Fire and Emergency Services

Fundamentals of management underlying the solution of problems of organization and operation of Fire and Emergency Services agencies.

Determinants of demand for labor and labor supply. Labor market equilibrium and changes in the equilibrium due to changes in unionization, public policies, and technology. Study of the effects of skill, job amenities, and discrimination on wage differentials. A review of PERC, FSLA, and unions will be included.

Communications systems used in fire and emergency services such as high frequency voice/data, Internets and Intranets, satellite communications, GPS, and GIS will be the focus of this course. An introduction, examination, equipment assessment, implementation program, and maintenance management module will be provided for each system covered.

Course covers personnel and resource management issues in providing the EMS function. Quality Assurance and Utilization Review techniques are also covered. Practices and techniques for delivery of services and distribution of resources is included.

Course covers organizational development issues in providing the Emergency Medical Services function in the fire-based, hospital-based and third service environments. Establishing and directing Emergency Medical Services work teams is also covered.

This course addresses planning, developing, presenting, funding, and implementing a budget for a fire and emergency services agency. Additional topics include special taxing districts, bond issues, and fund-raising campaigns.

Procedures for the acquisition, utilization, and disposition of fire and emergency services apparatus and station facilities will be reviewed. Specification and purchasing of apparatus will be included. An examination of facility siting, building design, and land acquisition and financing will be conducted. Additional material will address special capital purchases such as communications, safety, and operational equipment.

Course deals with managing complex incidents that may require response from fire-rescue, emergency medical services, law enforcement, and/or other public safety sectors. Use of the Incident Management System is stressed.

Course covers incident command at multiple-alarm incidents, stressing rapid fireground decision-making, safety, personnel accountability, and communications. Settings for scenarios include multi-family occupancies, hotels, high-rises, healthcare facilities, and large retail centers.

Course covers the broad issues involved in comprehensive emergency management at the local level. The emergency management cycle of preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery is stressed as are the legal, operational and administrative aspects of state and federal interface.

The role of administrative agencies in the formulation and implementation of public policy. Emphasis on the politics of administration. Problems in administration management as it applies to Fire & Emergency Services. An introduction to Fire & Emergency Services government administration and management in urban settings. Emphasis will be placed upon the programmatic aspects of urban governmental management. Case studies will be included in this course.

The role of agency leadership and its impact on the continuing professionalization of the fire and emergency services. This course will examine traditional and evolving definitions, practices, and skills in leadership behavior. The topics of power, influence, ethics and organizational behavior will be addressed.

Course introduces the student to safety, health, and environmental regulations on the state and federal levels that impact the delivery of fire and emergency services. OSHA, EPA, and NFPA regulatory requirements will be introduced along with methods and techniques to implement compliance programs.

Major human resource management functional areas for fire and emergency services agencies. Topics include: organizational employment planning, employment regulation, job analysis, performance assessment, recruitment and regulation, job analysis, performance assessment, recruitment and selection, training and development, employee/labor relations and compensation.

Implementation of principles and methods in advocating factual claims and policy proposals; prepositional analysis, evidence as demonstration, effecting reasoning processes to become experimental for listeners, ethics in controversy. The course will focus on public speaking and presentations, especially in the areas of technology, defense of budgets, and political leadership.

Course covers systematic approaches to triage, treatment, and transport in response to large scale emergency medical services incidents. Resource planning including coordination with hospital systems is also stressed.

Course covers planning and management of non-routine emergency medical services, Environments covered include tactical medical operations, emergency medical services support of large-scale special events, and emergency medical services response to hazardous materials incidents.

Course covers planning, promoting, and executing fire prevention functions, stressing legal responsibilities, needs assessments, negotiation, and planning activities.

Course covers the elements of building a community’s Arson Control Plan. The course work includes data collection and analysis, coalition-building, juvenile interventions, and prosecution issues.

Course covers exercise design, presentation, and evaluation for testing a community’s disaster plan. Designs from table-top to full-scale are covered. Examination of existing community plans and models for developing plans will be tested.

Course covers the spectrum of natural disasters prevalent in Florida, past, present, and future. Topics include hurricanes, flooding, freezes, and agricultural emergencies. The concerns of planning, operations, mitigation, recovery, and evaluation will be included.

Special areas of study in fire and emergency services adjusted to the needs of the individual students.

A discussion format will be used to harness the student’s perception of the fire and emergency services and the B.S. program in Fire and Emergency Services. A paper will be required from each senior that addresses a relevant topic within fire emergency services such as leadership, professionalization, recommended program improvements, or new technology.

Course will provide information and direction for fire service administrators on current legislative, legal, labor, and/or technology concerns facing the fire and emergency services agencies.