National Fire Academy
Encyclopedia
The National Fire Academy (NFA)http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/about/orgchart/nfa.shtm is one of two schools in the United States operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) at the National Emergency Training Center (NETC) in Emmitsburg, Maryland
. Operated and governed by the United States Fire Administration
(USFA) as part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the NFA is the country’s pre-eminent federal fire training and education institution. The original purpose of the NFA as detailed in a 1973 report to Congress was to “function as the core of the Nation’s efforts in fire service education—feeding out model programs, curricula, and information…”
The NFA shares its 107 acre (0.43301402 km²) Emmitsburg campus with the Emergency Management Institute
(EMI) operated by the Directorate of Preparedness http://www.fema.gov/media/fact_sheets/npd.shtm branch of FEMA. The campus also includes the Learning Resource Center (LRC) library, the National Fire Data Center, and the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial
http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/fatalities/memorial/index.shtm.
The campus was the original site of Saint Joseph’s Academy, a Catholic school for girls from 1809 until 1973. It was purchased by the U.S. Government in 1979 for use as the NETC.
In 2008, the National Fire Academy trained over 122,000 first responders from all 50 States.
assembled a 20-member blue-ribbon panel of experts in the field of fire protection to study the country’s alarming fire problem and the related needs of the American fire services. Chaired by Richard E. Bland, an associate professor at Pennsylvania State University
, the group became known as the National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control (NCFPC). The NCFPC and its staff published a report titled America Burning on May 4, 1973. Included in the report was the NCFPC’s recommendation to establish a permanent U.S. Fire Administration “to provide a national focus for the Nation’s fire problem, and to promote a comprehensive program with adequate funding to reduce life and property loss from fire.”
The report further identified several deficiencies in the area of quality fire training across the country including the absence of a systematic method to exchange information among fire educators and fire agencies. In response to those deficiencies, the NCFPC made four specific recommendations:
1. The establishment of a National Fire Academy to provide specialized training in areas important to the fire services and to assist state and local jurisdictions in their training programs.
2. That the proposed National Fire Academy assume the role of developing, gathering, and disseminating to state and local arson investigators, information on arson incidents and on advanced methods in arson investigations.
3. That the National Fire Academy be organized as a division of the proposed United States Fire Administration
which would assume responsibility for deciding details of the Academy’s structure and administration.
4. That the full cost of operating the proposed National Fire Academy and subsidizing the attendance of fire service members be borne by the Federal Government.
The intent of the NCFPC was to create a federal training academy that offered programs and curriculum not otherwise available to state fire training agencies and local fire departments, and was to be modeled after the FBI Academy in nearby Quantico, Virginia.
Signed into law on October 29, 1974 by President Gerald R. Ford was Public Law 93-498, also known as the “National Fire Prevention and Control Act” (NFPCA). The NFPCA authorized the creation of the United States Fire Administration (USFA) within the U.S. Department of Commerce. The recommendation to create the National Fire Academy “to function as the National focal point for fire prevention and control training” was adopted with the passing of the act.
In 1979, President Jimmy Carter
formed the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) by consolidating several government organizations. That same year the United States Congress
appropriated funds to transfer the Civil Defense Staff College (CDSC), the USFA, and the NFA into FEMA.
The Emergency Management Institute
(EMI) and NFA are managed independently with unique student audiences and curricula for the emergency management and national fire communities. EMI and NFA have collaborated on curricula and programs since their inception.
The NFA not only conducts classes on the Emmitsburg campus, but also serves as a hub of a highly structured educational and training network and education system for the entire county “to advance professional development of fire service personnel as a focal point for the professional training of fire officers.”
There are no tuition fees for NFA courses. All instruction and course materials are provided at no cost. Transportation costs and lodging for students who represent career or volunteer fire departments, rescue squads, or state/local governments attending on-campus courses currently are provided as part of funding under the Student Stipend Reimbursement Program. Students are responsible for the cost of cafeteria meals and for personal, incidental expenses.
1. All NFA training programs to determine whether they further the basic missions which are approved by the FEMA Administrator;
2. The physical plant and facilities of the NFA to determine adequacy as a learning environment, and;
3. Funding levels for NFA course delivery programs. After a review and assessment of the three examination areas, the BOV provides advice and makes recommendations to the Assistant Administrator of the USFA.
Members of the BOV are professionals selected from the fields of fire safety, fire prevention, education and training, fire control, research and development in fire protection, treatment and rehabilitation of fire victims, or local government services management.
1. Understand the need to transform fire and emergency services organizations from being reactive to proactive; an emphasis on leadership development, prevention, and risk-reduction; transforming fire and emergency services organizations to reflect the diversity of America's communities; the value of research and its application to the profession; and the value of lifelong learning.
2. Enhance executive-level knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to lead these transformations, conduct research, and engage in lifelong learning.
The EFOP students enhance their professional development through a unique series of four graduate and upper-division-baccalaureate equivalent courses. The demanding EFOP spans a four-year period with four mandatory core courses. Each course is two weeks in length and must be attended at the NETC Emmitsburg campus.
To graduate from the EFOP, participants must write and submit a graduate-level Applied Research Project (ARP) that relates to their organization after each course. Each ARP is highly scrutinized and graded by an external evaluator. The ARP must be completed within six months from the end of each EFOP class and must receive a minimum passing score before the student can take the next class in the series. Only after all four classes have been completed and all four APRs have received passing grades is the EFOP certificate awarded to the student.
and a bachelor’s degree in fire administration from Jersey City State College. He was professor in the master and doctorate degree programs in education at New York University prior to his appointment. He has authored over 30 fire service publications.
(later canonized as the first American Saint) had arrived in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and established the first parochial school for girls in the United States. Over the years, that school grew to become Saint Joseph College, a four-year liberal arts college for women. However, due to sagging enrollment numbers and rising operating costs, Saint Joseph College closed its doors and ceased operations in 1973. Students and faculty were merged with Mount Saint Mary’s University formerly a liberal arts men’s college located two miles (3 km) south of Emmitsburg on highway U.S. 15. Even after the school closed, The Sisters of Charity have continued Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton’s legacy of helping to educate children around the world.
On March 17, 1976, National Fire Prevention and Control Administration (NFPCA) Administrator Howard Tipton established a three-member Site Selection Board to research available properties and to make a recommendation for the permanent site of the newly created National Fire Academy. The Board was composed of Chairman David M. McCormack, first Superintendent of the National Fire Academy; John L. Swindle, Chief of the Birmingham, Alabama, Fire Department; and Henry D. Smith, Chief of Fire Service Training at Texas A&M University.
From a list of 200 proposals received from 39 states, the Board’s first choice was the former Marjorie Webster College in Washington, D.C. The Board placed the Saint Josephs College site in Emmitsburg as second. Also in consideration at that time was the Wards Island site in New York City.
Citing a limited size and lack of growth potential, Congress rejected the Webster College site recommendation. Following intensive lobbying on the part of U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes
and his delegation from Maryland, the Saint Joseph’s College site was selected in March of 1979 by the Site Selection Board. Acting USFA Administrator Joseph A. Moreland approved the recommendation. The site selection was also endorsed by Gordon E. Vickery, nominated by President Carter to become Administrator of the USFA. Congress appropriated $6.15 million for the establishment of the National Fire Academy. In 1981, the facilities and campus were entered into the Federal register as the National Emergency Training Center.
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, initially created by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders...
(FEMA) at the National Emergency Training Center (NETC) in Emmitsburg, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. Operated and governed by the United States Fire Administration
United States Fire Administration
The United States Fire Administration is a division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency which in turn is managed by the Department of Homeland Security located in unincorporated Frederick County, Maryland, near Emmitsburg.-History:...
(USFA) as part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the NFA is the country’s pre-eminent federal fire training and education institution. The original purpose of the NFA as detailed in a 1973 report to Congress was to “function as the core of the Nation’s efforts in fire service education—feeding out model programs, curricula, and information…”
The NFA shares its 107 acre (0.43301402 km²) Emmitsburg campus with the Emergency Management Institute
Emergency Management Institute
The Emergency Management Institute of the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency conducts courses for local and regional public agency emergency managers and interested members of the public, where the courses are intended to improve the level of national emergency responsiveness to all...
(EMI) operated by the Directorate of Preparedness http://www.fema.gov/media/fact_sheets/npd.shtm branch of FEMA. The campus also includes the Learning Resource Center (LRC) library, the National Fire Data Center, and the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial
National Fallen Firefighters Memorial
National Fallen Firefighters Memorial since 1990 is officially designated by the United States Congress as the National Memorial to career and volunteer fallen firefighters. Located in Emmitsburg, Maryland, it was conceived as a tribute to American fire service. The memorial was constructed in 1981...
http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/fatalities/memorial/index.shtm.
The campus was the original site of Saint Joseph’s Academy, a Catholic school for girls from 1809 until 1973. It was purchased by the U.S. Government in 1979 for use as the NETC.
In 2008, the National Fire Academy trained over 122,000 first responders from all 50 States.
History
In 1971, President Richard NixonRichard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
assembled a 20-member blue-ribbon panel of experts in the field of fire protection to study the country’s alarming fire problem and the related needs of the American fire services. Chaired by Richard E. Bland, an associate professor at Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
, the group became known as the National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control (NCFPC). The NCFPC and its staff published a report titled America Burning on May 4, 1973. Included in the report was the NCFPC’s recommendation to establish a permanent U.S. Fire Administration “to provide a national focus for the Nation’s fire problem, and to promote a comprehensive program with adequate funding to reduce life and property loss from fire.”
The report further identified several deficiencies in the area of quality fire training across the country including the absence of a systematic method to exchange information among fire educators and fire agencies. In response to those deficiencies, the NCFPC made four specific recommendations:
1. The establishment of a National Fire Academy to provide specialized training in areas important to the fire services and to assist state and local jurisdictions in their training programs.
2. That the proposed National Fire Academy assume the role of developing, gathering, and disseminating to state and local arson investigators, information on arson incidents and on advanced methods in arson investigations.
3. That the National Fire Academy be organized as a division of the proposed United States Fire Administration
United States Fire Administration
The United States Fire Administration is a division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency which in turn is managed by the Department of Homeland Security located in unincorporated Frederick County, Maryland, near Emmitsburg.-History:...
which would assume responsibility for deciding details of the Academy’s structure and administration.
4. That the full cost of operating the proposed National Fire Academy and subsidizing the attendance of fire service members be borne by the Federal Government.
The intent of the NCFPC was to create a federal training academy that offered programs and curriculum not otherwise available to state fire training agencies and local fire departments, and was to be modeled after the FBI Academy in nearby Quantico, Virginia.
Signed into law on October 29, 1974 by President Gerald R. Ford was Public Law 93-498, also known as the “National Fire Prevention and Control Act” (NFPCA). The NFPCA authorized the creation of the United States Fire Administration (USFA) within the U.S. Department of Commerce. The recommendation to create the National Fire Academy “to function as the National focal point for fire prevention and control training” was adopted with the passing of the act.
In 1979, President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
formed the Federal Emergency Management Agency
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, initially created by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders...
(FEMA) by consolidating several government organizations. That same year the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
appropriated funds to transfer the Civil Defense Staff College (CDSC), the USFA, and the NFA into FEMA.
The Emergency Management Institute
Emergency Management Institute
The Emergency Management Institute of the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency conducts courses for local and regional public agency emergency managers and interested members of the public, where the courses are intended to improve the level of national emergency responsiveness to all...
(EMI) and NFA are managed independently with unique student audiences and curricula for the emergency management and national fire communities. EMI and NFA have collaborated on curricula and programs since their inception.
The NFA not only conducts classes on the Emmitsburg campus, but also serves as a hub of a highly structured educational and training network and education system for the entire county “to advance professional development of fire service personnel as a focal point for the professional training of fire officers.”
There are no tuition fees for NFA courses. All instruction and course materials are provided at no cost. Transportation costs and lodging for students who represent career or volunteer fire departments, rescue squads, or state/local governments attending on-campus courses currently are provided as part of funding under the Student Stipend Reimbursement Program. Students are responsible for the cost of cafeteria meals and for personal, incidental expenses.
Academics and audiences
The curriculum offered at the National Fire Academy includes a wide variety of subjects intended to attract students from all aspects of the American fire services. The original intent of the NCFPC recommendation was to provide course offerings that would appeal to a broad spectrum of firefighters and fire officers across the country. Offerings were designed to be useful for firefighters from small rural volunteer fire departments to firefighters in fully career urban fire departments and included courses in:| Program Area |
|---|
| Arson Investigation |
| EMS Administration |
| Executive Development |
| Public Fire Prevention |
| Fire Prevention Management |
| Technical Fire Prevention |
| Hazardous Materials |
| Incident Management |
| Management Science |
| Planning & Information Management |
| Training Program Administration |
Oversight and assessment
An eight-member Board of Visitors http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/nfa/about/bov.shtm (BOV) reviews annually the effectiveness of the entire operation at the National Fire Academy. As specified in the 1974 NFPCA, the BOV is responsible for conducting an examination of:1. All NFA training programs to determine whether they further the basic missions which are approved by the FEMA Administrator;
2. The physical plant and facilities of the NFA to determine adequacy as a learning environment, and;
3. Funding levels for NFA course delivery programs. After a review and assessment of the three examination areas, the BOV provides advice and makes recommendations to the Assistant Administrator of the USFA.
Members of the BOV are professionals selected from the fields of fire safety, fire prevention, education and training, fire control, research and development in fire protection, treatment and rehabilitation of fire victims, or local government services management.
Executive Fire Officer Program
The Executive Fire Officer Program (EFOP) http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/nfa/efop/ is the flagship leadership course series at the National Fire Academy. An initiative of the USFA, the EFOP is designed to provide senior fire executives, fire chiefs, chief fire officers, and others in key leadership roles with the ability to:1. Understand the need to transform fire and emergency services organizations from being reactive to proactive; an emphasis on leadership development, prevention, and risk-reduction; transforming fire and emergency services organizations to reflect the diversity of America's communities; the value of research and its application to the profession; and the value of lifelong learning.
2. Enhance executive-level knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to lead these transformations, conduct research, and engage in lifelong learning.
The EFOP students enhance their professional development through a unique series of four graduate and upper-division-baccalaureate equivalent courses. The demanding EFOP spans a four-year period with four mandatory core courses. Each course is two weeks in length and must be attended at the NETC Emmitsburg campus.
To graduate from the EFOP, participants must write and submit a graduate-level Applied Research Project (ARP) that relates to their organization after each course. Each ARP is highly scrutinized and graded by an external evaluator. The ARP must be completed within six months from the end of each EFOP class and must receive a minimum passing score before the student can take the next class in the series. Only after all four classes have been completed and all four APRs have received passing grades is the EFOP certificate awarded to the student.
Learning Resource Center
The campus library at the National Fire Academy is called the Learning Resource Center (LRC). Located in Burlando Hall :File:Burlando Building, National Fire Academy.jpg the LRC is more than just a library. The LRC provides current information and resources on fire, emergency management and other all-hazards subjects. With its collection of more than 160,000 books, reports, periodicals, and audiovisual materials, the LRC facilitates and supports student and faculty research and supplements classroom lectures and course materials. Internet users may access the LRC Online Public Access Catalog to perform their own literature searches.http://www.lrc.fema.gov/starweb/lrcweb/servlet.starweb?path=lrcweb/STARLibraries.web In addition to searching the collections cited above, the LRC catalog is a unique guide to periodical literature with citations on fire, emergency response, natural disaster, and homeland security topics going back to the early 1970s. LRC staff index nearly 5,000 newly published articles each year, from scores of professional journals, magazines and newsletters across the country and internationally.Current superintendent
Dr. Denis Onieal has served as the superintendent of the National Fire Academy since 1995. A native of New Jersey, Dr. Onieal began his career as a firefighter in 1971 for the Jersey City (NJ) Fire Department, rising through the ranks to become deputy chief in 1991, and acting chief of over 600 firefighters. He has spent his entire career “in the street” as a line fire officer. Dr. Onieal earned a doctorate of education from New York University, a master’s degree in public administration from Fairleigh Dickinson UniversityFairleigh Dickinson University
Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university founded as a junior college in 1942. It now has several campuses located in New Jersey, Canada, and the United Kingdom.-Description:...
and a bachelor’s degree in fire administration from Jersey City State College. He was professor in the master and doctorate degree programs in education at New York University prior to his appointment. He has authored over 30 fire service publications.
Past superintendents
| Superintendent | Term |
|---|---|
| David M. McCormack | January 1976 - February 1979 |
| Raymond Lamar Perry | April 1979 |
| Dr. B.J. Thompson | January 1980 - July 1981 |
| Joseph L. Donovan | January 1982 - July 1986 |
| William M. Neville | December 1986 - July 1988 |
| Albert G. Kirchner, Jr. | June 1991 - January 1993 |
| Dr. Denis Onieal | July 1995 - Present |
History of the NETC Campus
In June of 1809, Elizabeth Ann SetonElizabeth Ann Seton
Saint Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton was the first native-born citizen of the United States to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church . She established Catholic communities in Emmitsburg, Maryland....
(later canonized as the first American Saint) had arrived in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and established the first parochial school for girls in the United States. Over the years, that school grew to become Saint Joseph College, a four-year liberal arts college for women. However, due to sagging enrollment numbers and rising operating costs, Saint Joseph College closed its doors and ceased operations in 1973. Students and faculty were merged with Mount Saint Mary’s University formerly a liberal arts men’s college located two miles (3 km) south of Emmitsburg on highway U.S. 15. Even after the school closed, The Sisters of Charity have continued Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton’s legacy of helping to educate children around the world.
On March 17, 1976, National Fire Prevention and Control Administration (NFPCA) Administrator Howard Tipton established a three-member Site Selection Board to research available properties and to make a recommendation for the permanent site of the newly created National Fire Academy. The Board was composed of Chairman David M. McCormack, first Superintendent of the National Fire Academy; John L. Swindle, Chief of the Birmingham, Alabama, Fire Department; and Henry D. Smith, Chief of Fire Service Training at Texas A&M University.
From a list of 200 proposals received from 39 states, the Board’s first choice was the former Marjorie Webster College in Washington, D.C. The Board placed the Saint Josephs College site in Emmitsburg as second. Also in consideration at that time was the Wards Island site in New York City.
Citing a limited size and lack of growth potential, Congress rejected the Webster College site recommendation. Following intensive lobbying on the part of U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes
Paul Sarbanes
Paul Spyros Sarbanes , a Democrat, is a former United States Senator who represented the state of Maryland. Sarbanes was the longest-serving senator in Maryland history, having served from 1977 until 2007. He did not seek re-election in 2006, when he was succeeded by fellow Democrat Ben Cardin...
and his delegation from Maryland, the Saint Joseph’s College site was selected in March of 1979 by the Site Selection Board. Acting USFA Administrator Joseph A. Moreland approved the recommendation. The site selection was also endorsed by Gordon E. Vickery, nominated by President Carter to become Administrator of the USFA. Congress appropriated $6.15 million for the establishment of the National Fire Academy. In 1981, the facilities and campus were entered into the Federal register as the National Emergency Training Center.