Advanced Degrees in Fire Science/Emergency Preparedness Are Becoming Hot Commodities

The possibility of a mega-disaster is on everybody’s mind. So says Bill Kramer, director of the University of Cincinnati’s Fire Science Program and a former fire chief for Indianapolis Airport Authority and for Deerfield Township in Warren County.

After 9/11, it became clear to everyone – not only to fire departments – that departmental units would need to be responsive to far more than mere fires. Said Kramer, “We’d always been the unit to call for fire, earthquake, flood or even a radioactive substance. Suddenly, we were the ones to call for terrorist attacks and weapons of mass destruction.”

So, in the wake of 9/11, municipalities across the nation began to seek out advanced training – master’s degrees – that would help their personnel respond to the array of threats facing those self-same communities.

“Before 9/11, a fire chief could have become chief by moving up through the ranks with no more than a high school degree. In fact, the most advanced training available for a firefighter was a baccalaureate degree in fire science, like what we offer here via in-class and distance learning at UC. Now, after 9/11, both the firefighters and their employers want more. And a handful of universities are now offering master’s degrees in fire science,” said Kramer who added that he intends to soon plan a master’s in emergency management via his own program, which is housed in UC’s College of Applied Science.

Kramer knows of nine universities in the country now offering master’s level training in fire service, emergency preparedness or fire service management – not nearly enough to serve the personnel in the estimated 100,000 full-time fire departments across the country.

“In the old days, firefighters simply fought fires. But now, a firefighter must respond to all manner of emergencies that might involve event terrorism, biological or nuclear weapons, or maintaining order at a disaster site, not to mention liability, privacy and other equally complex if less hands-on issues,” stated Kramer, who added that UC offers in-class and distance learning baccalaureates in fire science to students throughout Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and several other states.

Universities with programs on the master’s level include

• Anna Maria College: Master’s in Fire Science and Administration
• Arizona State University: Master’s in Technology-Fire Service Administration
• City University of New York: Master’s in Protection Management
• Eastern Kentucky University: Master’s in Loss Prevention and Safety
• Grand Canyon University: Master’s in Leadership-Disaster Preparedness & Crisis Management
• Johns Hopkins University: Master’s in Management-Fire/EMS Leadership Program
• University of New Haven: Master’s in Forensic Science-Concentration in Fire Science
• Oklahoma State University: Master’s in Fire and Emergency Management Administration
• Worcester Polytechnic Institute: Master’s in Fire Protection Engineering

The existence of more advanced course work in fire science is not the only curricular change evident in fire science education since 9/11. Both UC’s Kramer and UC adjunct fire science instructor Larry Bennett also point out that the texts and training materials used by programs contain ever-greater information regarding security and terrorism threats.

For instance, Bennett, also a practicing attorney with Katzman Logan Halper & Bennett, is author of a soon-to-be-released textbook, Fire Law. Of its 18 chapters, one provides an overview of the law regarding homeland security, material that did not exist before 9/11. Said Bennett, “It’s necessary now to educate the future leadership about the laws flowing out of 9/11 and how those affect their work. For instance, many of the firefighters and other emergency personnel who responded to the World Trade Center collapse zone now have serious health problems, including respiratory ailments, kidney problems and cancer, and numerous lawsuits have been filed against the City of New York claiming the city failed to supply them with adequate protective masks and failed to warn them of the extreme risks.”