BY JOHN M. MOSCHELLA, M.PHIL., EFO, AND ANNIE CHOU, M.A.
The argument for an educated firefighter is now commonplace within our profession. Although one may argue that it is a rather recent development, its proponents date back to the 19th century. The often-quoted Captain Eyre Shaw, a chief officer in the London Metropolitan Fire Brigade, wrote in 1873, after visiting several fire departments in the United States:
When I was in America, it struck me forcibly that although most of the chiefs were intelligent and zealous in their work, not one that I met even made the pretension to the kind of professional knowledge which I consider so essential … The day will come when your fellow countrymen will be obliged to open their eyes to the fact if a man learns the business of a fireman only by attending fires, he must of necessity learn it badly … I am convinced that where study and training are omitted, and men are pitch forked into practical work without preparation, the fire department will never be capable of dealing satisfactorily with great emergencies.1
Shaw had the foresight to see the dire need for education in the fire service well before it was recognized in the United States. Unfortunately, fire service officials in this country failed to comprehend the importance of higher education or even training fire service personnel. In fact, as late as World War II, firefighting was still considered as a trade and an industrial occupation instead of a profession.2
In 1966, an ad hoc committee convened to examine the state of the U.S. fire service, which later became known as the Wingspread Conference. This meeting was a defining moment in the quest for higher education. Among the committee’s recommendations were the following, which had a direct bearing on the education and professional status of fire service personnel:
- Professional stature begins with education.
The aims of the first Wingspread Conference marked a revolutionary turning point in the professionalism of the fire service. For the first time, fire service leaders considered it paramount that higher education be a prerequisite for advancement in this profession. The urgency for educated fire personnel, moreover fire executives, was brought to national attention.
An advisory commission established in 1971 to study academic standards for law enforcement recommended that within a decade every police agency should require at least four years of college as a condition of initial employment. Ten years ago, Grossman and Doherty concluded that advanced degrees were so common at the supervisory and management levels in the police service that the down side was that they no longer guaranteed promotion.4 Could the same be said for the fire service?
In truth, higher education for firefighters is not a new concept, nor is it a topic difficult to find in fire service publications; a wealth of literature appears on the importance of college education for fire personnel. Some authors advocate a university education. Others see advanced education as a requirement for promotion to higher ranks, to put pressure on promoting authorities. Still others attest to the importance of higher education for developing a fire officer’s critical thinking abilities. Conversely, there are those who choose to overlook the importance of higher education for becoming a successful fire chief and suggest instead the mastering of such elements as computer literacy, regular training, attending seminars, and even building a library.5
The fact is that education for fire executives is in its infancy and far behind that for police counterparts. Even the National Fire Academy’s (NFA) Executive Fire Officer (EFO) Program, the premier fire leadership program in the United States, boasts only approximately 3,000 graduates and current students since its commencement in 1985, a far cry from those graduating from the Federal Bureau of Investigation Academy or U.S. graduate schools with a degree in criminal justice or criminology. The consequence can be seen in the job wanted ads. A sample survey of the classifieds in a fire service journal for the years 1997 to 2001 indicated that less than 60 percent of the ads sought a fire chief with a baccalaureate degree.6 On the other hand, the bachelor’s degree is all but mandatory for the position of police chief. Moreover, around 45 percent of appointing authorities want their police chief candidates to have a master’s degree.
- When examining the academic infrastructure available to the police, the shortfalls of the fire service become readily apparent. This disparity is the principal reason for the difference in economic and political support the two public services receive.7
FESHE
The United States Fire Administration has taken a prominent role in designing curricula for associate and baccalaureate degrees in the fire discipline. Every year, the Fire and Emergency Services Higher Education Conference (FESHE) convenes in Emmitsburg, Maryland, to discuss educating the nation’s fire personnel. Since the year 2000, FESHE has designed a fire-related model curriculum for both undergraduate degrees.
As a result of the 2000 FESHE Conference, six core associate-level courses were included in a model curriculum: Building Construction for Fire Protection, Fire Behavior & Combustion, Fire Prevention, Fire Protection Hydraulics & Water Systems, Fire Protection Systems, and Principles of Emergency Services.8
The following year, the National Fire Science Curriculum Committee (NFSCC) was formed to develop “standard titles, descriptions, outcomes, and outlines” for these six core courses, which the committee believed were paramount to the education of fire service personnel.9 In 2002, at the FESHE IV Conference, the NFSCC recommended that these courses be included in all fire science associate degree programs in the country. The committee decided that they represented the “theoretical core” on which the major is based. In fact, a survey of many associate programs in fire science will show that these core courses have been integrated into their respective curricula.
The committee also developed the following additional courses (noncore) for inclusion in an associate program: Fire Administration I, Occu- pational Health & Safety, Legal Aspects of the Emergency Services, Hazardous Materials Chemistry, Strategy & Tactics, Fire Investiga-tion I, and Fire Investigation II.
At the same conference, the NFA announced that it would unveil a 13-course, upper-level Degrees at a Distance Program (DDP) curriculum that could be part of any accredited baccalaureate program that chooses to sign agreements with its state’s fire service training agency.
Thirteen core courses were included in the program (course numbers correspond with the numbers in parentheses following the names of Central Police Academy (Taiwan) courses that are equivalent—see page 108):
1. Advanced Fire Administration,
2. Analytical Approaches to Public Fire Protection,
3. Applications of Fire Research,
4. Communities & the Fire Threat,
5. Disaster & Fire Defense Planning,
6. Fire Dynamics,
7. Fire Prevention Organization & Management,
8. Fire Protection Structures & Systems Design,
9. Fire-Related Human Behavior,
10. Incendiary Fire Analysis & Investigation,
11. Managerial Issues in Hazardous Materials,
12. Personnel Management for the Fire Service, and
13. Political & Legal Foundations of Fire Protection.
With a model associate’s and bachelor’s curriculum, the major components for a national standard for fire-related education have been established. FESHE contends that this is important because a theoretical core of academic courses should be a prerequisite for entering these fields. As more colleges adopt these standards, fire and emergency services will move toward becoming a full-fledged profession.
This juxtaposes neatly with the NFA’s Executive Fire Officer’s Program, which has as its “most significant benefit the setting of the professional training standard for senior officers.”10 With the expectancy of more graduate programs in fire science and administration, the EFO Program represents a milestone in the educational standards for senior fire personnel. In fact, in 2009, the academic requirement will be a baccalaureate degree. What remains is the master’s program in the discipline.
Regarding graduate study, FESHE’s aim is to develop a model master’s degree and incorporate it into national efforts to promote “a unified and integrated professional development system for the fire service.” In fact, there are few graduate degree programs in the country.
For the purposes of comparison, the following six programs are worth mentioning (these programs were randomly chosen; information was secured from college catalogs or brochures). The title of the fire-related graduate degree program is in italics.
- Anna Maria College (Paxton, Mass.): Master of Arts in Fire Science and Admini-stration.
- Arizona State University East: Master of Science in Technology in Fire Administra-tion.
- Grand Canyon University: Master of Science in Executive Fire Service Leadership.
- Eastern Kentucky University: Master of Science in Loss Prevention and Safety, with an option in fire administration.
- Oklahoma State University: Master of Science in Fire and Emergency Management Administration.
- The University of New Haven: Master of Science in Fire Science, with concentrations in fire administration, fire/arson investigation; fire science technology; and public safety management.
- Anna Maria is the only college that offers a master of arts degree instead of a master of science.
A brief survey of the programs shows that credit requirements for graduation range from as few as 33 (Arizona State) to as many as 45 (Anna Maria College); Oklahoma State University and University of New Haven, 39 credits; and Eastern Kentucky University and Grand Canyon University, 36 credits.
Although a list of graduate core courses is still a few years off, the following courses are part of the curriculum at several or all of the graduate schools listed above: Emergency Management, Budget & Finance, Organizational Behavior, Ethics, Managing Change, Leadership, and Research/Thesis.
Several of the above courses are also part of the EFO curriculum and may be transferred to these institutions for credit.
Where the U.S. fire service ultimately falls behind is in the doctorate programs. A survey of Peterson’s Guide to Graduate and Professional Programs reveals that 29 institutions of higher learning offer doctorates in criminal justice or criminology, but no programs are listed in the fire service discipline. (7) This disparity is further illustrated by the National Science Foundation, which reports that, in 2003, 62 research doctorate degrees were awarded in criminology, as opposed to none in the fire service discipline. The void is as glaring as it is ominous.
FESHE, the NFA, and the nation’s institutions of higher learning jointly have begun to address education for fire service personnel. The effort represents a small step in the right direction, but when compared with Taiwan’s educational standards, our country’s standards program appears to be in its infancy.
TAIWAN REPUBLIC OF CHINA
Although one may argue that the educational curriculum for fire service personnel in the United States is adequate and perhaps even demanding, the difference between the degree programs for fire personnel in Taiwan and our country are noteworthy.
Fire science education in China emanates from the Central Police University (CPU), located in Kweishan, and, just recently, at the Taiwan Police Academy in Taipei. Founded in 1936, the CPU was established to unite the police educational systems around the country and to prepare police administrative personnel.11
The University is the country’s highest institution of learning for police and fire education. The Ministry of the Interior operates it; the Ministry of Education supervises it. As a result, the programs offered by the CPU must meet not only college education requirements but also the special demands of cadre education.
The Central Police University stresses the following:
- equalization of personal character and academic research,
- balance of general and special education,
- combination of theory and practice,
- matching of academic studies and skills,
- implementation of strict discipline and diligent teaching,
- caring for both research and development, and
- coordination of administrative work and teaching.
In 1996, the Graduate School of Fire Science and Technology was established with the aim of educating the nation’s fire personnel. Its extended programs also offer one to three months of training in the graduate school for credit as well as other noncredit classes in fire safety.
The Department of Fire Service Administration and Science (graduate school) and Fire Science and Technology’s (undergraduate school) objectives are to train students in the specialties of fire technology and fire science. The program is based on six areas of study: fire prevention, fire protection and firefighting, fire cause investigation, building fire safety engineering, Fire Act & codes, and emergency medical service industrial safety.
Students accepted for study at the Central Police University attend tuition free. Furthermore, they receive a stipend/allowance from the school.
Associate’s Degree
Many more credit hours and more courses are required for an associate’s degree in Taiwan than in America. Taiwanese students must accrue about 84 hours of credits. In the United States, about 66 will suffice for an associate’s degree in fire science.
Some courses such as the following are common to both degrees: math, chemistry, physics, management, arson, fire prevention, hazardous materials, psychology, sociology, and hydraulics.
The following courses are unique to the Taiwanese fire curriculum: study of automobile, photography, meteorology, insurance, and police courses. In China, police courses are incorporated into the fire degree program. This is not the case in the United States, where fire and police curricula are separate and the only courses common to both are relegated to basic introductory courses such as in sociology, English, psychology, and similar disciplines.
Probably the most striking feature of Taiwan’s fire science program is that every firefighter in the country must have at least an associate’s degree to enter the fire service. Applicants for the fire service must graduate from a two- or four-year program.
The Island Republic is comprised of 23 counties, each with its own fire department; each department has its own budget. Each county fills its staffing needs by requesting graduates from the universities. Candidates are then assigned to a particular county fire department. There are between 6,000 and 7,000 firefighters on the island.
Applicants who do not have at least an associate’s degree are not considered for appointment. It can be concluded that the Taiwanese government, by way of the universities’ graduates, controls the number and quality of the nation’s firefighters.
Bachelor’s Degree
The baccalaureate degree programs are similar in some cases and distinct in others. The bachelor’s degree in the United States is worth about 180 credits. For a degree in the sciences, such as fire science, more courses are assigned four credits than three credits, hence a higher number of total credits. In Taiwan, according to the curriculum, 208 credits must be earned for an undergraduate degree.
It appears that the two countries are similar in that they accept the first two years of coursework, which usually constitutes an associate’s degree, toward the bachelor’s degree. Here in the United States, the associate’s degree represents the first two years of undergraduate study, which is applied toward the bachelor’s degree. The situation looks the same in Taiwan, except that all graduates awarded a bachelor’s degree in fire science and technology enter the fire service at the rank of lieutenant. Much like officer’s candidate school in the United States military, graduating with a degree in fire science allows the applicant to enter the fire service as an officer. The curriculum for CPU’s School of Fire Science and Technology baccalaureate degree program is on page 108.
Graduate Study
Graduate study in fire administration in Taiwan is somewhat similar to the programs offered in the United States. Students must accrue 37 credits, 15 of which are required: Fire Protection Administration and Laws—3 credits, Research Methodology—3 credits, Applied Statistics—3 credits, and Thesis—6 credits. See page 108 for curriculum.
Although there is a similarity in the six-credit thesis requirement, the option of learning foreign languages, such as English, Japanese, and German, raises the question of why a command of these languages is necessary for a graduate degree in a fire-related program. The reason, simply stated, is that the Taiwan people’s eagerness to learn a foreign language for their personal satisfaction is reflected in academics. On the other hand, note the likeness of courses to those offered in American graduate programs.
Considering the number of electives offered at the Central Police University compared with the United States, Taiwan’s fire personnel have a greater selection of courses, especially on the graduate level. The logical question is whether or not they are better firefighters. As is known, there is probably no definite way to accurately evaluate the overall competence of both countries’ firefighters. In the police service, empirical relationships have been found between education and job performance, but these relationships are generally weak.12,13 Similar studies for the fire service have not been carried out to date. Nevertheless, it would appear that Taiwanese fire personnel are better prepared to assume the technical aspects of a fire officer.
On the other hand, with the exceptions of the emergency management and decision-making courses, underlined above, the Taiwanese graduate program curriculum has no courses relating to budgeting and finances or human relations such as ethics, leadership, organizational behavior, or change management. It is readily apparent that the Central Police University stresses scientific scholarship over human relations.
Education cannot exist in a vacuum, nor can it be the sole basis for qualifying fire personnel. Higher education in the fire service should serve to prepare its members to successfully manage personnel and conduct the department’s day-to-day operations. William C. Rivenbark, Ph.D., a member of the faculty at the Institute of Government at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and George H. McCall, fire marshal with the Wade Hampton Fire Department in Greenville, S. C., conclude that fire service personnel’s pursuit of higher education results in two distinct advantages. First, it increases the organizational capacity of fire departments to handle the complex issues facing the fire and emergency services. Second, it is an excellent way for fire personnel to obtain skills and knowledge, as outlined in NFPA 1021, Standard for Fire Officer Professional Qualifications.14
Perhaps we in the United States should take a closer look at the curriculum in Taiwan, specifically the graduate program, to help prepare tomorrow’s chief officers for their responsibilities. Moreover, the Central Police University in Taiwan might consider the curricula offered by the U. S. graduate schools and design more courses based on human relations and management. After all, firefighting involves more than just putting out fires.
References
1. Shaw, E.M., “Records of the late London fire-engine establishment,” North American Rev, CCXL, Aug. 1873, 110-111.
2. “Fire service training building for University of Maryland,” Fire Engineering, Sept. 1945, 98, 676-677.
3. Wingspread conference on fire service administration, education, and research, Johnson Foundation, Racine, Wisc., 1966.
4. Grossman, I. & J. Doherty, “On troubled waters: Promotion and achievement in the 1990s,” FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 63, Apr. 1994, 10-14.
5. Carter, H., “Being a modern fire chief: It’s more than just firefighting,” Firehouse, 25, Aug. 2000, 68-70.
6. Moschella, J. The impact of higher education upon job advancement in the fire service. Unpublished master’s thesis, Anna Maria College, Paxton, Mass., 2003.
7. Clarke, B., “Who needs a Ph.D.?” Fire Chief, Feb. 2004, 48, 54-59.
8. Fire and Emergency Services Higher Education, Higher education. Model-fire related curriculum. Retrieved Feb. 15, 2004, http://usfa.fema.gov/fire-service/nfa/higher-ed/pro_dev/he6.shtm/.
9. Fire and Emergency Services Higher Education Higher education. FESHE conferences. Retrieved Feb. 15, 2004, http://usfa.fema.gov/fire-service/nfa/higher-ed/feshe _conf/he2.shtm/.
10. Burkell, C., “Keys to the kingdom,” Fire Chief, Jan. 2004, 48. 58-67.
11. Central Police University. (n.d.). Catalog. Retrieved Mar. 31, 2004, http://163.25.6.227/english/Default.htm/.
12. Cascio, W.F. “Formal education and police officer performance,” J Pol Sci and Admin, 1977:5, 89-96.
13. Roberg, R. R., “An analysis of the relationships among higher education, belief systems, and job performance of patrol officers,” J Pol Sci and Admin, 6, 336-344.
14 Rivenbark, W. & G. McCall, “Promoting higher education in the fire service,” [electronic version]. Fire Engineering, Sept. 2000, 45-47. Retrieved Feb. 13, 2004 http://fe.pennnet.com/.
JOHN M. MOSCHELLA, M. PHIL., EFO, is a 24-year veteran of the Revere (MA) Fire Department, where he serves as deputy chief and group commander. A member of the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services Incident Support Unit, he is a nationally certified fire inspector II and fire officer II and a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program. Moschella has a master’s degree in fire administration from Anna Maria College in Paxton, Massachusetts, and an associate’s degree in fire science and technology from Bunker Hill Community College in Charlestown, Massachusetts.
ANNIE CHOU, M.A., is an eight-year government employee at the National Fire Agency, Ministry of the Interior, Taiwan. She is a registered nurse and an adjunct professor at the National Police Academy in Taipei. She has a baccalaureate degree in EMS management and a master of arts degree, both from Springfield College in Massachusetts.
