Columbia County Fire Rescue and Augusta Tech have partnered together for a new program that allows current Columbia County firefighters to get additional certifications.
Chief David Dickenson, who is the training chief for Columbia County Fire Rescue, said a few years ago he wanted to expand the basic training for firefighters.
“I don’t like minimum standards because as humans we make errors and if the minimum standard is the goal, when you make an error, you’re substandard,” Dickenson said. “So, we beefed up our program to meet the needs of Columbia County years ago.”
But he wanted to do more, so Columbia County started working with Augusta Tech a few years ago to allow Columbia County firefighters to receive college credit for the training they already do.
“We have been working for a few years now to try to work with Augusta Tech as far as allowing what we’re training these members to receive college credit,” Dickenson said. “Let’s create a program where there’s an associate’s degree as a goal and these credits of our basic training now are approved by SACS as credit.”
The program is a closed cohort open only to Columbia County firefighters and there is no cost to the employee or the county, Dickenson said. The program is run just like it was previously, but now attendance is tracked, and scores are kept with the school.
“Our staff instructors are the teachers of it,” Dickenson said. “Myself and Ray Blessing are the directors over the program for Columbia County. Right now, we are teaching EMT at the Augusta Tech campus in Grovetown. They are giving us space, and they will be helping us with a little equipment as well. But most of the equipment, 99% of the equipment is equipment we already own and have already been training with.”
The program is a five-term and 64 credit program that will allow firefighters to receive additional certifications, including Firefighter I, Firefighter II, Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), and Advanced EMT (AEMT), according to a press release from Augusta Tech.
The program is also a great recruit and retention too, Dickenson said, because after a person becomes a recruit, they will get college credit for the first seven months of training.
“When they finish that they will need to attend an advanced EMT, whether its one we offer or one outside the department, they can still do that as well,” Dickenson said. “We’re trying to develop that right now, a closed cohort advanced and then they’ll have to finish basically their school requirements (i.e. English, math, science, etc.)… When that’s done, they’ll have an Associate’s of Applied Science in fire emergency service operations.”
Dickenson added that they were able to get it approved so that an employee who has been with the county for years and has everything but the academic items, such as math and science, can attend school to finish those items and receive their degree.
“The ultimate goal behind all of this is we’re producing a better firefighter, a better medic that is responding to these calls,” Dickenson said.
Augusta Tech was proud to work with Columbia County Fire Rescue in creating the program.
“This partnership exemplifies the mission of Augusta Technical College — providing accessible, high-quality education that meets the needs of our community and workforce. We are proud to collaborate with Columbia County Fire Rescue in creating a pathway that empowers their firefighters to grow professionally while continuing to serve the citizens of Columbia County with excellence,” said Interim President Dr. Melissa Frank-Alston in a press release from the college.
