HISTORY AND OVERVIEW

In 1972, the Joint Council of National Fire Service Organizations (Joint Council) founded the National Professional Qualifications System (NPQS) in an effort to help guide the fire service toward professionalism.  Certification arose over a concern that training was becoming very uneven between jurisdictions and sometimes even inadequate.  As a result of these concerns, a nine member National Professional Qualifications Board (Pro Board) was established by the Joint Council to direct the new accreditation and registry system.

In order to develop a system of rationalized training for fire fighters, the Pro Board requested that the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) charge consensus technical committees with the development of unambiguous standards to be used in the certification process.  It is important to remember that the professional standards were developed by persons performing the jobs (e.g. fire fighters worked on the fire fighter standards, fire investigators on the fire investigator standard, etc.).  The initial standard for professional competency was developed for Fire Fighter in 1974.

After the dissolution of the Joint Council, the National Professional Qualifications System was incorporated in July 1990 as the National Board on Fire Service Professional Qualifications (NBFSPQ) and continues to be referred to as the Pro Board.  The Pro Board  operates under the direction of a Board of Directors consisting of one member from the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI), International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and, North American Fire Training Directors (NAFTD) and issues accreditation to those agencies that test to approved fire service standards.  Today, accreditation is issued for certification in 72 levels of sixteen standards of fire service related competencies.  Individuals may become certified in as many disciplines as they desire.  And, because examinations are based on widely available NFPA standards, the Pro Board avoids problems inherent to local or regional certification systems.

In its most simple form, certification means that an individual has been tested by an accredited examining agency on a body of clearly delineated material and found to meet or exceed the minimum standard.  In this instance, certification provides the individual with the opportunity to test skills and knowledge against peers from all types of fire departments and fire service agencies.  Well into its third decade, the Pro Board is the premiere program in the United States and Canada for certification oversight of fire service professionals, career or volunteer.

Under the Pro Board process, agencies or organizations within States and Provinces apply for accreditation in order to certify individuals to the NFPA standards.  These agencies then act as certifying agents operating under the aegis of the National Board on Fire Service Professional Qualifications.

After success on the examination within a particular discipline, the candidate is then eligible to join the National Register of Fire Services Professionals.  It is important to remember that under the Pro Board, certifications belong to the individual–a tremendous advantage over local systems.  For instance, a certified firefighter on the National Register may, in many cases, transfer between departments in states which are accredited by the Pro Board.

Certification and placement on the National Register works to serve both the individual who is certified and the department that he or she serves.  Certified individuals have a credibility that has already proven invaluable to many arson investigators, fire inspectors and others who regularly interface with the legal system.  In a profession, which is highly decentralized, certification provides the individual with a sense of accomplishment and draws the fire service as a whole into a much closer alliance.  Volunteer members of combination departments who are certified know that they are highly regarded; and wholly volunteer services with nationally certified members know that their competence is well established.  As an incentive to professional growth and advancement, certification proves that the member is highly motivated and serious about measuring up to national standards.  Certification also addresses the needs of fire service professionals whose career achievements are not as easily rewarded or in evidence as sworn employees.  Civilians, many of whom function as inspectors, public safety telecommunicators, life safety educators, and training academy instructors, have long needed a way to present credentials within these disciplines.  Being certified to national standards goes far in addressing this concern.

There are also many reasons why having nationally certified members improves the departments for which they work.  First, the respect, reputation, and prestige of such professional organizations will expand in proportion to their number of certified members.  These departments will have officers and civilian professionals whose credibility is unquestionable.  Second, a fire department’s training center will improve as higher goals are secured through the acceptance of the standards.  As a result, such training centers will be able to measure themselves as part of a national fire training system.  Overall, departments and services that teach to the standards and expect members to become certified will become stronger entities.

Fire departments with a commitment to the national certification process may have an easier time during annual budget justifications.  They can argue that having a high proportion of certified members indicates a commitment to the community beyond the adherence to local mandates.  Certification indicates a higher level of professional motivation that should be justly rewarded.  It is incumbent upon individual departments to encourage their members to become certified by adopting the accreditation and certification scheme as an expectation for all members who fall within the examined disciplines.

Professional standards are particularly important in high-risk industries such as the fire service.  We must share the same values if we are to evolve further as a profession.  The widespread adoption of the accreditation and certification movement offered by the National Board on Fire Service Professional Qualifications will go far in ensuring that this trend continues to the benefit of each one of us.