Q: How many fire fighters are there in Connecticut? (How many are volunteer? How many are career?)
A: There are about 26,435 fire fighters in Connecticut.
About 4,130 of them are career fire fighters.
About 22,345 are volunteer fire fighters
Statistics based upon membership statistics provided by the Connecticut State Firefighters Association for 2004/05.
Q: How do you arrive at these numbers?
A: Nobody is responsible for tracking fire fighter statistics; there is not a central reporting agency. It is difficult to track the numbers, since fire fighters can belong to more that one department. Also, individual fire departments define their active personnel differently.
Q. What is a career fire fighter? Do volunteer fire fighters get paid?
A: Career fire fighters have full-time paid benefited jobs as fire fighters. Volunteers are any other people who fight fires. They may receive no pay at all, be paid on an hourly, or a per-cal/basis. Volunteer fire fighters typically have jobs and careers outside of fire fighting. Also, many volunteer departments offer incentives such as property tax abatement and length of service (pension) award programs.
Q: How many career female fire fighters are there in Connecticut?
A: A 2001 report from the organization Women in Fire Service, there are 62 women on 29 departments in CT., 1 engineer, 3 Lieutenants, 1 Deputy Chief. There are approximately 6,650 women in active career level structural firefighting throughout the U.S.
Q: Who oversees fire fighters in the state?
A: Fire protection, and the people who provide it, are local issues in the same way that street cleaning is a local issue. In other words, there is no legislatively mandated state director of street cleaners. Localities decide on their own fire protection services. The Legislature does regulate fire fighters’ pensions, worker compensation, voluntary training standards, etc.
Q: How many fire fighters are there in the U.S.? (How many career, how many volunteer?)
A: According to estimates based on the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) 2002 National Fire Experience Survey (released January 2004); there were approximately 1,108,240 fire fighters in the U.S. in 2002, an increase of 2.8% from the previous year.
The information comes from the annual survey sent out to fire departments and a weighting formula used by NFPA in their estimate equation. In this survey, career fire fighters were defined to include full-time fire fighters regardless of assignments (e.g. suppression, prevention/inspection, administrative).
This survey defined career fire fighters who work for public municipal fire departments; it does not include career fire fighters who work for private fire brigades.
Most career fire fighters (76% of the 291,650) work in communities that protect 25,000 or more people.
The survey defined volunteer fire fighters as any active part-time (on-call or volunteer) fire fighters. Active volunteers were defined as being involved in fire fighting. Of the total number of fire fighters, 74%, or 816,600 were volunteers.
Most of the volunteers (95% of the 816,600) are in departments that protect fewer than 25,000 people. More than half of the volunteers protect fewer than 2,500 people.
Q. How many fire departments are there in Connecticut?
A: 315 fire departments in Connecticut. This figure includes municipal fire departments, fire districts, state agency, tribal nations and industrial fire departments.
Q. How many fire departments are there in the U.S.?
A: According to NFPA’s 2002 National Fire Experience Survey, there are an estimated 30,310 fire departments in the U.S. 12% of all departments are all career or mostly career but protect 60% of the U.S. population, while 88% of the departments are mostly volunteer or all volunteer and protect 40% of the population.
• 2,044 departments (6.7%) are all career
• 1,480 departments (4.9%) are mostly career
• 4,886 departments (16.1%) are mostly volunteer
• 21,900 departments (72.3%) are all volunteer
Q: How do I become a fire fighter in Connecticut?
A: Most of Connecticut’s 169 cities and towns set their own requirements; check with your local fire department or municipal human resources (Personnel) department. However, many departments want you to:
• Be a high school graduate
• Have a valid drivers license
• Be able to use computers
• Be healthy and in good physical condition (see CPAT section of web page)
• If you are in high school, check Fire Explorer, Junior and Cadet programs. Many previous Fire Explorers have become fire fighters in their communities
• Take courses at Connecticut Fire Academy, state community colleges or the University of New Haven
• Individuals interested in volunteering should contact the Commission on Fire Prevention and Control sponsored recruitment program 1-800-FIRE-LINE (1-800-347-3546). Interested individuals will be referred to volunteer opportunities in Fire, EMS, Citizens Corp, Fire Corp, Red Cross and Civil Air Patrol.
Q: How can I become qualified to fight forest fires?
A: Meet the requirements of the state or federal agency doing the firefighting to get on a list of qualified people to be called up. You must take and pass a physical work capacity test. Check out the Wildland Training Information page at Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection.
Contact: Ralph Scarpino, Program Specialist
Forest Protection, Forestry Division
Bureau of Natural Resources
Ph: 860-424-3632
Fax: 860-424-4070
Email: ralph.scarpino@po.state.ct.us
Q: How many emergency medical service providers are there in Connecticut?
A: Active EMS Personnel Statistics as of 12/31/2004 provided by the Connecticut Department of Public Health.
• 7,424 Medical Response Technician
• 10,088 Emergency Medical Technician
• 996 Emergency Medical Technician-Intermediate
• 388 Emergency Medical Services-Instructor
• 1,665 Paramedic
Q: How can I become an Instructor for the Connecticut Fire Academy?
A: Application filing instructions are found on the Commission on Fire Prevention and Control’s website www.das.state.ct.us/exam/bl_jobs_display.asp?F_Type=Jobs&F_ID=3036&F_Desc=ADJUNCT%20FIRE%20SERVICE%20INSTRUCTOR
Fire Service Certification Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: Am I eligible to be certified?
A: Yes you are if you are at least 18 years of age, are an active member of a Connecticut Fire Department (or an out of State Fire Department that provides mutual aid to a Connecticut Department), and meet the specific requirements contained in the State Certification Regulation for the level of certification you are seeking.
Q: What levels can I be certified to?
A: As of March 22, 2006, The Commission on Fire Prevention and Control offers certification examinations for the following 24 levels of certification:
Firefighter I, II
Airport Firefighter
Pump Operator
Aerial Operator
Tanker Operator
Fire Service Instructor I, II
Fire Officer I, II, III, IV
Health and Safety Officer
Incident Safety Officer – Fire Suppression
Hazardous Materials Awareness
Hazardous Materials Operations
Hazardous Materials Technician
Public Fire and Life Safety Educator I, II
Trench Rescue Technician
Confined Space Rescue Technician
Vehicle & Machinery Rescue Technician
Rope Rescue Technician
Structural Collapse Rescue Technician
Q: How do I apply to take a certification test?
A: Upon completion of the appropriate training for a given level of certification, you may complete and submit the appropriate certification examination application. Some applications are available online at http://www.ct.gov/cfpc/cwp/view.asp?a=826&Q=245496&cfpcPNavCtr=|30770|#30771 and at training courses that address specific levels. All Certification Examination Applications are available at the Commission’s Offices at the Connecticut Fire Academy. Each application must be received by the Certification Division at least 10 days prior to the examination being applied for.
Q: If I fail can I retake a certification exam without taking the training over again?
A: Candidates are eligible to retake failed examinations an unlimited number of times during a one year period. Depending upon your final score and how long it has been since your examination you may or may not need to retake training. Please go to: http://www.ct.gov/cfpc/cwp/view.asp?a=826&Q=311296&cfpcPNavCtr=|44728|#44946 to view the whole retest policy
Q: Do I have to take a Connecticut Fire Academy course to become certified?
A: The Commission on Fire Prevention and Control has determined that eligibility for many levels of certification is limited to persons who take Connecticut Fire Academy courses. Exceptions to that requirement are for the certification levels of Firefighter I, Firefighter II, Pump Operator, and Tanker Operator; training for which is not limited to Connecticut Fire Academy courses. In accordance with the Certification Eligibility Policy adopted by the Commission on Fire Prevention and Control, eligibility for Structural Collapse Rescue Technician certification is restricted to members of the CT USAR Team.
Q: Is my State certification recognized in other States in the United States or in Canada? Is my certification from another state or country or the Department of Defense recognized in Connecticut?
A: The Commission’s Certification System has been accredited nationally by the National Board on Fire Service Professional Qualifications (Pro Board) and the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress (IFSAC). This accreditation allows Connecticut to award certification reciprocity based upon certifications awarded in other States, the United States Department of Defense or Canada and conversely many States and Canadian Provinces will do the same.
Q: Can I challenge a certification examination?
A: From time to time the Commission may allow a candidate for certification to petition for permission to challenge one or more components of an examination level without completing the training requirement specified above if, by evaluation by the Director of Certification, that person’s education is equivalent to that which would have been received through the training program delivered by the Training Division of the Commission. Such challenge shall be limited to persons who are applying based upon certification(s) received from an IFSAC or Pro Board Accredited entity or based upon equivalent training and education received in a formal program.
Q: Can anyone ask about my certification status and exam grades or are those private matters?
A: The level of Certification that has been attained by an individual is a matter of public record and may be disclosed to interested parties. Examination scores and grades are private and will only be released to the individual.
Q: When can I expect to get my results?
A: Examination results are typically processed and mailed within four to six weeks after completion of the examination. The processing of results of examinations taken during the peak testing months of November, December, January, May, June, and July is generally delayed due to shear volume.
Q: I see that there are now two levels of Safety Officer Certification, that of Health and Safety Officer and Incident Safety Officer – Fire Suppression. I was already certified as a Fire Department Safety Officer. Do I have to become certified again?
A: No. The two new levels of certification are the result of a change to the NFPA Standard against which the examination is based, NFPA Standard 1521. The new levels replace the former Fire Department Safety Officer level, but that level is still valid. If you wish to examine for one or both of the new levels you may do so following the normal process to prepare for and take an examination.
Q: How do I obtain Duplicate Certificates, Order Patches and Rockers or receive a transcript?
A: You may submit an order form for one or all of these items. The form is available at the Certification Office or at the following link:
http://www.ct.gov/cfpc/lib/cfpc/CERT_ORDER_FORM.pdf
Q. What is CPAT certification?
A: CPAT (Candidate Physical Ability Test) is a practical exam used to test a candidate's physical ability to perform a job task related to firefighting and is not related to the fire service certification examinations administered and delivered by the Commission’s Certification Division. For more information on the CPAT process go to: http://www.ct.gov/cfpc/cwp/view.asp?a=826&Q=246722
Q: If I become certified as a Fire Service Instructor can I teach for the Connecticut Fire Academy?
A: Certification as Fire Service Instructor means that you have successfully demonstrated your competency against the national standard for that level. From time to time employment opportunities for instructors at the Connecticut Fire Academy or Regional Fire Schools may be available. These opportunities generally have additional requirements that must be met. Contact the Academy or Regional School directly to determine what may be required. Certified instructors may serve as practical skills station evaluators at local certification examinations after they have taken the Commission’s Station Evaluator Training course.
Q: I have questions concerning the national certification by the Pro Board or IFSAC. Where can I find answers?
A: Go to the Pro Board’s FAQ page at: http://www.theproboard.org/FAQ.htm or to IFSAC’s FAQ page at: http://www.ifsac.org/faqs.html for those answers.
