The Fire Science Technology program at Sinclair Community College offers individuals interested in the fire-service field a short-term certificate and/or degree options.
“We have two degrees — associates and applied “sciences,” Rob Chambers, chair of the Fire Science Technology, program said. “We have a fire administration [program], Fire Science Technology Fire Administration, and we have Fire Engineering Technology.”
He said the Fire Administration program is aimed toward individuals who are already working at a fire department looking to move up into a chief officer position.
“It’s more management classes, it’s that type of a program,” he said. “So they take [human resources] kind of stuff; how to do human resources, how to deal with the issues, how to be a good fire officer.”
The Fire Engineering program is more math and science intensive, and emphasizes the technical aspects of being a fire-fighter.
“[For example, students would learn about] fire protection systems, sprinklers, fire alarms.” he said. “It’s geared for the people who might do inspections and it teaches them the technical aspects of fire protection systems, human behavior in fire, things like that.”
In addition, he said individuals going through the Fire Engineering program may learn about building structures.
“That’s a big part of safety. You have to know how buildings are built so that you know how they fall down when they’re exposed to fire; that’s one of the big danger areas,” he said. “If you know the construction of the building, you know the dangers inherent to it, you know the signs and symptoms of when it’s going to fall down.”
The Fire Academy offers a certificate option for individuals who are seeking an hourly or volunteer position at a fire department.
“A lot of people send their folks here for fire training; the city of Dayton runs their fire academy through the college,” he said. “So [the] instructors, they’re Dayton firefighters, but they’re also instructors for us too. We’re working together with them, and we use their training facilities. Our live fire training … we actually do at the Dayton training center.”
The program also offers an option for students to get their fire and paramedic training through the Emergency Medical Service/Fire Science certificate program.
For individuals who are undecided, or are seeking to pursue a different major, this major could be a good fit for them if they consider themselves to be thrill-seekers, according to Chambers.
“People that are kind of risk-takers … love this job,” he said. “It’s excitement — adrenaline junkies would love this. If you’re a person of action, this is a great job. Those are the kind of people that are attracted to it. The fire service, in general as a profession, you have periods where you have inactivity or you’re not doing much, then all of a sudden at the drop of the alarm, it’s like you’re on fire — literally, it’s all or none. For the people who love that, it’s great.”