National Fire Academy

NC NFA Offered Courses

NC Emergency Responder Behavioral Health Symposium

June 7 - 10, 2021

8:00 AM - Classes begin
5:00 PM - Classes end for the day

Location:

Wake County Technical Community College
PSEC 321 Chapanoke Road
Raleigh, NC 27603

Students: Read and following instructions prior to registering.

To apply for a course, you need a FEMA Student Identification Number (SID). This number is in place of a Social Security Number on General Admissions Application forms. This includes applications for the 2-day on-campus program (the State Weekend Program). Please click on the link below to obtain your SID. The process takes about 10 minutes. FEMA SID.

Maximum of 50 students accepted.
No pre-requisities.
No registration fee.
Student must attend all 4 days of the class to receive NFA credit.

Application Deadline: Application submittal is required no later than June 1, 2021.

Registration Information:

You must complete the NFA short form and email it to Monna Gillespie at monna.gillespie@ncdoi.gov. Contact Monna via email if you have any questions.

NFA Instructors and Guest Speakers

DENA ALI is a captain with the Raleigh (NC) Fire Department where she has worked her way up the ranks. She previously served as a police officer for five years. Ali has a degree from North Carolina State University and an MPA from the University of North Carolina - Pembroke, where her research focused on firefighter suicide. As a graduate student, she was awarded the 2018 MPA student of the year. She has also received several awards throughout her career. One that she is most proud of is the NC Office of State Fire Marshal Honor, Courage, and Valor award that she earned in 2018 for her steadfast effort to bring awareness to firefighter mental health through her vulnerability. Dena has also served as a subject matter expert at the National Fire Academy where she assisted in curriculum review for their health and wellness curriculum. Dena is an advocate of awareness, education, and understanding of mental health disorders and suicidality. She speaks locally and nationally on these topics and is a QPR Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Instructor. She has written several articles on topics such as suicide prevention, peer support, wellness, and post-traumatic stress. Dena is the founder and director of North Carolina Peer Support where she helped to develop their statewide curriculum. She is also a founding member of the Carolina Brotherhood, a group of cyclists/firefighters in North Carolina who honor the fallen and their families annually.

PATRICK J. KENNY has been a member of the fire service for over 38 years, and before retiring in January 2021 served as the Fire Chief in Hinsdale and Western Springs, Illinois. He has served as a Chief Officer for over 25 years and a speaker in multiple countries on Mayday for Mental Health® for more than a decade. He is the international best-selling author of TAKING THE CAPE OFF: How to Lead Through Mental Illness, Unimaginable Grief and Loss and has articles published in the areas of mental health, leadership, fire safety, and fire code challenges. He was awarded the Fire Chief of the Year in 2004 by the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association. He was awarded the Fire Engineering/International Society of Fire Service Instructors (ISFSI) George D. Post Instructor of the Year Award for 2020.

A. Aaron Back, North Carolina State Highway Patrol (Captain/Retired, 1993-2021). Founder – North Carolina Law Enforcement Assistance Program (NCLEAP), Non-profit that provides Post Critical Incident Seminars and CISM Training in NC. Serves as a Peer for First Responders with South Carolina, Georgia, Texas, New York, Missouri, Virginia and West Virginia. State Coordinator - Members Assistance Team (SHP Peer Team). Over 200 individual or group crisis interventions and Post Critical Incident Seminars. State Coordinator – SHP Chaplaincy Program. Certified General and Specialized Instructor for the State of North Carolina as well as a Leadership Instructor for the Highway Patrol’s Center for Leadership Development. Certified ICISF Instructor.

Brandon Dreiman is a Captain and 20-year veteran of the Indianapolis Fire Department where he serves as the Coordinator of Firefighter Wellness & Support. He travels the United States and Canada lecturing on behavioral health topics and, as an IAFF Peer Support & Resilience Master Instructor, assisting fire departments with creating peer support and resilience programs. He is a Certified Addiction Peer Recovery Coach and a Certified Recovery Specialist with a Substance Abuse endorsement in the State of Indiana. He is also a Registered Yoga Teacher and the founder of the Naptown Yogawalla. Having published multiple articles about fire service peer support, first responder suicide and behavioral health, and alcohol use disorder in the emergency services, Brandon has extensive experience researching the topics that are relevant to the wellness of first responders in North America.

Jay Bettencourt has been a member of the Asheville Fire Departments Rescue Company 3 for 12 years where currently holds the rank of Engineer. In that time, he has been active in and out of his fire department exploring and sharing on the topics of Firefighter Survival, RIT, Technical Rescue and Mental Resilience. Jay co-created with Scott MacGregor, MS, LCMHC The Resilient Mind program. This program trains firefighters how to gain mental stability and flexibility, situational awareness and thriving through mindfulness. Jay has been an instructor at the North Carolina Breathing Equipment School for 8 years. He is blessed with a wonderful wife and two children that mean the world to him.

W0722 - Health and Safety Program Manager

Curriculum: Responder Health and Safety

This two-day course will provide fire, Emergency Medical Services department personnel and other related emergency responders with the aptitudes and abilities necessary to manage the duties and responsibilities of the Health and Safety Program Manager (HSPM) within their respective organizations.

Adapt the HSPM roles and responsibilities while applying risk management health and safety concepts within their organization to determine system-wide needs and to develop support to institutionalize opportunities to meet the needs assessment.
Evaluate and prioritize health and safety related strengths and weaknesses within their organizations.
Evaluate the environmental barriers affecting the implementation and impact of the organization's safety and health programs.
Evaluate and integrate the organization's and individual's responsibility to impact health and wellness positively.

Selection Criteria

Individuals who have department-level health and safety responsibilities and responsibility for setting policy for the department on such issues.
Individuals attending this course should have working knowledge of the Incident Command System as taught by the National Fire Academy, working knowledge of applicable National Fire Protection Association and Occupational Safety and Health Administration requirements and recommendations.

O0144 - Department Wellness Program

This two-day course provides the outline and resources for a fire/Emergency Medical Services (EMS) department to implement and maintain a wellness program in coordination with the department’s health and safety program.

Using current recommendations, standards and guidance from national resources, the department wellness coordinators will be able to assess the mental and physical health needs of their department’s personnel and develop program objectives to meet those needs.

Topics include:

Medical and wellness screenings.
Nutrition.
Physical fitness.
Behavioral health.
Available resources

Plan Review for Fire and Life Safety

September 27 – October 2, 2021

LOCATION

Union County Ag Center
3230 Presson Rd
Monroe, NC 28112

Limited to 25 students.

This six-day course will assist students in verifying that construction documents comply with applicable building and fire codes for fire protection and life safety requirements.

Subjects addressed in the course include:

Site plan reviews for emergency apparatus access, water supply, and hydrants for fire protection.
Review of architectural drawings for construction requirements, means of egress for life safety, and fire-resistive compartmentalization.
Evaluation of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning.
Evaluation of exit illumination and emergency power supplies.
Assessment of the need for built-in fire protection systems and smoke control/management systems.

Syllabus

Selection criteria

Students will include fire inspectors, deputy fire marshals, fire plans examiners, building officials, building plans examiners, and building inspectors with at least one year on the job experience.

Students should have an understanding of fire protection principles and fire behavior, familiarity with the building and fire codes, and understand the legal aspects of code enforcement. Students should have a conceptual understanding of the purpose of the fire and building codes to protect occupants and the community.

Preference will be given to applicants who have previously attended National Fire Academy’s “Fire Inspection Principles I” (R/N 0390).

NOTE: Local jurisdictions are encouraged to submit applications of both their fire and building plans examiners to attend a course together if both meet the selection criteria. Priority selection will be given for up to five pairs of such officials per course offering. Applications must be submitted together, be approved and signed by the head of the sponsoring organizations, with a cover letter indicating that they are applying as a team.

Prerequisites

Incident Command System (ICS)-100-level and ICS-200-level training. Preferred courses are Q0462 and Q0463, available through NFA Online. Chief's signature attests that the applicant has completed this required training.

For the fire official: 12 months experience in either a code enforcement or fire safety inspection function.

For the building official: 12 months experience in either a code enforcement or building inspection function.

To register for the class please complete the NFA application (short) form. Have the application signed by the head of your sponsoring organization section 19.

Scan and email the application to: monna.gillespie@ncdoi.gov

USFA 31 NFA Virtual Online Class Offerings

NFA Virtual (ZOOM) Classes Available – The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the cancellation of several NFA 2-day classes. USFA is offering 31 virtual courses (see attached list of courses and dates) to career and volunteer fire and EMS personnel around the Nation.

You can apply for the April classes now. The May-July courses will be available for students to apply through our online admissions system within the next two weeks.

If you are interested in attending any of the classes listed, please apply through DHS-FEMA online admissions system.

Online Application Process Virtual Classes Instructions

NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY

VIRTUAL CLASSES AND DATES

April 26-27

S0729 – Incident Safety Officer (ISO)