Haverhill Fire Department Deputy Chief Raymond E. Robinson Jr. joined with 37 fire service leaders from across Massachusetts Friday when he graduated from the 27th Massachusetts Firefighting Academy’s Chief Fire Officer Management Training Program.
The 14-week program covers human resource management, ethics, executive leadership and legal issues, governmental and organization structures, information management, customer-focused strategic planning, legal aspects, budgets and public finance, community awareness and labor relations.
State Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskey said, “These fire service leaders are committed to continually develop their management and leadership skills in order to provide the highest level of service to the communities they protect.”
Besides Robinson, Merrimac Fire Chief Larry Fisher also graduated from the academy.
The Chief Fire Officer Management Training Program expects to help fire officers improve their ability to lead and manage personnel and the department, provide skills to understand employees’ needs and problems, promote personal productivity, increase the capacity to manage both human and technical resources and increase inter-agency cooperation.
The program was developed in accordance with National Fire Protection Association Standards for senior fire officers. It is delivered jointly by the Edward J. Collins Jr. Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy. It is a comprehensive course providing training in the non-fire suppression aspects of managing fire departments.