By Hemmy So
Sun-Sentinel
Copyright 2007 Sun-Sentinel Company
All Rights Reserved
DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. — Deerfield Beach officials are investigating a veteran firefighter to determine whether he conducted city fire inspections for several years without county fire inspection certification.
City fire officials are scheduled to meet with Howard Noland, 52, Tuesday to question him. They say they can find no records showing he obtained his county certification.
Fire officials declined to comment because the matter is under investigation.
Noland said after he passed the fire inspector’s exam in 2000, he sent his application to the Broward County Board of Rules and Appeals, the agency that oversees local fire inspector certifications. He said his only mistake was failing to renew his certification in 2003 by not submitting paperwork showing he had taken the required 55 hours of continuing education classes.
“It’s all a misunderstanding,” said Noland, a 23-year department veteran.
The Board of Rules and Appeals has no record of Noland except that he passed the fire inspector’s exam seven years ago and sat for the exam again in May.
“As far as we know, he has never held a Broward County certificate,” said Bryan Parks, Broward County chief fire code officer.
While all fire inspectors in Florida are required to hold state certification, counties can decide whether their fire inspectors must also hold county certification to ensure their familiarity with local fire codes. To earn certification in Broward County, candidates must pass a written exam and turn in an application signed by their fire chief.
Certifications last three years, and fire inspectors in Broward must prove they have earned 55 hours of continuing education to achieve recertification.
Noland’s qualifications became an issue when retired Fire Division Chief Bob Williams told Fire Department officials that Noland had taken the May 2007 fire inspector’s exam. Noland flunked. He has been on desk duty since June.
Noland, who has been conducting inspections since at least 2002 and became a full-time fire inspector in October, said he felt that retaking the test was the “path of least resistance” to renewing his certification.
Parks said there’s nothing to stop someone from taking the exam multiple times, but he would discourage a fire inspector from trying to gain recertification by retesting rather than accumulating continuing eduction hours.
Requiring fire inspectors to become certified ensures the public’s safety, said Gabe Mazzeo, supervisor of inspections for the state Bureau of Fire Prevention.
“We want to know that our fire and safety inspectors know, for example, which buildings need sprinkler systems, whether there’s something wrong with the alarms, what kind of alarms a building needs. It’s pretty complex,” Mazzeo said.
Noland said he remains confident that he will prove that he has the appropriate qualifications as a fire inspector.
“I know I wasn’t trying to pull a fast one or anything. I can sit down and show the hours,” he said. “Was I wrong? Yes. Was I intentionally going to do something wrong? No.”