Firefighter Continuing Education Requirements

The following is a summary that will help answer questions about meeting the requirements for maintaining a firefighter certification in Ohio. Although every attempt has been made to ensure the accuracy of the following information, in the event of a discrepancy, the language in the Ohio Administrative Code 4765-20 shall apply. The full rule can be accessed on our webpage at http://codes.ohio.gov/oac/4765-20.

IMPORTANT: Online training and/or other forms of fire training require prior approval of an Ohio fire chief or an Ohio fire chartered training program director. Failure to have prior approval may cause the training not to be recognized.

IMPORTANT CERTIFICATION INFORMATION FOR ALL OHIO FIREFIGHTERS

EVERYONE should visit www.ems.ohio.gov and click on Certifications, then on Certification Verification. Once you enter your Social Security number or certification number, you will see your expiration date for all EMS and fire certifications. Some certified firefighters who have recertified and received an expiration date, may be up for recertification already. DO NOT LET YOUR CERTIFICATION EXPIRE!!!!

For the first cycle of recertification the hours are pro-rated. If your expiration is in:

2010

Firefighter – 18 hours

Fire Inspector – 10 hours devoted to the following topics:

(1) The theory of fire code enforcement;

(2) Enforcement of fire codes;

(3) Life safety system of building and uses;

(4) The safe use and maintenance of facilities, building, and uses which are subject to the state of Ohio fire code;

(5) The safe handling of materials which pose a fire hazard;

(6) Fire code administration;

(7) Legal method of code enforcement;

(8) Legal rights of landlords and tenants under federal, state, and local laws;

(9) The application, installation, use, and interpretation of the NFPA standards.

Instructor – 2 hours CEU, 8 hours teaching

Asst. Instructor – 2 hours CEU, 2.65 hours teaching

2011

Firefighter – 36 hours

Fire Inspector – 20 hours devoted to the following topics:

(1) The theory of fire code enforcement;

(2) Enforcement of fire codes;

(3) Life safety system of building and uses;

(4) The safe use and maintenance of facilities, building, and uses which are subject to the state of Ohio fire code;

(5) The safe handling of materials which pose a fire hazard;

(6) Fire code administration;

(7) Legal method of code enforcement;

(8) Legal rights of landlords and tenants under federal, state, and local laws;

(9) The application, installation, use, and interpretation of the NFPA standards.

Instructor – 4 hours CEU, 16 hours teaching

Asst. Instructor – 4 hours CEU, 5.3 hours teaching

2012 and full 3-year certification cycles

The amount of continuing education hours needed for your full three year certification cycle in order to recertify are as follows:

Firefighter - 54 hours

Fire Inspector 30 hours devoted to the following topics:

(1) The theory of fire code enforcement;

(2) Enforcement of fire codes;

(3) Life safety system of building and uses;

(4) The safe use and maintenance of facilities, building, and uses which are subject to the state of Ohio fire code;

(5) The safe handling of materials which pose a fire hazard;

(6) Fire code administration;

(7) Legal method of code enforcement;

(8) Legal rights of landlords and tenants under federal, state, and local laws;

(9) The application, installation, use, and interpretation of the NFPA standards.

Fire Instructor 6 hours of continuing education and 24 hours of instruction

Assistant Instructor 6 hours of continuing education and 8 hours of instruction

Please contact any of the following for clarification or questions you may have:

Office of Fire Services
John Kennington, Certification Coordinator Doug Orahood, State Fire Coordinator Rachel Moore, Fire Training Specialist	(614) 466-9455 (614) 752-3960 (614) 728-1525	jkennington@dps.state.oh.us dorahood@dps.state.oh.us romoore@dps.state.oh.us