Deputy State Fire Marshal Recognizes “Strong Devotion to Training,” Approves Accreditation for Con Fire Firefighter Academy Facilities, Instructors and Curriculum
CONCORD, CALIF. – Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (Con Fire) today announced its firefighter academy training program, facilities and curriculum have earned accreditation by the California State Fire Marshal Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, making the district’s academy the latest of only 20 such accredited academies statewide.
Accredited Local Academies (ALA), are single fire agencies, which provide training for in-house personnel only, and which actively provide state, municipal, county, or fire district fire protection services. Accreditation recognizes the agency’s commitment and dedication to the highest levels of professional fire service training.
Con Fire convened its 52nd academy on October 1. It is the first accredited academy in the history of the District.
“The Contra Costa County Fire Protection District has demonstrated a strong devotion to training that is indicative of a progressive organization,” said Caryn Petty, Deputy California State Fire Marshal. “The Department’s personnel are devoted to fire, emergency medical, wildland, and rescue operations with a thriving training division concentrated on maintaining innovative and relevant training delivery programs at all levels of fire service education.”
“I am pleased and proud of our training division’s hard work and dedication that’s resulted in accreditation of our academy,” said Jeff Carman, Fire Chief, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District. “Accreditation ensures not only our firefighters receive the best professional training possible, it also ensures District residents can count on receiving the highest levels of professionalism and emergency services from their firefighters.”
State evaluators noted, “the training facility presents a state-of-the-art academy classroom equipped with progressive audio/visual equipment. The best practices observed by the site evaluation team included a dedication to high-quality training with unwavering standardization.” The State Fire Marshal’s accreditation evaluation included a detailed review of district training facilities, including necessary props, tools, equipment and vehicles, as well as curriculum, registered instructors, student records and training archives.
About Contra Costa County Fire Protection District
Contra Costa County Fire Protection District is a recognized fire service leader providing fire and emergency medical services to more than a million people across a 304 square-mile area, in and around the 20 cities of Contra Costa County, California. In 2017, the District responded to nearly 74,000 fire and EMS emergencies and provided expert medical care in the conduct of more than 75,000 ambulance transports. The District with 25 fire stations and nearly 400 employees is dedicated to the preservation of life, property and the environment.
About The Office of the State Fire Marshal
The Office of the State Fire Marshal supports the mission of CAL FIRE by focusing on fire prevention, providing support through a wide variety of fire safety responsibilities including: regulating buildings in which people live, congregate, or are confined; by controlling substances and products which may, in and of themselves, or by their misuse, cause injuries, death and destruction by fire; by providing statewide direction for fire prevention within wildland areas; by regulation hazardous liquid pipelines; by developing and reviewing regulations and building standards; and by providing training and education in fire protection methods and responsibilities.
