CRANFORD, NJ — Fire Chief Dan Czeh has announced that Lt. Mark Bagniewski has successfully completed the National Fire Academy’s Managing Officer Program. The Managing Officer Program’s goals are to promote and enhance the professional growth of fire service leadership while preparing future leaders through a combination of education and networking. Participants in this program receive instruction on leadership, community risk reduction, firefighting and community safety, contemporary training issues and analytical tools for decision making. This important two-year program comprises four unique courses requiring the participant to develop and complete a Capstone project directly benefiting the participant’s department and community. This Capstone project permits the student an opportunity to demonstrate application of course theory and concepts to real-life situations. The final project is then evaluated through a formal peer review.
“I am extremely proud of Lt. Bagniewski’s achievement. He put in a tremendous amount of time and effort completing this program and submitted a comprehensive Capstone project that details a strategic staffing plan for our Fire Department. With the amount of development Cranford has endured and the fact that our service demands have substantially increased, it was important to have an extensive study completed to reaffirm our staffing needs. Our staffing levels have not been increased in over 75 years.
Furthermore, Lt. Bagniewski is only the 40th person to successfully complete this two-year program in the state of New Jersey. Nationwide, only 2,975 fire service professionals have successfully completed this program,” said Czeh.
The National Fire Academy continues to offer programs and courses for fire service leaders, managers and allied professions. Courses are delivered at the Emmitsburg, Maryland campus and throughout the nation in coordination with the state and local fire training officials, colleges and universities. There is no cost and lodging is free for these courses.
Photo Courtesy of Christina Miskewitz