A tough new test for first responders

By Staff
Feb. 16, 2003
A tough new state certification law taking effect in July 2004 has some Mississippi fire officials fearing the loss of a number of first responders. All volunteer first responders, most of them emergency medical technicians and firefighters, will have to pass a national certification exam to gain state certification next year.
Legislators passed the new requirements after officials with the Mississippi Department of Health recommended certain training requirements. Experts say the new test will be tough for some people to pass; it's inclusive of everything they've learned, along the lines of the ACT test taken by aspiring college students.
One expert, Lamar County Fire Coordinator James Smith, said the new law is sure to cut the number of first responders in his county.
We are going to lose some,'' Smith said. It's a little harder requirement and some people aren't going to want to spend time to go back through the training again. This is above and beyond what we've been doing.''
The new law will also require first responders to keep their skills current by taking continuing education classes every two years, but they will not need to retake the national exam.
In the long run, the new test probably will result in better qualified first responders and the requirement that they get additional training every two years should help them keep up on new and improved technology. In this day and age with the threat of terrorism and all of the more common emergencies and disasters, first responders are going to need all the training and support from the rest of us that they can get.