# Presentation: 733774

## Slide 1

## U.S. Fire Administration’sNational Fire Academy

- Overview of the NFA National System for Training

- P.L. 93-498: “...The purpose of the Academy shall be to advance the _**professional development**_ of fire service personnel and of other persons engaged in fire prevention and control activities...”

## The NFA prepares current and future first responders to better protect their communities from fire and all-hazards.

- The NFA prepares _current_ and _future_ first responders to better protect their communities from fire and all-hazards.

- We deliver the kinds of training that are not available at the State or local level because of course content or audience size.

- We work with and through State and local fire training systems and colleges and universities to bring the fire service to professional status.

## How does the NFA impact Preparedness?

- The response to natural and man-made disasters and acts of terrorism _begins_ at the local level.
- The extent to which the U. S. has a trained and educated first responder force determines the extent to which it is prepared for all hazards.

## NFA’s Cooperative Efforts

- _National Partnerships_
- All 50 Accredited State Training Systems – train career and volunteer fire departments
- 150 largest municipal fire departments – train their own staffs
- TRADE – system to share curriculum among regions, States and locals.  Weekly newsletter *TRADEnet – *exchange of ideas / solicitation of solutions – 6,000 subscribers / week.
- Fire and Emergency Services Higher Education – annual meetings with 120 colleges and universities 5000 subscribers to newsletter.

##  Federal
 State 
 College 
 Local

-  Federal
-  State
-  College
-  Local

- Current System

- National Fire Academy

- State Training

- Local Training

- Colleges

- &

- Universities

## National 

- Local

- State and Local

- State

- State and NFA

- National Fire Academy

- National
- Training System

- 8,000

- 100,000

- 880,000

- 1.2 Million

- “

## NFA Training – All curriculum

- * Each State was given a grant of $80,000 ($4m total) from ODP through the NFA to deliver terrorism training locally.  ODP funding stopped in FY 03.

| Year | Resident | Off-Campus |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2007 | 8,000 | 100,00 |
| 2006 | 8,300 | 74,000 |
| 2005 | 8,900 | 73,000 |
| 2004 | 8,800 | 60,000 |
| 2003 | 8,100 | 68,000 |
| 2002 | 7,900 | 87,000* |
| 2001 | 7,800 | 43,000* |

## Shared Training Expenses

- The NFA does not absorb the entire cost of training; those costs are shared among the fire department, the agency sponsoring the training, and the NFA.

## Resident Programs

- (10 and 6 day)

-  50 courses (200+ deliveries)
-  6 or 10 day duration at
-    Emmitsburg, MD
-  Approximately 4,800 students per year
-  Students are _Career and Volunteer:_

-  Mid to Top Level  Fire Officers
-  Fire Service Instructors (all ranks)
-  Technical Professionals (all ranks)

## 6 Day Programs

- (on and off-campus)

**IX**

**VI**

**IV**

**III**

**VII**

**VIII**

**V**

**II**

**I**

**X**

- Puerto Rico
- Virgin Islands

-  Region selects 3 courses from menu of 20
-  Thirty 6-day courses per year, 3 per region
-   Approximately 800 students per year
-  Students are _Career and Volunteer_:Fire  Service and Allied Professionals of all ranks
- Encourages regional networking

**II**

**I**

## 2 Day Programs

- (on- and off-campus)

-  Each State receives 9 courses from a menu of40 each year.  Total of 450 deliveries per year.
- Approximately 8,000 students per year (4K on / 4K off)
-  Students are:Volunteer and Career Fire Service of all ranks

## Degrees at a Distance Programs

-  Delivered through 7 accredited colleges and universities (expanding)
- All courses completely revised and on-line
- Available to 4 year colleges that agree to work with State Fire Training (professional development).

## Fire and Emergency Services Higher Education (FESHE)

- Common Course:
-  Titles
-  Descriptions
-  Outcomes
-  Outlines
-  Content (Textbooks)
-  Distance Learning Supplements

-  Fire service text-book publishers are producing  FESHE compliant college text-books and noting them as such...

## Technology Programs / Blended Learning

## Learning Management System: NFAOnline

- Completely revamped the entire on-line learning system
- Conquered all of the OPM, IT and OMB hurdles
- 12 courses
- 27,000 student enrollments
- 5 courses in the cue

## Endorsement

-  State / local systems have needs for courses unavailable from USFA/NFA due to time / financial constraints
-  Endorsement is a process by which State developed courses can receive NFA endorsement.  They exchange courses among themselves and use federal funds to deliver them.
- 150 Courses currently available

## How Will This Lead to Professional Status (P.L. 93-498)?

- States that deliver NFA courses and issue NFA certificates must accept them – it is the foundation for _national reciprocity_.
- Including state courses gives State training systems a “stake” in the national curriculum – they’re full participants.  _Universal recognition_.
- Local distribution of NFA materials makes them more available locally. _Access to the system for more professionals._

## NFA’s Independent / Objective Evaluations

## The Congressional Institute uses the following graph to define the differences between outputs and outcomes (Congressional Institute, 2004).  Conveniently, they use training as the example:

- _Comparison of Inputs, Outputs and Outcomes of Government Programs_

## Kirkpatrick’s Evaluation Levels

- Level 1 Evaluation – Reactions
- Level 2 Evaluation – Learning
- Level 3 Evaluation – Transfer (Performance)
- Level 4 Evaluation – Results (believed to have too 				many variables for reliable			scientific measurement)

## NFA Long Term Evaluation - Supervisors*

- *N=4,749 supervisors from FY 1998 - FY 2007.

## NFA Long Term Evaluation - Supervisors*

- *N=4,802 supervisors from FY 1998 - FY 2007.

## NFA Long Term Evaluation - Supervisors*

- *N=4834 supervisors from FY 1998 - FY 2007.

- (PL 93-498)

## The NFA

- Mission focused
- DHS, FEMA USFA
- Fulfilling legislative intent
- PL 93-498 “professionalize the fire service”
- Partnered with Current Practitioners
- To provide State and local first responder training

## The NFA

- Partnered with Future Practitioners
- To standardize curriculums for Colleges and Universities
- Academically rigorous
- Continuous outside reviews – ACE / Student / Partners
- Measured Performance
- Kirkpatrick Level 3 used for PART, GPRA, PPBES

## To make FEMA the Nation’s Preeminent Emergency Management and Preparedness Agency

## Questions???