Congratulations to fourteen Fire Service Technology students from College of Western Idaho (CWI) who passed three International Fire Service Accreditation Congress (IFSAC) Certification skills and written tests with a 100% pass rate!
The tests, which included Firefighter 1, HazMat Awareness, and HazMat Operations, were administered this past December by the State of Idaho Fire Service Technology office regional testers. The skills portion of the testing took place at the Nampa Fire Training Center. During the Fall 2020 semester, students were taught 76 detailed skills as part of the Fire Service Technology curriculum. Nine of these skills were chosen at random for the three tests.
"Seventy-six skills is a lot to memorize, but each skill is an incredibly important part of the operations of a fire department,” said Fire Service Technology student, Samuel Hoff. “We spent the entire academy practicing these skills which were taught to us by firefighters in the Treasure Valley.”
“The classes offered through CWI were specifically designed to prepare us these certifications,” said student, Tara Fisher. “The combination of classroom instruction, hands-on skill development, and a good amount of grit, led the academy to a 100% pass rate. This class has been an amazing opportunity each and every one of us will cherish and reflect back on during our journey to becoming valuable members of the fire service community.”
Fire Service Technology student, Garrett Morse, was immediately hired by the City of Boise Fire Department after passing his tests. Morse began training with the department in January.
“My gratitude to CWI’s Fire Service program, to the firefighters who teach us, and to my fellow classmates is hard to express in words,” said Morse. “The instructors are all incredibly hard-working professionals who are passionate about firefighting and dedicated to teaching us and sharing their experiences. I owe a lot of where I am today to them. I gained a lot of great mentors from the program and a lot of great friends, and I feel extremely fortunate to have found a job with my dream department so soon.”
Are you interested in a career in fire service? Apply now for Fall 2021 classes. The application period ends March 10. Visit the Fire Service Technology program page or email cwifireprogram@cwi.edu to learn more.
