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Shrewsbury – Captain Aaron Roy of the Shrewsbury Fire Department was one of 32 fire officers who graduated Jan. 25 from the 22nd offering of the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy’s Chief Fire Officer Management Training Program. The 13-week program was developed in accordance with National Fire Protection Association standards for chief fire officers, and is delivered jointly by the Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy. It is a comprehensive course providing training in the non-fire suppression aspects of managing fire departments.
In addition to Shrewsbury, graduates serve fire departments in Acton, Agawam, Arlington, Ashland, Attleboro, Boxford, Brewster, Cambridge, Charlton, Concord, Devens, Eastham, Everett, Groton, Hingham, Holden, Holyoke, Kingston, Millis, Northampton, Orange, Orleans, Peabody, Randolph, Revere, Saugus, Sharon, Taunton, Wareham, Westminster and Wrentham.
The curriculum covers a spectrum of topics considered essential for effective public sector management. It includes human resource management, group dynamics, leadership and legal issues, governmental and organization structures, information management, customer-focused strategic planning, legal aspects, budgets and public finance, community awareness and public relations, and labor relations.
The Chief Fire Officer Management Training Program expects to help fire officers improve their ability to lead and manage personnel and the department, to provide skills to understand employees’ needs and problems, to promote personal productivity, to increase the capacity to manage both human and technical resources, and to increase inter-agency cooperation.
The Massachusetts Firefighting Academy, a division of the Department of Fire Services, offers this program, tuition-free.
