In a unanimous show of support for making health and safety of all firefighters a priority, the Commission for Professional Credentialing (CPC) of the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE) recently added several Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives to the certification process. Now all fire service leaders who seek credentials in one of five professional designations – Chief Fire Officer (CFO), Chief EMS Officer (CEMSO), Chief Training Officer (CTO), Fire Officer (FO), and Fire Marshal (FM) – must demonstrate an unwavering commitment to health and safety.
“The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation applauds the Commission’s decision to include some of the relevant Life Safety Initiatives in their criteria for professional designations,” said Chief Ronald J. Siarnicki, executive director of the NFFF. “This reinforces that effective leaders must demonstrate the same commitment to health and safety as they do to education, professional training and development, and community outreach. The Foundation believes that by recognizing the relationship between these areas our fire service leadership will be even better prepared to fulfill their roles as outstanding officers.”
The proposal to include the Initiatives was submitted by Rick Mason, CFO, training and education coordinator with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) and a former chair of the CPC. Mason was one of the first applicants to receive the Chief Fire Officer (CFO) designation. The new requirements have been added to Designee Development Goals of Component Three which addresses professional development in the five professional designations.
Initiative number 1 of the FLSIs has been added to all five designations. It reads: Define and advocate the need for a cultural change within the fire service relating to safety; incorporating leadership, management, supervision, accountability and personal responsibility. Other Initiatives have been added to the criteria for each designation based on their relevance to the role.
The Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE) serves as the governing body for organizations that offer accreditation, education and credentialing services to first responders and fire service industry professionals and agencies.
