CVCC to partner with Alabama Fire College

Students and professionals will be able to obtain certifications in fire and emergency medical services without having to travel out of the local area, thanks to a pending partnership between Chattahoochee Valley Community College and the Alabama Fire College.

Officials have finalized the details and are planning a signing ceremony for sometime this semester, CVCC announced in a news release.

Kenny Harrison, public safety director and fire science instructor at CVCC, doesn't have to wait until the ink is dry to explain the impact. It will create a "one-stop shop" for fire and EMS students and personnel, he told the Ledger-Enquirer in an interview Wednesday.

So the estimated 100 fire science students at CVCC will be able to take their certification exams at the Phenix City campus after obtaining their associate's degrees, and personnel from local fire and EMS departments will save time and money because they also won't have to travel to the Alabama Fire College in Tuscaloosa for their certifications, Harrison said.

CVCC interim president Valerie Richardson said in the news release, "Our collective goal is to improve the in-field employability for our students and to provide area fire and emergency service agencies opportunities to acquire fire and emergency service education and training certifications at CVCC."

Mark Rice, 706-576-6272. Follow him on Twitter@MarkRiceLE.

This story was originally published August 19, 2015 at 4:26 PM with the headline "CVCC to partner with Alabama Fire College ."