Mission: The purpose of the National Board on Fire Service Professional Qualifications (Pro Board) is to establish an internationally recognized means of acknowledging professional achievement in the fire service and related fields. The accreditation of organizations that certify uniform members of public fire departments, both career and volunteer, is the primary goal. However, other  organizations with fire protection interests may also be considered for participation. Accreditation is generally provided at the State or Provincial level to the empowered certifying authority of that jurisdiction. [Top of Page]

Accreditation:   The Pro Board accredits fire service training agencies that use the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA's) professional qualification standards.  The accreditation process begins with the submission of an application, including a detailed self study document, by the organization seeking accreditation. The application package is then reviewed by the members of the Committee on Accreditation for completeness and compliance with the accreditation criteria of the Pro Board.  The next step is a site visit by a team of COA members, usually two, who perform an extensive on-site review of the organization's testing and certification processes.  The site visit team prepares a report and presents it to the COA.   The COA decides if accreditation is granted. [Top of Page]

Certification: An agency that is accredited by the Pro Board makes national certification available to its members. Members are then eligible to be placed on the Pro Board's national register and receive a Certificate of  National Certification.  In addition, the Pro Board encourages reciprocity among certifying agencies. This helps assure that Pro Board certification will be recognized by the department as the members seek advancement, and by other departments should they seek to transfer within the fire service. The cost of national registration including a Pro Board Certificate ranges from $6.50 to $15.00 depending on the certificate distribution plan selected by the accredited agency. [Top of Page] 

Benefits:  Professionalism has long been a goal sought by members of the fire service. It has only been within the past 25 years that a system has evolved to produce national professional qualifications standards that an agency can use to establish performance measures for training programs. Agencies that achieve Pro Board accreditation are recognized as having met the rigors of review by an independent organization. This independent review is the best way to assure candidates and governance bodies that the training agency’s program meets the national standards.

Certification from a nationally accredited agency is a statement of success, an indisputable mark of performance belonging to individual fire service professionals. Each successful candidate for certification from an accredited agency knows that he or she has been measured against peers and meets rigorous national standards. National certification affords the individual a uniformity and portability of qualifications.  In addition, the credibility of an organization is enhanced by having members certified to national consensus standards.  A high percentage of certified members within a department should certainly help managers in their pursuit of adequate funding at budget time. [Top of Page]

Organization: The Pro Board is sponsored by five prominent fire service organizations.   Each organization seats one member on the Board of Directors whose task it is to set policy and oversee operations of the system. The Committee on Accreditation is comprised of representatives appointed by each of the sponsoring organizations and representatives elected by the accredited agencies.  They are charged with the task of accreditation through review of applications, site visits and implementation of policy set by the Board of Directors. The Advisory Committee is comprised of delegates from all of the accredited agencies.  It serves as a conduit for policy questions and suggestions  to be addressed by the Board of Directors and/or the COA. [Top of Page]

Contact information for the ProBoard:

If you represent an accredited agency or an agency that is interested in accreditation by the ProBoard please contact the Chairman of the Committee on Accreditation:

Frederick Piechota

[email]  

413-267-5140

If you are an individual who is seeking information about certifications or certificates please contact the Certification Coordinator.

Amy Sturtevant

[email]

617.984.7474

If you are seeking general information about the ProBoard system please contact the Program Manager.

David Trebisacci

[email]

617.984.7420  

For more information about fire service professional qualifications, certification and/or accreditation,  please feel free to explore our site, review our documents and ask us questions.  Thank you for your interest.