Application for Managing Fire Officer Designation

Utah Commission on Fire Officer Designation

First Edition 4/25/2018, Revised 5/7/2019

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Understanding the Utah Fire Officer Designation

Application Process

The Utah Fire Officer Development System is based on the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) Professional Development Handbook with some additional Utah requirements. The fire officer designation reflects a level of knowledge and a comprehensive skill set that exceeds NFPA standards. It is intended to be a guide for those seeking a career path and recognition of achievement leading to a higher degree of professionalism. The overarching principle is that a combination of achievements in areas including certification, education, experience, and training are elemental to the development of effective fire officers. It serves as a resource for those seeking officer designations. It can be used as part of a department’s career ladder program. Currently, the first two of four levels have been developed. The application packet for the Managing Fire Officer Designation includes the following:

• Personal Information Overview• Portfolio Section Requirements

• Personal Information Overview - This short section of the application will ask for basic personalinformation and is usually placed as the first page in the portfolio.

Category Section Requirements

• Certification – Copies of certifications and proof of the NIMS course must be included in theportfolio.

• Education – Official transcripts or a copy of degree(s) awarded must be included in the portfolio.• Experience – Separate document explaining how each required experience was completed,

verification of employment history written on department/district/organization letterhead by asupervisor, and a resume.

• Training – Certificates of attendance must be included in order to provide a method to evaluate therelevancy of a training event.

Each portion will be explained in greater detail in the following paragraphs. The application will need to be filled out and placed in a portfolio with other required documentation. Once an applicant has completed the forms and assembled the portfolio, he/she will schedule a time with the chief or designee to review information and sign off on relevant and appropriate experience.

Mail the portfolio and a $40 processing fee in the form of a check payable to UFRA to Kevin Ward, Fire Officer Designation Program, 530 N 2200 W Layton, UT 84041.

To best organize your portfolio, please refer to the PowerPoint tutorial used for the Supervising Fire Officer portfolio.

Application Details

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Review Panel

The chairman of the Review Panel will review the application for compliance with submission requirements. If found compliant, the application will then be forwarded to the Utah Fire Officer Designation Review Panel, who will review the application and supporting documents. If the application and portfolio are found acceptable, the panel will approve the application and award the designation.

If the application is found lacking, the administrator will inform the applicant of the deficiency and the applicant may then reapply after addressing the deficiency.

If further clarification is needed by the panel, the applicant may be asked to present his/her portfolio to the panel, either in person or, if traveling to a review session is a hardship, via telephone, Skype, or another mode of communication.

The panel will meet quarterly to review submitted applications. When presented with a recommendation, the panel will vote to accept or reject the evaluator’s recommendation for cause.

Misrepresentation of facts by the applicant may lead to disqualification, and the applicant’s department will be notified.

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☐ Full Time ☐ Part Time ☐ Volunteer

Hire date (current department):

Previous emergency services employment, if any:

(Administrative Use Only)

Date application package received

Date administrative review completed

Submitted by Date Required?

Any deficiency noted

Yes No

Personal Information Overview

Applicant name:

Address:

Phone #:

Email:

Applicant department:

Applicant rank:

Date Supervisory Fire Officer Designation (SFO) received:

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No

(Administrative Use Only)

Certifications Element Met? Yes

Verified by:

Date:

ICS 300

Supervising Fire Officer Designation (SFO) (see page 7 for requirements)

Fire Inspector I (NFPA 1031)

*Fire Officer II (NFPA 1021)

Fire Investigator I (NFPA 1033)

CATEGORY SECTION REQUIREMENTS

The Fire Officer Designation program requires a combination of certifications, education, experience, and training. Requirements for each of these elements are listed below:

CERTIFICATION ELEMENT

The following certifications or educational equivalence are required:(Include copies in the portfolio)

The following National Incident Management System (NIMS) course is required:

(Include a copy of the certificate of completion in the portfolio)

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*Since UFRA does not currently offer the Officer II course, the course requirement for certification has been waived. The written test and leadership project are still required.

EDUCATION ELEMENT

One of the following two education options are required. Provide proof of the degree or courses completed by including a copy of a diploma or transcript(s). All courses must be obtained through an accredited college or university. NOTE: There is additional information on educational elements listed in Appendix A, Page 31 -32.

Degree Program:

☐ Associate or higher

OR

General Education Courses (must complete all):

Writing and Math

☐ English: Intermediate Writing (2010 level or equivalent)

☐ Communications / PIO / Public Speaking: i.e. Utah PIO - G290 or L953

☐ Math: Introduction to Statistics (1040 level or equivalent)

☐ Math: Introduction to Accounting

Humanities & Social Sciences

☐ Business Law

☐ Human Resources Management

☐ Ethics

(Administrative Use Only)

Education Element Met? Yes No

Verified by:

Date:

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(Administrative Use Only)

Experience Elements Met? Yes No

Verified by:

Date:

Letter from your chief or supervisor on department/district/organization letterhead verifying years of experience and completion of each of the experience elements. Current Resume

Agency OperationsCoaching/CounselingDirecting ResourcesIncident ManagementPlanning InstructionHuman Resource Management

Financial Resource Management Program/Project Management Interagency Participation Emergency Management Community Risk Reduction Professional Association Membership Other

Minimum of two years as a SFO Designee only.Minimum of one year as a SFO Designee with two to four years of experience in a supervisory capacity.Minimum of six months as a SFO Designee with five or more years of experience in a supervisory capacity.

EXPERIENCE ELEMENT

Seven years of experience in a full-time paid fire positionTwelve years as a volunteer or part timeTen years experience in any combination

An experience in each of the following categories is required. To demonstrate that you have completed each experience, attach a separate document that explains how each was accomplished. Refer to Appendix A, Pages 33 - 34 for experience examples.

Combinations of both volunteer, part-time, and full-time that do not independently meet the time requirements above may still be submitted to the Review Panel for consideration.

One of the following experiences is also required:

One of the experience levels is required:

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NFA Incident Safety Officer (ISO) CourseFDSOA ISO Course

TRAINING ELEMENT

The next few pages contain some required training courses that you must complete. Note that these are in addition to what you have taken since the SFO Designation. Training will be verified based on contact hours and/or official transcripts or certificates of completion (include copies with portfolio). Make sure to solicit the number of contact hours from the training organization if not listed on the certificate.The MFO Designation requires an additional 16 hours of Command Training. The boxes below provide some additional courses that are acceptable as long as they are in addition to what was completed at the SFO Designation level. Check the applicable boxes of course(s) you have completed. Use the "Other" box to list NFA, EMI etc. command courses.

UFRA CTC - Commanding the Initial Response. Formally known as Phase I & II. UFRA CTC - Managing the MaydayNWCG - Division / Group Supervisor Qualification MCTO, MCI - NFA / EMI Other NFA Command Course*________________________________________________

*See: https://apps.usfa.fema.gov/nfacourses/catalog/search?page=1 for a list of NFA courses. Ifyou choose to take NFA Command and Control course not listed, it is recommended that youcontact a member of the review committee prior to enrolling as this will require curriculum reviewfrom the committee.

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In addition to required command training you must complete incident safety training as well. You must complete at least one of the below listed courses.

NFA / NWCG Leadership Courses - You must complete one of the listed courses and one of the leadership series** listed in the table below. If you provide the names of two "other" leadership courses you have completed, insert the title and length of that course in the space provided. Note that if you choose “other” you must contact the review board in order to get approval for course recognition.

Name of Leadership Course and Series Completed Date Completed

(attach cert)

Shaping the Future – June 2011 or later

OR

NWCG L-380 or L-381

AND

Leadership I for Fire/EMS: Strategies for Company Success – Nov 2011 or later Leadership II for Fire/EMS: Strategies for Personal Success – Nov 2011 or later Leadership III for Fire/EMS: Strategies for Supervisory Success – Nov 2011 or later

OR

Leadership in Supervision: Creating Environments for Professional Growth – September 2016 or laterLeadership in Supervision: Prospectives in Thinking – September 2016 or laterLeadership in Supervision: Frameworks to Success – September 2016 or later OR

Leadership in Supervision (R0645) - Note: this course meets Leadership I, II, and III Series above. It is a 6 Day on-campus delivery only.

OR

Other Leadership course: (consideration is given based upon description provided). Attach Desciption OR

Other Leadership course:(consideration is given based upon description provided). Attach Description

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**NOTE: These 3 courses are completed as a group.

**NOTE: These 3 courses are completed as a group.

UFRA or other specialized professional training. List name and date taken. Number of Contact Hours

Public Education Courses. List name and date taken.

Number of Contact Hours

Enter Total Number of Contact Hours:

National Wildland Coordination Group (NWCG) training. List name and date taken. Number of Contact Hours

Enter Total Number of Contact Hours:

Enter Total Number of Contact Hours:

Use this page to list the additional training courses taken since the completion of the SFO designation. A minimum of 50 contact hours is required for the MFO Designation. List the number of contact hours in the space provided and list the total of all three tables in the space provided near the bottom of this page. Make sure to solicit the number of contact hours from the training organization if not listed on the certificate.

Total number of contact hours from tables above:

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ADMINISTRATIVE USE (PORTFOLIO CHECKLIST) Category Yes / No Notes / Explanation

Qualitative requirements met Certifications included Diploma or official transcripts included Letter verifying experience included Training hours met and documentation included Quantitative requirements met Fee included

Verified by:

Date:

Designation as a Managing Fire Officer Awarded? Yes No

Commission Chair Signature:

Date:

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Appendix A IAFC Officer Development Handbook

MFO Section

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