Fire FIghter Certification in NJ

[Res5cuEPVFD0310]

Anyone know what is going on with New Jersey when it comes to certification? From what i have taken in is that any certifications for training in other states amount to nothing when it comes to New Jersey. New Jersey wants all certifications from our own state? what if Jersey doesnt have specific training that you need? if anyone knows why this is it would help

[mdoddsjffhnfc]

what does that mean? If i went into the Military and got a FF cert from them, does that mean that its worth crap back here?

[Fyrechicken]

As for the training certs. I think it's on a case by case basis....all training is done by the guideline set by the divion of fire safety and the training book used is the IFSTA Essentials of Fire Fighting, I do know that NJ does take MFI firefighter training certs. inlou of NJ's (town next to us, does all there training in-house using MFI course guidelines)

[kneedrachen]

Here's what I found out. . .NJ certification really does not meet any Federal Regulations, it's just NFPA compliant in MOST areas of training. The certifications that are recognized nationally without a hitch are Pro-Board certification (this is what most states and the Department of Defense run concurrent/under). To sum it all up, if you have Firefighter I,II, HazMat, etc, it's all NJ DFS/DOT compliant. However, if you have ProBoard certification in the same stuff, it'll be recognized everywhere. Now here's the hitch. You said a neighboring department recognizes MFI certification. the in-house training they do should bring the person up to "NJ standards" due to amount of hours put in. I know, it's ridiculous, but then you wonder why we have they highest tax base per capita and high auto insurance in the nation

Be Safe Gang, stay low and stay safe.
Alex

[NJfirefighterPA]

Hey all...

Not sure how active this thread is but ill give it a shot...

I need any info i can get about getting credit for FF1 in NJ with all previous training done in PA. Within 3 months or so, i should have just shy of 200 hrs of certified training and need to find out if stubborn NJ will give me credit for all the hard work i've done. any info will be great.

thanks all, stay safe...

firematically,

kutz

[LtTurk]

From what I understand NJ is unique since it does not recognize any outside training. In order to be NJ certified you need to take NJ classes. In fact a hot topic at the recent county firemen’s and county chiefs meetings has been a new requirement is coming down the pike. NJ currently uses IFSTA manuals for FF1 training but apparently the state is developing its own unique state FF1 book. This book will be unique to NJ and IFSTA will no longer be recognized.

As far as military training, it doesn’t count for anything in NJ. I had every US Navy firefighting qualification and it meant nothing to the state.

When I went to FF1 we had guys in the class who were chiefs in PA and had up to 20 years of experience. As far as the state was concerned they were no more qualified than the 18 year old kids out of high school.

[Bones42]

apparently the state is developing its own unique state FF1 book. This book will be unique to NJ and IFSTA will no longer be recognized

IFSTA will still be recognized. It just won't be the version NJ will give you FF1 certification for. If you got FF1 through the IFSTA version in the past, it will still be valid. Once NJ goes to the new manual, FF1 will only be taught via that manual, which by the way, is the Essentials of Firefighting by Delmar. It's not unique and all NJ is doing is modifying very little of it's content and putting their own cover on it. It goes in much more depth than the IFSTA manuals. We switched to it last year.

[NJfirefighterPA]

so in other words, i have no shot of getting credit? i'm gonna have to take my training all over again? No fire academy will let me challenge their test? and no academy will recognize my training?

[Bones42]

I was able to get NJ Cert for EMT by challenging the test with my PA Cert in EMT.

Whether an academy will let you challenge the test or not would be up to them. If you have course material to show that you covered all the the NJ FF1 covers, I would think an academy may simply let you challenge the test without attending all the classes. But I doubt an academy would simply take your FF1 cert and say it's Ok without seeing what you were trained in. Not just course titles, but showing course content.

Other thought, contact NJ Division of Fire Safety (try 3 times, you might get more than 1 answer) and see what they recommend.

http://www.nj.gov/dca/dfs/

[NJfirefighterPA]

thanks...i actually contacted them earlier today and got a response from the person in charge of certifications and training...he said he would be willing to look over my certificates and such...hopefully i can get credit or challenge the test...thanks for the input...

stay safe