I first attended a class at the National Fire Academy in 1981. I had only been on the job a few years. The fire academy had recently moved its campus to the current site in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and was expanding its programs. They were actively recruiting students at all ranks, and I attended a week-long introductory class on arson detection. It was a good class and I learned a lot, but that was not my main takeaway from my first experience at NFA.
That week was a revelation — it was really the first time since I had become a firefighter that I felt completely and equally included among my peers. There was only one other woman on campus then, and we naturally gravitated toward one another. Our conversations that week were a key factor in the formation the following year of the national organization Women in the Fire Service.
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Two decades later, I returned to Emmitsburg not as a student but as part of the faculty. The years I spent as a teacher, evaluator and adviser at the NFA were among the most rewarding of my fire service career.
While the academy has gone through some difficult times in recent years, with budget cutbacks and closures due to government shutdowns, its essential mission and value remain — and those who commit to becoming contract instructors there find the same satisfaction and challenges as I did.
From qualifications to classroom craft
Chuck Burkell, former chair of the Executive Fire Officer Program, said the NFA was never funded to support full-time faculty sufficient to deliver its many programs. As a result, the academy has long relied on contract instructors to provide the depth and breadth of expertise its curriculum demands to reach departments of every size.
Early on, instructor qualifications were established for each instructional area. These qualifications might vary depending on the course being taught. For example, becoming an instructor in the EFO program typically requires an advanced degree, but may not necessitate field experience as a firefighter. On the other hand, a more technical class might demand specific certifications and proven experience with the course material.
Contract instructors bid on classes through a federal all-inclusive low-bid procurement process, which is intended to ensure fairness and fiscal responsibility.
Beyond academic and technical credentials, the best instructors are also “learner-centric,” shared Dr. Burt Clark, former chair of the Management Science curriculum at the NFA. He emphasized that successful instructors would not only know the course content and understand the objectives but also go beyond just “reading slides” to incorporate their own and their students’ personal experiences into the classroom experience.
“It’s as much an art as a science,” Clark noted.
Contract instructors most often have attended classes through NFA prior to applying to teach there.
Retired Chief Colleen Walz, an EFO graduate who currently teaches leadership classes both on campus and remotely, first attended a class on campus when she was a new battalion chief with the Pittsburgh Fire Department. “It opened my eyes in so many ways,” she recalled. “I met so many people from all over the country. I was impressed with their backgrounds, and they respected mine. That was different than my department at that time. Being the only woman officer in my Bureau, I had never experienced that level of acceptance.”
Dr. Randall Hanifen, currently an assistant chief with West Chester (Ohio) Fire Department, originally came to the academy for an Ohio State Weekend in 1996. Over the years he attended other classes on campus as well as the annual Fire and Emergency Services Higher Education (FESHE) Conference held in Emmitsburg. He said he was motivated to become an instructor “when Dr. Denis Onieal (former superintendent of NFA) asked if I would teach in the EFO program.” Hanifen began as a student teacher and now facilitates all four years of the EFO program as well as a class for the Managing Fire Officer Program.
Tom Poulin, a retired battalion chief from Virginia Beach Fire Department, first came to NFA for a weekend hazmat class in 1982. He was encouraged to apply as a contract instructor by those leading a class he was taking on campus in subsequent years. He was in the EFO program at that time, but once completed, he was accepted as a contract instructor in that program.
Challenges and rewards — and why they matter
Current instructors experience the same rewards I valued when teaching at NFA.
“The most rewarding aspect is all the connections I have made,” Hanifen shared. “While we are facilitators in the class, I have connected with the students. They are all leaders and those connections are invaluable.”
Walz echoed this sentiment: “The most rewarding aspect is a student who succeeds in the goals they have communicated and set for themselves.”
Poulin also highlighted the value of “being exposed to fire and EMS agencies from so many settings and seeing how they addressed their challenges and opportunities.”
There are challenges to being a contract instructor: Coordinating trips to Emmitsburg with other work obligations. The bid system. Making each class relevant to participants who may range from small volunteer departments to major metropolitan agencies. Helping students who may lack experience with writing or research.
But the rewards are great and every instructor I spoke with said the same thing: If you have the desire to give back by being part of the National Fire Academy faculty, just do it. Go for it. Put in the application. As Poulin said, “Many are hesitant to apply, believing it is beyond them. There is no way to know if you do not do it. Some feel they may lack the qualifications. The only way to determine this is to apply.”
Burkell said it best when describing the importance of NFA contract instructors: “Ultimately, the National Fire Academy’s success is inseparable from the contributions of the thousands of contract instructors who have served since 1980. Their collective experience, commitment, and willingness to share both successes and failures have been central to advancing the effectiveness and professionalism of fire and emergency services in the United States and internationally.”
