Frequently Asked Questions

What is NFPA?

NFPA,  National Fire Protection Association, is a US based organization that sets codes and standards within the various aspects of fire and rescue. Although agencies or departments are not required to follow NFPA standards legally, most do to limit liability and ensure effectiveness while responding to various incidents.

Who is this specialized technical rescue training for?

The training offered at the Maritime Firefighter School is for anyone, at least 18 years of age, directly involved as a First Responder, Industrial Safety Worker or Shipboard Personnel.

Before you can register for any of the courses, you must first have authorization from your chief officer, immediate supervisor or department head.

The Technical Rescue courses cannot be taught to the general public. You must be active in a department or agency.

NFPA 1670

This standard outlines the operational capabilities of the organization that is considered to be the AHJ (Authourity Having Jurisdiction). It allows the AHJ to assess technical rescue hazards within a given response area, identify the level of operation capability required for each identified hazard, and establish guidelines for training and incident response. The outline incorporates safe operation guidelines that minimize threats to rescuers.

Levels of Rescuer Preparedness

Depending on the degree of exposure that you, as a rescuer, have to a particular hazard will influence the level of training that you will require. Using NFPA 1670, all described Technical Rescue disciplines are broken into three levels of response; Awareness, Operations and Technician.

AWARENESS level represents a minimal range of capabilities of an organization responding to a technical rescue incident.

OPERATIONS level represents an organization's capabilities to identify hazards, utilize equipment and apply basic techniques while supporting and responding to an incident.

TECHNICIAN level training within an organization demonstrates its capacity to identify hazards, utilize specialized equipment, and apply advanced techniques while coordinating, performing and supervising technical rescue incidents.