection, loss of property and life by fire, review of municipal fire defenses and the organization and function of the federal, state, county, city and private fire protection. Includes introduction to: fire technology education and the firefighter selection process; fire protection career opportunities; public fire protection; chemistry and physics of fire; public and private support organizations; fire department resources, fire department administration; support functions; training, fire prevention; codes and ordinances; fire protection systems and equipment; emergency incident management; and emergency operations.

3
FRSC 1161

This course will provide the necessary knowledge and skills for the emergency responder to understand occupational safety and health and be able to develop safety programs. The course starts with an introduction to occupational safety and health and covers the history, national agencies that produce injury and fatality reports, and efforts that have been made to address safety and health problems in emergency service occupations. The course will review safety related regulations and standards and discuss how to implement them through risk management processes. There will be lectures and discussions on pre-incident safety, safety at fire emergencies, safety at medical and rescue emergencies, safety at specialized incidents, and post-incident safety management. Personnel roles and responsibilities will be covered, so that knowledge can be gained on the relationship to the overall safety and health program by the different responding and administrative personnel at emergency scenes. Lectures and discussions on how to develop, manage, and evaluate safety programs will be covered to provide general knowledge and basic skills on occupational health and safety programs. Finally information management and various other special topics will be covered to gain knowledge on the legal, ethical, and financial considerations that programs need to be aware of and how to collect the data and report it.

3
FRSC 2120

A review of fire detection and protection systems including: automatic sprinkler systems, portable fire extinguishers, restaurant/kitchen systems, special hazard systems, detection systems, and control systems. The applicable laws, codes and standards will be introduced along with regulatory and support agencies. Specific topics include: introduction to fire protection systems, water supply systems for fire protection systems, water-based suppression systems, nonwater-based suppression systems, fire alarm systems, smoke management systems, and portable fire extinguishers.

3
FRSC 2130

Presents building construction features from the perspective of the fire service with emphasis placed on the use of building construction information to prevent and reduce fire fighter and civilian deaths and injuries. Topics include: principles of building construction, building construction classification, building construction hazards and tactical considerations, structural loads and stresses, structural building components and functions, fire resistance and flame spread, building codes, structural failure and firefighter safety, and firefighter safety in structural and wildland firefighting.

3
FRSC 1020

This course provides the student with information on the applicable laws, policies, and standards that the Firefighter I course is designed, and how the course will be administered. This course will provide the student basic knowledge of where and how the fire service originated from the colonial periods to present day firefighting operations. The student will learn basic roles and responsibilities of a firefighter, how firefighters have to abide by and work from standard operating procedures and guidelines, and how the chain of command works and their position within it. The student will be provided the knowledge on how to communicate within the fire service; whether it with the fire station or on the fire ground. This course provides the emergency responder with basic principles and functions of the Incident Command System. The course will provide the necessary knowledge and skills to operate within the ICS and their role within the ICS at the fire station, at a non-emergency scene, and at emergency scenes. It will provide also provide the emergency responder with knowledge on how to perform basic skills at emergency scenes that deal with infection control, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, basic first aid measures, and using an AED. Finally, it will provide the emergency responder skills and knowledge on how to recognize the presence of and the potential for a hazardous materials release, and how and who personnel should call. Upon completion of this course the student emergency responder candidate/recruit will have the basic skills and knowledge to be able to obtain a certificate of completion or become certified through the appropriate governing agency for the following: 1. Infection Control 2. CPR 3. First Aid 4. ICS-100 5. IS-700 6. NPQ - Hazardous Materials for First Responders Awareness Level This course meets the requirements NFPA 1001 Standard for Fire Fighter Professional Qualifications and all other state, local, and provincial occupational health and safety regulatory requirements.

3
FRSC 1030

This course provides the firefighter candidate/recruit with basic knowledge and skills to perform various fire ground operations as a firefighter on emergency scenes. The candidate/recruit will learn about safety during all phases of a firefighters career, the personal protective equipment that is required for training and every emergency response, and how to properly don it for use and doff it after use. The candidate/recruit will learn about the dynamics of fire through fire behavior and how to extinguish the different phases of fires with either portable fire extinguishers or through fire suppression attacks and techniques. The candidate/recruit will also learn the three tactical priorities of Life Safety, Incident Stabilization, and Property Conservation that have to be achieved on every fireground. Basic knowledge and skills will be provided to the candidate/recruit so they can achieve the tactical priorities through various fireground operations such as: response & size-up, forcible entry, ladders, search & rescue, ventilation, water supply, fire hose, fire nozzles, fire streams, salvage, and overhaul. Upon completion of this course the student emergency responder candidate/recruit will have the basic skills and knowledge to be able to obtain a certificate of completion or become certified through the appropriate governing agency for the following: 1. Module I This course meets the requirements NFPA 1001 Standard for Fire Fighter Professional Qualifications and all other state, local, and provincial occupational health and safety regulatory requirements.

5
FRSC 1040

This course builds from the skills and knowledge in Module I and provides the knowledge and skills to support the fireground techniques learned in the previous courses. The firefighter will learn various uses of ropes & knots and how to hoist firefighting tools and equipment. The firefighter will also gain the knowledge and skills of building construction principles that will be used throughout their firefighting career to identify building conditions such as: fire spread and travel, how and where to ventilate, indications of potential building collapse, etc. The firefighter will learn survival techniques that will be used throughout their career to help keep themselves safe and how to rescue themselves or another firefighter. Firefighter rehabilitation will be discussed during this course, so that the firefighter will know how and when to properly rehab themselves before, during, after an emergency response. Knowledge of fire suppression systems will be discussed, so that the firefighter will have a basic understanding of the components of a fire detection, protection, and suppression system. Basic cause determination will be discussed so that firefighters will be aware of observations during various phases of fireground operations. Finally to complete the Firefighter I program the firefighter will participate in the following live fire scenarios in order to complete the objectives of the program. 1. Exterior Class A Fire 2. Interior Structure Attack Above Grade Level 3. Interior Structure Attack Below Grade Level 4. Vehicle Fire 5. Dumpster Fire Upon completion of this course the student emergency responder candidate/recruit will have the basic skills and knowledge to be able to obtain a certificate of completion or become certified through the appropriate governing agency for the following: 1. NPQ Fire Fighter I This course meets the requirements NFPA 1001 Standard for Fire Fighter Professional Qualifications and all other state, local, and provincial occupational health and safety regulatory requirements.

3
FRSC 1141

This course provides emergency responder personnel with the information to respond safely, limit possible exposure to all personnel, and to provide information to the proper authorities as being a primary goal while reacting in the defensive mode of operation. The first responder operations level responsibilities are recognition and identification of a hazardous material scene, the gathering of information, the notification of the proper authorities, the isolation of the area by setting perimeters/zones, possible evacuation, protection by initiating the incident management system, emergency decontamination, and performing defensive actions only. Even though the first responder is a member of an emergency response service, they are not trained in specialized protective clothing or specialized control equipment. Thus, the first responder is not a member of a hazardous materials response team. This course meets the requirements of NFPA 472 - Professional Competence of First Responders to Haz Mat Incidents at the Operations Level. This course also meets the requirements of OSHA 29 CFR 1910.120, EPA, USDOT, and all other appropriate state, local and provincial occupational health and safety regulatory requirements. Also required as prerequisite: NPQ FF I and NPQ Hazardous Materials Awareness Level

4
FRSC 1050
Prerequisites: FRSC 1141, FRSC 1020, FRSC 1030, FRSC 1040

Most structural fires, fire deaths and fire injuries occur in the home. This course addresses some of the most important responsibilities of the modern fire service; teaching the public to prevent or if needed, escape fires and related emergencies. We have adopted the approach that we must learn from each incident then put the information to work to prevent fires and fire losses through public fire and life safety education. Topics include: general requisite knowledge, administration, planning and development, education and implementation, and evaluation.

3
FRSC 1060

This course provides the student with the necessary skills of fire prevention, emergency scene preparedness, and tool and equipment maintenance. Specifically addressed are the following topics: basic principles of building construction; knowledge of water supply systems to include pressurized systems, rural water supplies, and alternative water supplies; perform hydrant flow tests as part of water flow assessments for water supplies coming from pressurized hydrants; discuss fire detection, suppression, and suppression systems; consolidate all knowledge to perform a pre-incident plan of a facility; selection of proper tools and techniques of cleaning and proper maintenance of those tools; discuss hoselines, nozzles, and fire streams to perform hoseline lays with proper nozzles attached and select the proper fire stream for the class of fire encountered on various types of fire scenes; and service testing of fire hoses. Finally, this course will conclude fire cause determination to gain necessary knowledge and skills to perform a fire investigation to determine the point of origin and the cause of a fire in a structure. To participate in this course the student must also attain national certification of Firefighter I status or successful completion of FRSC 1020, FRSC 1030, FRSC 1040 and FRSC 1141.

3
FRSC 1070

This course provides an awareness of the principles of technical rescue through utilization of readings from the text, classroom discussion, practical skills, and practice. This course includes Extricating a victim entrapped in a Motor Vehicle, Assisting a Rescue Team in various technical rescue operations including but not limited to Trench and Excavation, Rope Rescue, Water Rescue, Confined Space Operations, Structural Collapse, Vehicle and Machinery Rescue, and Wilderness Search and Rescue. The student will learn the application of knots, rigging principles, anchor selection criteria, system safety check procedures, rope construction and rope rescue equipment applications and limitations. This course fulfills NFPA 1001, Standard for Firefighter Professional Qualifications, 2008 Edition Chapter 6 sections 6.4.1, 6.4.2 and NFPA 1006, Standard for Technical Rescuer Professional Qualifications, 2008 Edition Chapter 5 sections 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5.1, 5.5.2, 5.5.3, 5.5.4, 5.5.5, 5.5.8, 5.5.9, 5.5.11, 5.5.14 and NFPA 1670, Standard on operations and Training for Technical Search and Rescue Incidents, 2004 Edition sections 5.2.2, 6.2.2, 6.3.47.2.48.2.3, 9.2.3, 10.2.2, 11.2.3. To participate in this course, the student must also have attained national certification of Firefighter I status or successful completion of FRSC 1020, FRSC 1030, FRSC 1040 and FRSC 1141.

4
FRSC 1080

This course will provide the student basic knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of the Firefighter II; the standard operating procedures and guidelines of firefighters; fire service communications relative to obtaining information from occupants and owners to complete an incident report can be completed accurately; Incident Command principles and their application; practical fireground hydraulics to supply proper nozzle pressures while participating in live fire scenarios. To participate in this course the student must also attain National certification of Firefighter I status or successful completion of FRSC 1020, FRSC 1030, FRSC 1040, FRSC 1141.

3
Faculty
Click to view profile for Frank Flanigan
Program Chair

Chair/Instructor, Fire Science Technology
EMT Building

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