National Fire Academy Completes New Emergency Medical Services Courses

EMMITSBURG, MD - The U.S. Fire Administration's (USFA) National Fire Academy (NFA) has completed development of the first two new Emergency Medical Services (EMS) courses in response to the U.S. Fire Administration Reauthorization Act of 2008.  An additional six courses are in the process of development or revision.  The Reauthorization Act included direction for the National Fire Academy to provide advanced EMS training.

"In recognition of the value that fire-service based EMS provides American communities, the USFA's NFA is revising and improving the EMS program to meet the needs of EMS agencies," said NFA Superintendent Dr. Denis Onieal.  "The EMS curriculum now offers courses specifically identified as gaps in EMS education that prepare today's EMS leaders to better manage their system's response abilities and organizational quality control."

The two new EMS courses are Emergency Medical Services Quality Management (EMS QM) and Emergency Medical Services Functions in the Incident Command System (EMS FICS).  EMS QM is a six-day course offering to be conducted on the NETC campus, while EMS FICS is a two-day course offering to be conducted either on the NETC campus or locally through partnerships with State and metropolitan fire service training organizations.

For more information about the new EMS curriculum or other USFA programs and offerings, visit www.usfa.dhs.gov.  You can also follow USFA updates on Twitter at twitter.com/usfire.

This article was sponsored by Firefighter Books.