The nominations for the highly recommended 2024 Southern Area Engine Academy is now open. Engine Academy Nomination Form.
The Southern Area Engine Academy is Florida’s interagency course targeting supervisors and crew personnel responsible for initial attack and tactical decision-making in the suppression of wildfire and the management of prescribed fire. This academy has been held multiple times per year in Florida since 1999 among the partnering agencies. The academy will give the student a solid grounding in the safe and effective use of a variety of water handling equipment (portable pumps and Type 6 Engines) and related tactics.
The class is taught by instructors through lectures, visual aids and field exercises. They will focus on teaching the application of hydraulics, engine operations, water-handling equipment, engine tactics and wildland fire safety. This class is highly labor intensive with about 1 instructor for every 2.5 students. Students are given the opportunity to work on engine teams of 3 people and will have an engine coach assigned to their team for the entire week. Student’s experience 10 -12 different engines from multiple agencies.
Requirements:
The prerequisites for the class are as follows: completion of the following courses: S130, S190, and I100; having 2 or more years’ experience as a firefighter and/or participated on at least 10 burns as crew member. Plus, have a current pack test and current shelter test (based on your agency requirements).
There will be course pre-work which is approximately 8 hours of readings and study for the S211 class prior to attendance at the academy. All students are required to stay on site for the duration of academy. Lodging and meals will be provided. Some students will be required to bring engines to the class. A total of 15+ engines (inter-agency) are needed to run engine academy. Arrangements for engines will be made after students are selected.
The course will be held at Wekiwa Springs State Park in Apopka, Florida on November 8-14th, 2024.
Note: the training will start on a Friday and be held during the Veterans Holiday.
If you are interested, submit your nomination by September 19th, 2024.
This website is supported by Promoting Ecosystem Resilience and Fire Adapted Communities Together, a cooperative agreement between The Nature Conservancy, USDA Forest Service, and agencies of the Department of the Interior. This institution is an equal opportunity employer.