Now area firefighters will have the paper to prove it. Northeast Iowa Community College is offering a new Associate Degree in Applied Science Firefighting Specialist program this fall at both campuses.
    The program offers area firefighters an opportunity to earn academic credentials. Fire department officials and NICC staff have worked collaboratively to offer a degree program at the college ever since the completion of the Dubuque County Emergency Responder Training Facility in 2006.
    The new Firefighting Specialist degree takes a hands-on approach to the curriculum, unlike the theory-based approach of the current NICC Associate in Arts-Fire Science program. There are at least three major advantages the specialist program offers students and area fire departments, according to Dan Neenan, manager of the National Education Center for Agricultural Safety at the Peosta campus.
    Many of the classes in the program are free, the classes are taught at the local fire department facility in area towns, and firefighters young and old can gain life skills credit depending on their firefighting experience. Neenan is one of the coordinators who developed the program.
    NICC’s continuing education department offers the courses at each local fire department free of charge, Neenan said. State funds provide financial support for classroom instruction and field training. Courses in the program include Firefighting I and II, Hazardous Materials, Driver Operator and others. Students will be given 33 credits for their required and elective courses. In addition, students must complete 31 general education credits.
    For the general education credit requirements, students may opt to take the courses online to avoid the gas and transportation costs of studying on campus.
    The electives cover a variety of specialized learning, including courses in arson detection, advanced officer training and a NECAS-taught option, Technical Ag Rescue. The NECAS course teaches students farm rescue operations, such as those involved in tractor rollover accidents or combine/auger extrication situations.
    Fire departments view NICC’s degree as an opportunity to give back to the many volunteers who contribute their effort and energy to the community, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
    “It’s a win-win situation,” said Neenan. “This degree is affordable and a chance for volunteers to earn a college degree.”
    This is an accredited program by the Iowa Department of ­Education. To learn more about any of NICC’s programs, visit www.nicc.edu/programs.