One of the La Vergne Fire Department firefighters is now a certified Fire Officer IV through the State of Tennessee Fire Commission.
Battalion Chief Marcus Harney was certified on October 4th after passing the Fire Officer IV test. The course teaches those enrolled about on scene command and control, leadership skills, administration and human resources, as well as fire and incident command. Harney says “training like this means not sitting still. It helps me progress as a person and as a member of this department. This profession changes every day. If you’re not willing to keep up, you’ll get lost and that means the department will get lost as well.”
Only 57 firefighters in Tennessee have earned the rank of Fire Officer IV since its inaugural graduating class in March 2018.
“As the new Chief, I want to take us to a new level,” says Fire Chief Chris Clark, “and that starts with training like this. When our people decide to go above and beyond to become more knowledgeable, it takes us to a new level and provides progression in the department. We encourage training, not only at a firefighter level but also at a leadership level.”
Three LFD employees are currently enrolled in the Fire Officer III course. The La Vergne Fire Department requires its lieutenants to be Fire Officer I certified and requires its Battalion Chiefs to be Fire Officer II certified.
Harney has been in the fire profession for 19 years, first serving for the Giles County Volunteer Fire Department. Harney served as Chief of the volunteer department for two years before retiring from their department and working full time for the City of La Vergne Fire Rescue Department in 2012.
The two-week course is designed for Fire Department Chief and Company Officers who are preparing to enter upper management level of their department. The objective of this course is to develop the Chief Officer for the administrative and operational challenges of the fire service in the 21st century.