On Thursday, December 11, 2014, 33
fire officers from 33 communities graduated from the 21st offering
of the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy’s Chief Fire Officer Management
Training Program. The thirteen-week program was developed in accordance with
National Fire Protection Association Standards for chief fire officers, and is
delivered jointly by the Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management at
the University of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy. It
is a comprehensive course providing training in the non-fire suppression aspects
of managing fire departments.
State Fire Marshal Stephen D.
Coan said, “These fire service leaders are committed to continually developing
their management and leadership skills in order to provide the highest level of
service to the communities they protect.”
Fire officers from the following
fire departments graduated in the evening ceremony: Amherst, Arlington, Auburn,
Ayer, Barnstable, Billerica, Bourne, Brockton, Brookline, Cohasset, Duxbury, Easton,
Everett, Falmouth, Holden, Lexington, Littleton, Longmeadow, Marblehead,
Massport, Natick, Plainville, Randolph, Shrewsbury, Stow, Wakefield, Wayland,
West Springfield, Westborough, Westford, Weymouth, Wrentham, and Yarmouth.
The curriculum covers a spectrum
of topics considered essential for effective public sector management. It
includes human resource management, group dynamics, leadership and legal
issues, governmental and organization structures, information management, customer-focused
strategic planning, legal aspects, budgets and public finance, community
awareness and public relations, and labor relations.
The Chief Fire Officer Management
Training Program expects to help fire officers improve their ability to lead
and manage personnel and the department, to provide skills to understand
employees’ needs and problems, to promote personal productivity, to increase
the capacity to manage both human and technical resources, and to increase
inter-agency cooperation.
Participants
are required to write a formal research paper, identifying a current problem or
challenge faced by their organization and proposing a viable solution. The
officers must then present their proposal to a mock panel of municipal
officials for their consideration.
The Massachusetts Firefighter Academy, a division of the Department of Fire Services, offers this program, tuition-free.
Left to Right: Deputy State Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskey, Assistant Fire Chief Glenn Johnson Auburn Fire Rescue Department, Fire Chief Stephen Coleman Jr. Auburn Fire Rescue Department, State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan.
