Associate of Applied Science Degree
10-503-2

The Fire Protection Technician Program offers the student an exciting career in fire protection, fire prevention and fire engineering. The field of the fire science is concerned with the preservation of life and property from fire and related hazards. The fire protection technician is a highly-skilled specialist with a unique blend of technical knowledge, management abilities, and public education and communication skills. Graduates are ideally suited to careers in public and private fire protection. Another area of employment opportunity exists in the field of sales and service with companies which manufacture and distribute fire protection equipment and related supplies. Expanding industrialization and population growth have created new fire problems which must be solved. In this area, the fire protection technician can be part of the team to design and research the answers to solve these problems which are making many demands upon communities, business, and industry.

The Fire Protection Technician Program is 4 semesters in length and most of the courses are oriented to firefighting, fire protection systems, and fire prevention. As part of the FPT an Emergency Medical Technician-Basic course is required either through a semester long course or split course delivery. Starting with a summer semester in between Semesters 2 and 3 of the FPT Program students may attend an Emergency Medical Technician-Fundamentals course. This 2 credit course is followed by a 3 credit Semester 3 course called EMT-Applications. These two courses equate to the regular, 5 credit, 180 hour, EMT-Basic course and part of the course requirements are to attend 10 hour of clinical time in district emergency rooms. Before FPT students are allowed at clinical sites they must undergo a criminal background check through Certified Background, now known as Castle Branch. This requirement must be completed in full and approved prior to registration; No exceptions will be made. There is an additional fee associated with the background check process and students will be required to fill out the Functional Ability form and Acknowledgement of Risks and Release of Responsibility forms. Any and all revealing of past criminal activity may preclude students from being allowed at clinical sites and successfully completing the FPT Program.

Upon successful completion of the Fire Protection Technician program, students will be able to:

• Demonstrate professional conduct by displaying a personal code of ethics, positive work ethics, flexibility teamwork skills, physical fitness, safe procedures, and sensitivity to diverse cultures and individuals.
• Perform fire prevention activities including planning public education, inspection, and investigation.
• Communicate clearly and effectively both verbally and through written documentation with clients, coworkers, other agencies and supervisors.
• Apply incident management skills to emergency incidents.
• Meet professional fire and EMS credentialing standards.

This series is for all who wish to be certified by the State of Wisconsin. The emphasis is on skilled hands-on training. All classes require a Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) test for certification at the completion of each course.

Graduates Have Found Employment As:

• Fire Fighter
• Fire Protection Technician
• Fire Fighting Equipment Specialist/Sales
• Fire Inspector
• Airport Fire Fighter - Crash, Military, Government, State or Federal

View the entire course listing.

General Education Courses Within Program

Prior to admission in either the EMT-Basic course or the EMT-Applications course students must also meet the immunization requirements set by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and provide proof of health insurance.