i have been in the fire industry for the past 17 years. when i first started as a volunteer fire fighter the basic class was a 40 hour class and the dept. of education in this great state did all the testing.
now here is the best part. i took my basic test and passed the test.a certificated of completion was awarded to me by the instructor. well now the state wants a copie of my certification, but yet when i contact the dept. of education they state that sense it has been 17 years i would be next to impossible to find the documentation.
now here in ohio we do have a grandfather claus that states that you need to provide certificate of completion, but when i talked to them over the phone they stated that it had to the state certification. my question is what would you do?
and the next step is does any one know if the state test can be taken on-line? (that is if i need to do so)(and at what web site would you go to)
please all comments and suggestions are apperciated.
First and I know that it might be a little too late at this point, but you have to keep a folder or binder with all your certs in it. I trust my own record keeping before I trust the governments.
That being said, does your fire department have a personnel file on you? Would they have a copy? Grasping for straws…. Is the instructor still around and would he/she still have attendance records?
This probably didn’t help a whole lot but from here on in I highly recommend maintaining your own copies of the records.
In our dept we have a few senior firefighters who have recently been grandfathered. They did not have their certificates. Our chief was able to get them certified without them. We are in Ohio also, so I know it can be done. They had their first training back in the 60's!! I'll ask for you...