IFSI has been granted course approval for all classes that are tied to state certification through the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM). Passing an IFSI end-of-course exam IS the equivalent to passing the correlating state exam. This saves your department time and money by allowing the firefighters to take one exam that meets both IFSI course completion and OSFM certification requirements.
Please note: A state certification exam does not equate to passing an IFSI course. This is because many IFSI courses also carry both Pro Board and IFSAC certification. It is necessary for our students to pass an IFSI end-of-course exam to achieve course completion.
A current list of IFSI course and exams which are approved by OSFM is included below. For additional information on the Illinois Office of the State Fire Marshal certification program, please visit their site: https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/sfm/About/Divisions/Personnel-Standards/Pages/default.aspx
|
Courses |
OSFM Equivalency |
Initial Approval Date |
Approval End Date |
| Advanced Fire Officer | Yes | ||
| Advanced Technician Firefighter / NFPA Firefighter II | Yes | ||
| Airport Fire Fighter | Yes | ||
| Basic Firefighter / NFPA Firefighter I Academy | Yes | ||
| Chief Fire Officer | Yes | 7/25/2023 | |
| Company Fire Officer | Yes | ||
| Confined Space Rescue Operations | Yes | 4/21/2014 | 12/31/2016 |
| Confined Space Rescue Technician | Yes | 6/1/2023 | |
| Fire Apparatus Engineer (FAE) | Yes | 2/26/2015 | 12/31/2016 |
| Fire Department Health and Safety Officer | Yes | 5/25/2023 | |
| Fire Department Incident Safety Officer | Yes | 7/16/2009 | 2/17/2014 |
| Fire Inspector I | Yes | 8/9/2010 | 12/31/2016 |
| Fire Inspector II | Yes | ||
| Fire Investigator | Yes | ||
| Fire Prevention Principles | Inactive 6/30/19 | 7/1/1980 | 06/30/2019 |
| Fire Service Vehicle Operator (FSVO) IFSI end of course exam | Yes | 5/1/2006 | 12/31/2016 |
| Hazardous Materials Awareness | N/A | 7/1/2000 | 12/31/2016 |
| Hazardous Materials Incident Management System | Inactive 12/31/2022 | 1/1/2000 | 12/31/2016 |
| Hazardous Materials Operations | Yes | 1/1/2000 | 12/31/2016 |
| Hazardous Materials Technician | Yes | 1/1/1995 | 12/31/2016 |
| Hazardous Materials Technician B | Inactive 6/1/19 | 7/1/1995 | 11/3/2016 |
| Instructor I | Yes | 7/1/1975 | 9/23/2016 |
| Instructor II | Yes | 7/1/1978 | 10/7/2016 |
| Instructor III | Yes | 9/30/2016 | 9/30/2016 |
| Management I | Inactive 6/30/19 | 7/1/1978 | 06/30/2019 |
| Management II | Inactive 6/30/19 | 7/1/1978 | 06/30/2019 |
| Management III | Inactive 6/30/19 | 7/1/1978 | 06/30/2019 |
| Management IV | Inactive 6/30/19 | 7/1/1978 | 06/30/2019 |
| Mobile Water Supply | N/A | ||
| Public Fire and Life Safety Educator I | Yes | ||
| Responder Intervention Team (RIT) | N/A | ||
| Rope Rescue Operations | Yes | 2/27/2014 | 12/31/2016 |
| Rope Rescue Technician | Yes | ||
| Structural Collapse Operations | Yes | 1/1/2009 | 12/31/2016 |
| Structural Collapse Technician | Yes | 5/20/2014 | 12/31/2016 |
| Tactics & Strategy I | Inactive 6/30/19 | 7/1/1978 | 06/30/2019 |
| Tactics & Strategy II | Inactive 6/30/19 | 7/1/1978 | 06/30/2019 |
| Technical Rescue Awareness (TRA) | N/A | 1/1/2001 | 12/31/2016 |
| Trench Rescue Operations | Yes | 2/20/2012 | 12/31/2016 |
| Trench Rescue Technician | Yes | 7/17/2012 | 12/31/2016 |
| Vehicle Machinery Operations | Yes | 8/29/2014 | 12/31/2016 |
| Vehicle Machinery Technician | Yes | 10/6/2014 | 12/31/2016 |
| Youth Firesetter Intervention Specialist | Yes |
|
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IFSI provides its Regional EMS Office with updated course lists and content on an annual basis for submittal to the Illinois Department of Public Health for EMS Continuing Education credits. If a course is eligible for continuing education through IDPH, the continuing education hours will show up on your IFSI course certificate providing you have completed the course requirements. The current list of IFSI courses which qualify for EMS continuing education credits is included below.
These are the minimum requirements and the EMS Systems that providers function in may require additional hours.
IDPH Guidelines for CEU Requirements
Click Here to Learn about National Certification
A student, who has already taken, or who plans to take, an IFSI 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 the American Council on Education (ACE).
The Illinois Fire Service Institute will issue unofficial transcripts which are often required by colleges and universities. It is the responsibility of the student to acquire the certificates or course history required for the college or university to issue credit, or to request that IFSI send an unofficial transcript.
Here are list of courses that IFSI offers and recommended college credits and possible programs for them to be listed under:
Fire Apparatus Engineer: Pump Operators
Lower division baccalaureate/associate degree category, 3 semester hours in Fire Engineering, Fire Science, or Fire Technology.
Fire Prevention Principles
Lower division baccalaureate/associate degree category, 3 semester hours in Fire Science or Fire Technology.
Fire Inspector I Blended
Lower division baccalaureate/associate degree category, 3 semester hours in Fire Technology
Fire Inspector II Blended
Upper division baccalaureate/associate degree category, 3 semester hours in Fire Technology
Fire Investigator
Upper division baccalaureate category, 6 semester hours in Criminal Justice, Fire Science, Fire Technology, Insurance, or Law Enforcement.
Instructor I / Instructor I Blended
Lower division baccalaureate/associate degree category, 3 semester hours in Education, Methods of Teaching, Fire Science, or Fire Technology.
Instructor II / Instructor II Blended
Upper division baccalaureate category, 3 semester hours in Education, Methods of Teaching, Fire Science, or Fire Technology.
Instructor III / Instructor III Blended
Upper division baccalaureate category, 3 semester hours in Education, Methods of Teaching, Fire Science, or Fire Technology.
Hazardous Materials: Operations
Lower division baccalaureate/associate degree category, 3 semester hour in Emergency Medical Services, Fire Science, Fire Technology, Law Enforcement, or Environmental Health and Safety.
Hazardous Materials: Technician
Upper division baccalaureate degree category, 4 semester hours in Fire Science, Fire Technology, Environmental Health and Safety, Emergency Medical Services, or Law Enforcement.
Tactics & Strategy II
Lower division baccalaureate/associate degree category, 3 semester hours in Fire Science or Fire Technology.
Public Fire and Life Safety Educator I & II
Lower division baccalaureate/associate degree category, 3 semester hours in Fire Technology
Youth Fire Setter Intervention Specialist
Lower division baccalaureate/associate degree category, 3 semester hours in Fire Technology
Basic Firefighter / NFPA Firefighter I Academy
Lower division baccalaureate category, 9 semester hours in Fire Science.
Basic Operations Firefighter / NFPA firefighter I Blended
Lower division baccalaureate category, 9 semester hours in Fire Science.
Emergency Medical Technician: Basic
Lower division baccalaureate category, 5 - 6 semester hours in Allied Health Sciences or Emergency Medical Service.
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 its affiliation with ACE effective March 4, 2008. However, 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. In addition, 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.
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. A record of the IFSI courses you have taken is available in the Student Resource Center of the IFSI website for view/print. There is also a link to request a formal transcript.
Online Application Process for State-Sponsored Classes
The National Fire Academy has transitioned to an online admissions application process and the online application can be found at:
https://training.fema.gov/generaladmissionsapplication/staticforms/startapplication.aspx
In the section identified as “Head of Organization”, please list the following information for your application to be processed successfully:
Name: JP. Moore
Position: Deputy Director
Email: jpmoore1@illinois.edu
If you have an issue or a question regarding the online admissions application, please contact:
NETC Admissions Department
(301) 447-1035
NETCAdmissions@fema.dhs.gov
The following courses are approved and endorsed by the U.S. Fire Administration's National Fire Academy.
http://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/nfa/sfto_approved.pdf