STOW, MA – Dozens of fire service leaders from across Massachusetts graduated today from the 31st class of the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy’s Chief Fire Officer Management Training Program, State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine said.
The four-month program for new chief officers and chief officer candidates is delivered jointly by the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy and the Edward J. Collins Jr. Center for Public Management at UMass Boston. Through intensive classroom instruction, challenging out-of-class assignments, and student presentations, the course delivers multifaceted training in the managerial aspects of leading a municipal fire department.
“The Chief Fire Officer program is a tremendous opportunity for new chiefs and rising officers,” said State Fire Marshal Jon M. Davine, who graduated from the program in 2016. “The rigorous instruction in such a wide variety of topics will help these graduates provide the leadership that their departments and communities deserve. Completing the program is a major accomplishment and I want to congratulate all of them on their initiative and dedication to professional development.”
The Chief Fire Officer Management Training Program covers a spectrum of topics considered essential for effective public sector management. It includes human resource management, ethics, executive leadership, governmental and organization structures, information management, customer-focused strategic planning, legal issues, budgets and public finance, community awareness, media relations, and labor relations. The curriculum helps fire officers improve their ability to lead and manage personnel, understand employees’ needs and problems, communicate effectively to a variety of audiences, and leverage inter-agency cooperation. The Massachusetts Firefighting Academy, a division of the Department of Fire Services, offers this program tuition-free.
Local graduates are:
Brewster Fire Department Deputy Chief Jeffrey Sivert
Centerville-Osterville-Marstons Mills Fire Department Deputy Chief Michael Rogers (not pictured)
Falmouth Fire Department Deputy Chief Scott Thrasher
Mashpee Fire Department Deputy Chief Brenden Ramsey
Provincetown Fire Department Deputy Chief Othaine Rance
Wellfleet Fire Department Deputy Chief Shawn Clark
The MFA provides recruit and in-service training at three separate campuses for Massachusetts firefighters and delivers courses to upward of 13,000 students at every level of the fire service each year.
