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The Illinois Fire Service Institute is the statutory fire academy for the State of Illinois. It is operated as a continuing education and public service activity by the University of Illinois. (Reference PA 81-1147, Illinois Fire Service Institute Act, effective 7/1/1980).
The Institute is financed by a combination of fire prevention funds, grants, student fees, gifts, and sponsorships.
The Illinois Fire Service Institute uses two primary types of instructional staff to conduct its programs. Full-time faculty coordinate and teach the several types of specialized courses offered both on and off campus. They are also responsible for most of the Institute's consultation, evaluation, and research activities.
The heart of the faculty is field staff instructors who are part-time. They teach in their individual areas of expertise throughout the state and represent the Institute in their local geographic area.
The Illinois Fire Service Institute continues to expand educational opportunities through online training. With the introduction of the first ever Certified Firefighter II online course and the addition of the Hazardous Materials Awareness Online, ERT:BC Online, and Technical Rescue Awareness Online courses firefighters obtain critical basic skills training. Look for further offerings to come in the near future.
For information contact Rich Valenta.
Fax registrations will be accepted. Use the applicable IFSI Registration FORM (8.5 x 11) when registering for all courses both on campus and off campus. Registration forms will be accepted any time after the new year's Course Calendar is distributed. Student selection will be based on the date the registration form is received and by the number of registration forms submitted by each department. Registration forms may be requested by telephone, or may be downloaded on our forms page. Online registration is also available for many classes. If registering online, the student's department must have a PIN number.
Student selection will be made 30 to 45 days prior to the class beginning date. Acceptance letters will be mailed approximately 30-45 days prior to the start of class. All students with valid legible email addresses will receive confirmation emails 15 days prior to class.
Students generally must be members of public fire departments or other emergency response organizations.
Some courses have training charges assessed. The training charges are used to defray direct training costs to the students. Courses conducted in cooperation with other agencies may have additional fees attached by those groups or may be supplemented and reduce direct cost. Food, lodging and transportation costs are the responsibility of the sponsoring agency or student.
Registration fees will be billed to you, or your department, the first day of the course.
Purchase orders will be accepted before the course begins, but not at the class itself. Please mark on the registration
form who is to be billed. Please do not send cash or checks with your registration(s). All payments should be
submitted to:
Accounting Division
University of Illinois
162 Administration Bldg.
506 S. Wright St.
Urbana, IL 61801
as instructed on the billing statement. The sponsoring department or student, as designated on the registration form, will be
billed the first day of the course. No payment will be accepted prior to billing. If payment is sent with registration forms, it will be
returned. The student's sponsoring fire department is ultimately responsible for the payment of the course fee.
Some courses may require that students provide documentation showing that they have previously completed specific courses, or levels of certification, prior to acceptance into the class.
Arson/Investigation and Fire Officer courses require the student to provide, on the registration form, a classification number that describes his/her job responsibilities. Identification of the classification number is required for admittance. Other courses, such as "Smoke Divers," may have special enrollment procedures. Check to insure compliance with these requirements before submitting registration forms for these courses.
Students are required to attend all class sessions of the courses less than 40 hours in length in order to be awared the Institute Attendance Certificates. Generally, students attending courses lasting less than twelve hours will not be given certificates.
In courses of 40 hours or more, a minimum of 90% of the class hours must be attended in order to receive an Institute Attendance Certificate. Some courses may require 100% attendance. Additional critera, such as examinations and class projects, may also be required. If these requirements are satisfactorily met, the student will be awarded an Institute Course Completion Certificate.
The Division of Personnel Standards and Education, Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal, approves many of the courses that are scheduled and sponsored by the Illinois Fire Service Institute for certification and reimbursement. The applicable OSFM levels of certfication are identified in each course description. If certification credit is required, be sure that you enroll in those programs that are clearly identified as offering those credits.
Programs that are delivered through the use of a Memorandum of Agreement between a department, association, or organization, are not automatically granted certification credit. It is the responsibility of the department, association, or organization that requests the training to contact the OSFM to insure that credit is applicable. The Illinois Fire Service Institute is not responsible for issuing certification or reimbursement credit for programs not directly sponsored by the Illinois Fire Service Institute.
Training is available to every fire department in the State of Illinois. Many of the basic fire fighting classes offered through IFSI are available at no cost/low cost basis. Additional classes can be obtained by contracting with IFSI for delivery at your department.
The procedure for scheduling these classes is very straightforward and simple. By following these steps your department, association, or organization can have IFSI deliver top quality training at locations and on dates that are convenient to your firefighters.
Submitting a Request for Training The Illinois Fire Service Institute Request for Training form is the initial document you will need to fill out and mail or fax to the Illinois Fire Service Institute. The form can be obtained from IFSI by calling (217) 333-3800 or (800) 437-5819. Fill out the form as completely as possible. Be specific in the description of the type of training you are requesting. If you know the exact name of the course you would like, please use the name. If you don't have a course title, describe as completely as you can what training you would like the IFSI to deliver. Make sure you list several possible dates for the class. Exact dates and times will be dependent on the availability of instructors for the course you want. The Request for Training form must be submitted to the Illinois Fire Service Institute no later than forty-five calendar days prior to the requested start date of the class. There are separate forms for the Cornerstone Program and all other courses. Both of these forms are available online here. When the scope of the class, dates and times are agreed to, the Program Director will issue a Memorandum of Agreement. When the Memorandum of Agreement, or MOA, arrives at your department, read the document carefully. The MOA is the agreement between IFSI and the department about the terms of delivery for the requested program. The MOA contains the name of the program, delivery dates, lead instructor's name, and the cost (if any) for course delivery. It also details any additional requirements your department may have to provide, such as AV equipment, apparatus, etc. The MOA also will detail the cancellation policy for that particular program. The MOA must be signed and returned to the Illinois Fire Service Institute no later than fifteen calendar days prior to the start date of the class designated on the MOA. There is no agreement for the delivery of any IFSI class to any department, association or organization without a signed MOA.
Once the signed MOA is returned to the Illinois Fire Service Institute, your program is "activated" and preparations are made for the delivery of the program, as indicated in the MOA.
That's it! It is that easy to have the Illinois Fire Service Institute deliver quality training programs at your department. If you have any questions about the requirements, or if you need IFSI Request for Training forms, please call, write or fax IFSI at (217) 333-3800, (800) 437-5819, fax (217) 244-6790.
The Class Confirmation Process at IFSI When your Request for Training is received at the Illinois Fire Service Institute, it is entered into the computer systems and given an activity (FP) number. It is then reviewed by the Program Director/Coordinator under which you request may fall, whether fire fighting, EMS, fire officer, hazardous materials, rescue, arson investigation, prevention, auto, Cornerstone Program courses, or industrial training. The Program Director will assign and contact the instructor(s) that are going to deliver the program. Either the Program Director, or the assigned instructor, will then contact the person listed on the Request for Training form to arrange valid dates and times for the program.
This information applies only to those courses which have a recommended college credit rating.
The American Council on Education (ACE) has reviewed numerous IFSI courses for college credits. Descriptions and the amount of credits
recommended by the ACE are listed in the National Guide to Educational Credit for Training Programs.
IFSI terminated it's affiliation with ACE effective March 4, 2008. ACE approved courses completed prior to that date are still eligible for ACE recognition just as previously. Courses after that date are not ACE recognized
A student, who has already taken, or plans to take, an Institute course and desires
to apply the recommended credits toward a college curriculum, should check with the college he or she plans
to attend to determine both the amount of credit and the subject areas in which the college will grant credit.
Each institution and, in many cases, each academic unit and department within each institution, sets its own policies
for granting credit. The college is not required to grant a student as much credit as recommended by ACE.
The Illinois Fire Service Institute is not capable of issuing transcripts as is often required by colleges and
universities. It is the responsibility of the student to acquire the information required for the college or university to issue
ACE credit. Transfers are available from ACE. The IFSI issues certificates of training only.
For courses taken after March 4, 2008 for which a student is requesting college credit, IFSI can verify to the college the syllabus and objectives covered in the class.
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