Training at The Gastonia Fire Department is a continuous process, beginning with all probationary employees. Within the first year of their employment, all initially hired personnel are required to complete Firefighter I; North Carolina State Emergency Medical Technician -D ; and Haz-Mat Operations Level I. In addition to state certifications, all new personnel must also rotate throughout the City Fire Stations, working with a ladder company, an engine company, and a rescue company. Each company has a check list of skills which must be mastered before the new recruit is allowed to move on to the next phase of site training.
The Gastonia Fire Department assists personnel who choose to obtain an AAS degree, by providing a tuition and books reimbursement program. The City Fire Department also sponsors firefighters who attend advanced specialty training classes at The National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
Staying abreast of the latest fire and rescue knowledge
and techniques is a matter of course for Gastonia firefighters.
Much of the fire department's mandatory, supplemental, and certification
required training is conducted either in-house, by our 30 state certified
instructors, or, at the Regional Emergency Services Training Center
at Gaston College
(click here
to view their website). Gastonia firefighters benefit greatly from
the state of the art training that is nearby at the RESTC, which
is the largest burn center in the United States, and the largest
emergency training center in North Carolina.
For more information on the training process at the Regional Emergency Services Training Center at Gaston College, visit their website by clicking here.
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