By Dana Wilson
The Columbus Dispatch
DELAWARE, Ohio — High-school seniors enrolled in a firefighting program at the Delaware Area Career Center will have to retake a semester-long course after learning this week that their instructor wasn’t certified to teach it.
Twenty-two students studying under Robert McKenna must repeat a training lab before taking a professional-certification test, Superintendent Patricia Foor said.
The career center was notified within the past two weeks that McKenna, a retired assistant fire chief in Newark, does not meet the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s credentials to teach, Foor said.
McKenna is certified by the Ohio Department of Education, but that alone is not enough to lead the 240-hour course. A current fire instructor’s card from the state also is necessary, Foor said. McKenna’s had expired.
“We are trying to come up with a solution for students and parents, not at the students’ cost, but they’ll have to invest time,” Foor said.
Steve Prose and his 17-year-old son, Dan, who live near Kilbourne, were notified Thursday of the error.
The news upset Dan, a home-schooled senior. He had planned to take the professional-certification test Feb. 3 before applying for a job at the Delaware Fire Department, where his dad works as a firefighter.
He’s now forced to put that plan on hold.
“Someone should’ve been on the ball,” the elder Prose said. “There are a lot of disappointed parents.”
It’s important for those trying to enter the fire-service profession to already have passed their firefighter and emergency-medical technician certification tests, Delaware Fire Chief John Donahue said.
He’s considering making both a requirement for applicants to his department.
“We want to have a basic foundation that they can work off of and be able to assist us in performing that service to the community,” Donahue said.
The career center serves students in Delaware County’s four school districts as well as students from neighboring Franklin County districts such as Westerville and Worthington.
Seniors in the firefighting program still will receive high-school credit for their coursework, which began last fall, and should be able to graduate on time, Foor said.
The career center is working to offer students options to re-enroll in the course, either through the center or at nearby colleges that offer similar training. An accelerated course is one option being considered, Foor said.
The career center will absorb the cost.
The superintendent plans to meet with parents Tuesday night to address any questions and concerns. The meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in the North Campus Board Room.
McKenna submitted his credentials when he applied for a teaching position in the fall, and was hired based on his “rich background,” Foor said.
“He did not do anything that he perceived was wrong,” Foor said. “We got back a license for him that said he could teach firefighting and EMT.”
The career center overlooked the fact that certification was required by two separate state agencies.
A spokeswoman with the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s division of emergency medical services said it’s up to individual instructors to renew their certification every two years.