Program News
Wake Tech Announces New Degree in Fire Protection
Curriculum Program Serves as Career "Accelerant"
RALEIGH, N.C. (June 15, 2010) - With suspicious fires, chemical spills and plant explosions a more frequent part of our local landscape, Wake Technical Community College is launching a new program to ensure that our area has the most highly-qualified responders. Wake Tech's associate's degree program in Fire Protection Technology offers the latest in response technologies and techniques, providing firefighters, arson investigators and hazmat specialists with the skills and credentials to address critical and risky situations. The program, which starts this fall, is offered to high school graduates who want to enter the field and to professionals who want to improve their career advancement opportunities by earning their degree.
The two-year program, to be held at Wake Tech's Public Safety Education Campus in Raleigh, includes coursework in hazardous materials, firefighting strategies, and fire investigations, as well as supervision and leadership. Wake Tech's "flip-flop" schedule will give students the option of attending classes on alternating days each week to accommodate work schedules.
"Employers are looking for a degree now, in fire safety as in other first-responder fields, as a basic job qualification," says Janie Slaughter, department head for Fire Protection Technology at Wake Tech. "They're also basing promotions on education and credentials, making them much more competitive. This is the trend."
Graduates will find opportunities for employment in insurance organizations and industry as well as municipal fire departments. The degree will also provide a foundation for continued education at a four-year college or university. Wake Tech already provides in-service continuing education training for more than 3,000 area firefighters each year.
