The Massachusetts Fire Service Commission developed the accreditation process last year as part of an initiative to ensure fire chiefs meet certain education, training and experience requirements.
View full sizeEasthampton fire chief David A. Mottor at his 2009 swearing-in ceremony.EASTHAMPTON – David A. Mottor joined the growing ranks of state-accredited fire chiefs on Monday.
The Massachusetts Fire Service Commission developed the accreditation process last year as part of an initiative to ensure fire chiefs meet certain education, training and experience requirements.
“If you look at any other professional position, there are requirements to get there,” said Mottor. Currently, there are no universal requirements for becoming a fire chief, he said, as there are for police chiefs.
“Not anybody can walk off the street and be a police chief, but you can and be a fire chief,” he said. “This is long overdue.”
The commission is pushing for a state law detailing fire chief qualifications and Mottor said this is the first step.
To receive accreditation, Mottor had to earn 50 points based on his qualifications.
A Bachelors degree in fire science administration earned him 10, while professional certificates from Texas A&M University and the University of Maryland earned him another 20. The final 20 points were for two decades of work history and experience in the position.
Credentialed chiefs are required to renew their accreditation every three years.
Northampton fire chief Brian Duggan was accredited last month. He said the new practice is “really designed to bring the fire service forward in terms of a new level of professionalism.”
Duggan is also nationally accredited through the Commission on Fire Accreditation International, a Virginia-based non-profit corporation.
Westhampton’s Christopher Norris is the only other state-accredited fire chief in Hampshire County, said Duggan. Granby fire chief Russell Anderson said he will submit his paperwork to the commission in the next few months.
The requirements are such that full-time, on-call and volunteer chiefs can become accredited, according to State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan.