Citizen Portal
Sign In

Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!

State and nonprofit expand fire training, certification and CTE ties to bolster recruitment

6548284 · October 23, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

The North Dakota Firefighters Association and community and technical colleges told lawmakers the association is expanding Pro Board certifications, mobile training, and high school and college programs to support recruitment and retention.

North Dakota—s training and certification network for firefighters is expanding, association leaders told the Emergency Response Services Committee, as the state and nonprofits try to connect high school CTE programs, community colleges and regional training to recruit and retain volunteers and career firefighters.

"We bring training directly to departments across the state," Jonathan Hildemeyer, training director for the North Dakota Firefighters Association (NDFA), said at the hearing. "Approximately 96 percent of our state's firefighters are volunteers."

NDFA staff described a mobile training approach, state and regional fire schools and Pro Board accreditation that allows North Dakota credentials to be recognized nationally. The association said its State Fire School typically draws 700 to 800 students for multiple hands-on sessions and it runs regional schools…

Already have an account? Log in

Subscribe to keep reading

Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.

  • Unlimited articles
  • AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
  • Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
  • Follow topics and more locations
  • 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
30-day money-back on paid plans