The Value of Education in the Fire Service

Over the years, many men and women have entered the fire service with little or no prior training other than perhaps being a “junior” firefighter, an Explorer® or perhaps the departments basic training program. Yet, as we are all well aware, we are quite often, not fighting the types of fires that our forebears did and, as a matter of fact, we are responding to many different types of calls, altogether. Add to the mix is the fact that many people entering both the career and volunteer fire service are looking towards advancing their knowledge to meet the changing role of the firefighter and the best way to do that is to expand your educational reach.
My guest on this podcast is Anthony Mangeri. Not only has Anthony been a volunteer in NJ for over thirty years, he is the Director of Fire & Emergency Services Initiatives at American Public University System. Anthony clearly and concisely explains how one can advance a career in not only the fire service, but in many areas of emergency services, through any number of choices of fields of studies, as well as the different types of degrees that are available.
If you are thinking of expanding your emergency services educational horizons, I urge you to listen carefully to Anthony’s descriptions of the types of degrees and which ones may or may not be transferable to other fire schools/academies or even towards college credits. This information might help you avoid some of the common difficulties when seeking to transfer your studies and credits.