School Rules

Education—beyond high school and the recruit academy—is an important aspect of progression in today’s fire service. In many cases, a college education, or a specific additional skill set (e.g., a second language) can mean the difference for an increase in salary or a promotion. Unfortunately, between family, work and other obligations, our schedules often leave little time for the classroom. But there’s a solution: distance learning.

To be sure, I firmly believe there’s no substitute for experience. But motivated and disciplined individuals can learn some things outside of a classroom. It’s not my intent to advertise any one online education program, but I will run down the ones I’m familiar with to give you an idea of the variety of programs that exist.

College Degrees
It’s possible to earn a college degree without ever setting foot in a classroom. Almost all state and major university systems offer online courses. Texas Tech, in my home state, has an excellent online program (http://www.depts.ttu.edu/distancelearning/programs.php). If you have a bunch of credits and life experience, Thomas Edison State College (http://www.tesc.edu/), can help you put it all together and tell you what else is needed for an Associate or Bachelor of Science in Fire Protection, among many other degrees.

Eastern Kentucky University recently began a distance learning Master of Science in Safety, Security & Emergency Management with a concentration in Fire & Emergency Services. This program is equal to a classroom degree. Learn more at http://safetymanagement.eku.edu/.

My personal favorite: the Virtual College of Texas (www.vct.org). As their entry page states, “The Virtual College of Texas is a collaborative of Texas community and technical colleges. Through VCT, students may register at their local colleges to take credit and non-credit distance-learning courses from other colleges throughout Texas.” You can register for any course available on VCT at any local community college in Texas.

Certificate Programs/Continuing Education
When it comes to certificate programs and continuing education, some of us will turn our noses because the learning is “online” and not in the classroom, so it can’t be as good. Nothing could be further from the truth. Note: In the interest of full disclosure, I’m a student at one of the following programs.

EMT, EMT-Intermediate and Paramedic Program
TechPro Services (http://www.techproservices.net/) delivers Texas-accredited ECA/First Responder, EMT, Intermediate, Paramedic and EMS Instructor programs along with some fire service continuing education credits. The majority of coursework is done online and is self-paced, with the skills sessions and final testing conducted at its Abilene, Texas, location. Clinical rotations must also be done in Texas, but there may be options to do these in your home state.

Students from many states and other countries (including Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt, Russia and the United Kingdom) are currently enrolled in TechPro’s programs. Depending on your budget, TechPro may also be able to deliver courses at your location. I’ve completed the EMT-I program and am currently enrolled in the Paramedic program.

Fire Academies
TrainingDivision.com (http://www.trainingdivision.com/) and Fire in Texas (www.fireintexas.com) both offer an online fire academy for the didactic portion of the class and a 2-week “boot-camp” for the skills/hands-on portion. TrainingDivision.com also offers EMT and EMT-Intermediate programs, and both organizations also offer courses such as Fire Officer, Inspector, Driver/Operator and so forth.

The Online Education Myth
Concerned about online courses not turning out high-quality personnel? Online students are just like any other students: They get out of their education what they put into it. We all know people who went to a class, passed the tests, got their certification and are very proficient at what they do. We also know people who went to a class, passed the tests, got their certification and are completely unprepared. I personally know people who passed some of the toughest classes available with flying colors, and I wouldn’t let them work on one of my fires, or on one of my firefighters.

Online courses work for those of us who apply ourselves and take advantage of the opportunity. Self-paced courses allow us more time to research the material and learn more about the topic, rather than having to rush to learn all the material for next week’s exam.

If you’re interested in furthering your education but you’re strapped for time, consider an online education program. Because it’s not necessary for the program to be located near you geographically, there’s a whole range of programs to consider. Good luck!

Scott Cook is chief of the Granbury (Texas) Volunteer Fire Department and a contributing editor for FireRescue.