Fire Protection Technician Program Code 105032

Employment Potential

As a fire protection technician, you protect life and property through fire prevention efforts and, if necessary, by proper firefighting principles and techniques. Upon graduation from the Fire Protection Technician program, you are well trained in the progressive, proactive philosophy of the modern fire service which emphasizes fire prevention and public education, as well as the traditional firefighting and emergency medical service components.

There is a 2 plus 2 agreement in place between UW-Oshkosh and Fox Valley Technical College, which will allow a student to get a bachelor's degree in Fire and Emergency Response Management

Note

Helpful High School Courses
Four years of English; speech; two years of math (Algebra I); chemistry; computer keyboard skills; and physical education are beneficial.

Note

Class size is limited to 36 new students each semester.

Note

Information: NWTC Admissions,
(920) 498-5444 or (888) 385-6982,
or www.nwtc.edu

Internship

Students are required to complete an internship at a local fire department. The internship will consist of 24-hour shifts which rotate to coincide with the fire department's shift schedule.

Note

Students will be required to provide their own boots, hood, and gloves during the Firefighting Principles class.

Note

The required course work is rigorous. For every credit (hour in class/week) students should plan to spend two hours outside of class time in independent study. Class schedules vary each semester so plan to have a flexible employment schedule while enrolled in the program

Note

*Written Communication, 10-801-195, may be taken only at FVTC.

Program Outcomes

. Demonstrate professional conduct by displaying personal code of ethics, positive work ethics, flexibility, teamwork skills, physical fitness, safe procedures, and sensitivity to diverse cultures and individuals.
. Perform fire prevention activities including preplanning, public education, inspections, and investigations.
. Apply management skills to emergency incidents.
. Meet professional fire and emergency medical credentialing standards.
. Apply critical thinking skills to both emergency and non-emergency situations.
. Communicate clearly and effectively both verbally and through written documentation with clients, coworkers, other agencies, and supervisors.

Requirements for Program Entry

. An Accuplacer Reading Score of 54 or greater, or completion of equivalent Program Prep Course is required prior to enrolling in Technical Studies Fire Protection classes.
. Accuplacer Sentence Skills Score 83, or completion of Program Prep Course.
. Accuplacer Arithmetic Score of 65 or Program Prep Math is required prior to College Mathematics class.
. This program requires successful completion of a Criminal Background Check and a Caregiver Background Check. This means that you will have to verify that you have NO record with the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Family Services that would prohibit you from working in a career-related profession. You will be asked to complete the check prior to your participation in a clinical or an internship placement.
. High School graduation or equivalent; a copy of your High School Transcript
. Application for admission and $30.00 fee; Admissions assessment
. Newly admitted program students are required to attend/complete a New Student Orientation (NSO) before registering for their first semester of courses. Attendance at the 4 hour, on campus, session in Appleton is highly recommended. (There is also an online version available for individuals who live a long distance from campus, but the information is limited, and does not include "how to register for classes.")
. When registering for the 1st semester of core Fire Protection courses (Term 23 on the Program Plan) you must register for all 3 core (503) courses at the same time. This includes Hazardous Materials (10-503-152), Firefighting Principles (10-503-142), and Principles of Emergency Services (10-503-139). Students who have completed state certification for Firefighter 1 are eligible for advanced standing credit for the Firefighting Principles course. All paperwork and fees must be processed in order to be eligible to register for Hazardous Materials and Principles of Emergency Services.
. Hepatitis B vaccination is strongly recommended
. Respiratory Questionnaire
. Boots, gloves, and hood for Firefighting Principles

Curriculum

The Fire Protection Technician Associate Degree is a two-year program. Upon graduation a student will have completed 69 credits.

GENERAL STUDIES

TECHNICAL STUDIES

* Suggested Electives:
Spanish 1 Fire Protection, 10-140-174
Fire Protection Internship-Extended, 10-503-131
Fire Protection Independent Study 1, 10-503-132
Fire Protection Independent Study 2, 10-503-133
Firefighter Fitness, 10-503-135
Health and Wellness for Firefighters, 10-503-134
College Success 1, 10-890-100
Employability Strategies, 10-890-103
General Anatomy & Physiology, 10-806-177
Advanced Anatomy & Physiology, 10-806-179
Microbiology, 10-806-197
Developmental Psychology, 10-809-188
Classes required for Paramedic can be used as electives for the Fire Protection program

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

These courses provide an opportunity for students to develop the knowledge, skills, and understanding required for employment in this field.

10-107-150 MICROCOMPUTER APPLICATIONS ...designed for students with little or no hands-on computer experience. Presents the basic functions of the Windows operating system and how to use the word processing, spreadsheet and presentation functions of Microsoft Office software. Students will integrate various functions of several Microsoft packages.

10-503-101 TECHNICAL RESCUE ...exposes the student to labor-intensive requirements in team-based technical rescue. Students will be trained in rope rescue, confined space rescue and trench rescue to the technician level. (Pre-Corequisites: Principles of Emergency Services (10-503-139 or 10-503-100); Fire Fighting Principles (10-503-142 or 10-503-102) or Firefighter I State Certification and advanced standing in Firefighting Principles)

10-503-130 FIRE PROTECTION INTERNSHIP ...provides an opportunity for students to perform the duties of a municipal firefighter while serving the typical 24-hour shift, excluding FVTC class periods, at one of several fire departments. Fire department officers evaluate student performance. Department consent required

10-503-139 PRINCIPLES OF EMERGENCY SERVICES ...provides an overview to fire protection; career opportunities in fire protection and related fields; philosophy and history of fire protection/service; fire loss analysis; organization and function of public and private fire protection services; fire departments as part of local government ; laws and regulations affecting the fire service; and fire service nomenclature.
Prerequisite: Admission to Fire Protection Technician program; Corequisites: Fire Fighting Principles (10-503-142 or 10-503-102); Hazardous Materials (10-503-152 or 10-503-108) or Firefighter I State Certification and advanced standing in Firefighting Principles

10-503-142 FIRE FIGHTING PRINCIPLES ...basic fire behavior, techniques for control structural, related fire emergencies, life safety practices; covers practical evolutions necessary to control and extinguish fires; satisfies all requirements for Firefighter 1 certification. Prerequisite: Admission to the Fire Protection Technician program; Corequisites: Principles of Emergency Services (10-503-139 or 10-503-100); Hazardous Materials (10-503-152 or 10-503-108)

10-503-143 BUILDING CONSTRUCTION ...provides the components of building construction that relate to fire and life safety. (Pre/Corequisite: Principles of Emergency Services 10-503-139 or 10-503-100)

10-503-147 FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEMS ...provides information relating to the features of design and operation of fire detection and suppression systems. (Pre/Corequisite: Principles of Emergency Services 10-503-139 or 10-503-100)

10-503-151 FIRE PREVENTION ...provides fundamental information regarding the history and philosophy of fire prevention, organization and operation of a fire prevention bureau, use of fire codes, and identification and correction of fire hazards. Meets all requirements for Fire Inspector 1 certification with the State of
Wisconsin. (Pre/Corequisites: Principles of Emergency Services 10-503-139 or 10-503-100); Fire Fighting Principles (10-503-142 or 10-503-102 or Firefighter I State Certification and advanced standing in Firefighting Principles)

10-503-152 HAZARDOUS MATERIALS ...examines characteristics relating to hazardous materials including problems of recognition and mitigation. Prepares students for Hazardous Materials Technician Level.
Prerequisite: Admission to the Fire Protection Technician program; Corequisites: Principles of Emergency Services (10-503-139 or 10-503-100); Fire Fighting Principles (10-503-142 or 10-503-102)

10-503-155 FIRE PROTECTION HYDRAULICS ...provides a foundation of knowledge in order to understand the principles of the use of water in fire protection. Meets all of the requirements for the Driver Operator-Pumper certification with the State of Wisconsin. (Pre/Corequisites: Principles of Emergency Services 10-503-139 or 10-503-100; Fire Fighting Principles (10-503-142 or 10-503-102) or Firefighter I State Certification and advanced standing in Firefighting Principles)

10-503-156 STRATEGIES, TACTICS, AND INCIDENT MANAGEMENT ...provides an in-depth analysis of the principles of emergency response through utilization of an incident management system. Prepares students to pursue current national ICS training requirements. (Pre/Corequisites: Principles of Emergency Services 10-503-139 or 10-503-100; Fire Fighting Principles (10-503-142 or 10-503-102) or Firefighter I State Certification and advanced standing in Firefighting Principles)

10-503-157 FIRE INVESTIGATION ...provides learners with the fundamentals and technical knowledge needed for proper fire scene investigations. (Pre/Corequisite: Principles of Emergency Services 10-503-139 or 10-503-100) or enrollment in an investigation-related ITS degree program, 10-825-1)

10-531-102 EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIAN BASIC ...preparatory aspects, airway management, patient assessment, medical/behavioral cases, trauma care, pediatric cases, and field operations in basic life-support emergency medical care. (Prerequisite: Accepted into the Emergency Medical Technician-Basic program.)

10-801-198 SPEECH ...fundamentals of effective oral presentation to small and large groups: topic selection, audience analysis, methods of organization, research, structuring evidence and support, delivery techniques, and the listening process. (Prerequisite: Accuplacer- Reading =55 OR ACT- Reading =15 OR 77-858-759, BE Reading Prep IIB with "C" or better OR equivalent) 3 cr.

10-809-198 INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY ...survey of theoretical foundations of human behavior such as sensation and perception, motivation, emotions, learning, personality, psychological disorders, therapy, stress, and human diversity in personal, social and vocational settings. (Prerequisite: Accuplacer-Sentence Skills =60 AND Accuplacer-Reading =55 OR ACT-English =16 AND ACT Reading =15 OR 77-851-759 BE Communication Prep IIB OR 77-858-759 BE Reading Prep IIB w/ a "C" or better) 3 cr.

10-801-136 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 1 ...learners develop knowledge/skills in planning, organizing, writing, editing. Students will also analyze audience/purpose, use elements of research, format documents using standard guidelines, and develop critical reading skills. (Prerequisite: Accuplacer-Sentence Skills =75 AND Accuplacer-Reading =55 OR ACT-English =16 AND ACT Reading =15 OR 77-851-759; BE Communication Prep IIB OR 10-831-103, Intro to College Writing with "C" or better OR equivalent) 3 cr.

10-804-107 COLLEGE MATHEMATHICS ...an introductory level course designed to review and develop fundamental concepts of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and statistics. Emphasis will be placed on computational skills and applications of rational numbers; problem solving skills with ratios, proportions, and percent; basic principles and application of algebra, geometry, graphing, and statistics; measurement skills in U.S. Customary and Metric Systems; and the use of calculators as a tool. (Prerequisite: Accuplacer-Arithmetic=65 OR ACT-Math=15 OR 10-834-109, PreAlgebra OR 77-854-759, BE Math Prep IIB with "C" or better OR equivalent) 3 cr.

10-806-134 GENERAL CHEMISTRY ...covers chemistry fundamentals. Topics: metric system, problem-solving, periodic relationships, chemical reactions, chemical equilibrium, properties of water; acids, bases, and salts; and gas laws. (Prerequisite: Accuplacer-Reading=55 OR ACT-Reading =15 OR 77-858-759, BE Reading Prep IIB OR equivalent) 4 cr.

10-809-195 ECONOMICS ...scarcity, resources, alternative economic systems, growth, supply and demand, monetary and fiscal policy, inflation, unemployment, and global economic issues. (Prerequisite: Accuplacer-Sentence Skills= 60 AND Accuplacer-Reading =55 OR ACT-English =16 AND ACT Reading =15 OR 77-851-759 BE Communication Prep IIB OR 77-858-759 BE Reading Prep IIB w/ a "C" or better) 3 cr.

10-809-196 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY ...the nature and variety of groups; inequality, race and ethnicity; family, population, social integration, and change; collective behavior; politics, economics, religion, education, and the effects of technology. (Prerequisite: Accuplacer-Sentence Skills= 60 AND Accuplacer-Reading =55 OR ACT-English =16 AND ACT Reading =15 OR 77-851-759 BE Communication Prep IIB OR 77-858-759 BE Reading Prep IIB w/ a "C" or better) 3 cr.