NC Rescue Technician Courses

The numbers for hours are misleading, especially if you are used to the ERT course work in the previous certification. Under the new rules, you must take all of the general courses and at least the Vehicle and Machinery Rescue (VMR) specialty, which is relevant to the overwhelming majority of program partcipants. As a result, the number of hours required for certification is substantially lower than the old ERT certification. The combination of courses for the new RT certification satisfies the requirements of NFPA 1006 (Standard for Rescue Technician Professional Qualifications), Chapters 5 & 8, 2003 edition

A number of additional "specialties" are in the process of being developed, such as Water Rescue, Structural Collapse, Rescue Diver, Confined Space, Trench, and so on. If you take even a modest number of additional specialties, the training hours will easily surpass the old standard

A number of ERT and Firefighting courses can be "crossed over", giving you credit for the equivalent Rescue Technician course. For a list of the crossover courses, click here. This list is also published on the State Fire Marshall site. There is a FAQ on the SFM website (Click Here) that may answer some of the questions you have about this program.

This argument about "hours" is all academic anyway: since most specialty rescue skills are seldom used, you should be constantly refreshing them. On the scene with a trapped victim is the wrong time to need a refresher course on how to employ a Z-rig.

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