Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

This course is a requirement for completion of the certificate in pre-employment fire protection and may be used as an elective for the post 2013 catalog Associate of Applied Science degree in Fire Protection and is transferable to Eastern Oregon University for the Fire Service Administration program.

• Students must be a minimum of 18 years old on the first scheduled day of class.
•  Students will be required to attend a mandatory orientation before the first fire academy class.
• Students are required to have a physician’s release to use respiratory protection equipment. 
• If the student has circumstances that prevents them from completing Fire Academy Part I and Part II, the student must notify the program administrator before the beginning of the term. 
• Students will be tested for claustrophobia, acrophobia, and fit tested for breathing apparatus facemask.

Students entering the Fire Academy must have completed a physical ability assessment. Valid CPAT cards are accepted.

Upon completion of FP 111 and FP 112, students will meet National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 1001, Chapter 5 and Chapter 6 with the exception of the following: 

• Operations Level Responders
• Section 6.6, Mission-Specific Competencies: Product Control, of NFPA 472, Standard for Competence of Responders to Hazardous Materials/Weapons of Mass Destruction Incidents
• Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST) Fire Fighter I and Fire Fighter II duty requirement.

The content of the course will be presented in lecture, classroom discussions, role playing, demonstrations, practical skills demonstration as appropriate.  Additional instruction methodology may include guest speaker, research papers, professional publication reviews, written and oral reports, and class presentations.

Methods of assessment may include one or more of the following:

• Various individual and/or group skill building activities such as role-playing scenario based problem solving activities, case studies, or other exercises geared toward critical analysis of course concepts.
• Written assignments or oral reports designed to integrate course material into personal experience or experiences of other.
• Quizzes and exams composed of objective questions and concepts.
• Individual and /or team projects/s which require integration, application, and critical examination of course concepts, issues, and themes.

• Demonstrate basic knowledge of the organization of the fire department.
• Demonstrate basic knowledge of the critical aspects of  NFPA 1500, Standard on Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health Program.
• Demonstrate the ability to don personal protective clothing within one minute; doff personal protective clothing and prepare for reuse.
• Demonstrate basic knowledge and skills in initiating responses, receiving telephone calls, and using fire department communications equipment to correctly relay verbal or written information.
• Demonstrate basic knowledge and skills in use of Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) during emergency operations.
• Demonstrate basic knowledge and skills to hoist tools and equipment using ropes and the correct knot; tie a bowline, clove hitch, figure eight on a bight, half hitch, becket or sheet bend, and safety knots.
• Demonstrate basic knowledge and skills to operate in established work areas at emergency scenes
• Demonstrate basic knowledge and skills to carry ladders, raise ladders, extend ladders and place the ladder to avoid obvious hazards.
• Demonstrate basic knowledge of principles of fire streams; types, design, operation, nozzle pressure effects, flow capabilities of nozzles and the application of each size and type of attack line.
• Demonstrate basic knowledge and skills to perform horizontal and vertical ventilation on a structure, as part of a team.
• Demonstrate basic knowledge and skills to conduct a search and rescue in a structure, operating as a member of a team.
• Demonstrate basic knowledge and skills to connect a fire department pumper to a water supply, as a member of a team.
• Demonstrate basic knowledge and skills to extinguish incipient Class A, Class B, and Class C fires, given a selection of portable fire extinguishers.
• Demonstrate basic knowledge and skills to clean and check ladders, ventilation equipment, self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), ropes, salvage equipment, and hand tools, and to clean, inspect, and return fire hose to service.
• Demonstrate basic knowledge and skills to respond an apparatus to an emergency scene. 
• Demonstrate basic knowledge and skills to force entry into a structure and exit a hazardous area as a team.
• Demonstrate basic knowledge and skills to communicate the need for team assistance and assist rescue operation teams.
• Perform an annual service test on fire hose.