BLOOMFIELD, NJ -- The Bloomfield Fire Department is one of six fire departments to begin training members on the 40 hour Officer One course at Bloomfield High School.
The course is being taught by instructors from the Morris County Public Safety Academy. When members have completed the course they will have learned valuable knowledge and skills that will allow them to be better equipped to manage fire crews.
“In Bloomfield, we are fortunate to have such outstanding first responders that are willing to put themselves in danger to keep our community safe,” said Mayor Michael Venezia. “This additional training for our Firefighters will serve to make them more well rounded at their jobs and better prepare them for leadership positions in the future.”
The course is designed around both group lectures as well as hands on group exercises. The skills acquired include how to develop an incident action plan, personnel management, mentoring and community relations. This Fire Officer One course follows the NFPA 1021 standard qualification for professional fire officers.
“Our department is always looking for ways to offer the highest quality training for our members so that they can become better Firefighters and better leaders,” said Chief Lou Venezia. “The FEMA AFG Grant allows our department in addition to departments across the county to do this at no cost to taxpayers.”
The other departments participating in the course are Belleville, Nutley, East Orange, West Orange and Orange. 100 Firefighters are taking part.