First Online Training Class Now Available Through PA State Fire Academy

Harrisburg, PA – Acting State Fire Commissioner Bruce Trego announced that a Hazardous Materials Awareness training class is now available online. It is the first fully online training class available through the State Fire Academy.

“We’ve been getting requests for years to make at least some of our training available online,” Trego said. “For some classes, there is no substitute for actual hands-on or interactive classroom instruction, but we’re looking to expand our online course availability as appropriate.”

This Pennsylvania-specific course is available at no cost to commonwealth residents and will be available through TrainPA – www.pa.train.org. Users will need to create an account in order to access the course, which contains a variety of interactive activities designed to support the courses’ learning objectives. Users have the option to take the entire course in one session, which will take approximately four hours to complete, or they can spread it throughout several sessions. The user can also choose when they wish to complete the program since there are no day or time limitations.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recognizes the Awareness Level personnel as someone who is likely to discover a hazardous materials incident. Occupations that fit this description include law enforcement, ambulance personnel, and public works employees. Additionally, new firefighters can use this program to satisfy the Entry-Level Hazardous Materials Awareness requirement, and Emergency Medical Technician students can also use this to satisfy the Hazardous Materials requirements.

At the successful conclusion of the course, the user will be awarded a certificate of completion and PA Department of Health Continuing Education credits. The course is a collaborative effort between training staff at the Academy and Harrisburg Area Community College, which invested a combined 500 hours in the final product.