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Dear Sea Devil Community,
Cape Fear Community College is firmly committed to elevating public safety standards. Our primary objective is to educate and train current and future generations of police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical services personnel. We are dedicated to preparing individuals for their professional careers while playing essential roles in our community.
Public Safety Education - A Snapshot of Impact
In 2023, our Fire and Rescue division conducted 163 classes, educating more than 2,100 students. We are poised to surpass these figures this year, with 45 completed classes and over 600 students trained. Our commitment includes holding three Public Safety Colleges annually, each attracting more than 300 participants statewide. Additionally, our Spring and Fall Firefighter Academies offer 514 hours of comprehensive training each, producing graduates ready to work as certified firefighters, thanks to collaborations with the New Hanover and Pender County fire departments. This year, responding to community demands, we have introduced a third academy specifically tailored for Pender EMS & Fire.
Our EMS program has recently earned accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). This accreditation holds our program to the highest emergency medical services training standards and guarantees that our students receive a top-quality education, thoroughly preparing them for industry requirements. Additionally, the program is experiencing growth, with 18 courses already offered in 2024, training 868 individuals.
Education in law enforcement is consistently in high demand due to staffing shortages in many departments across the state. The Basic Law Enforcement Training (BLET) program is mandatory for all North Carolina law enforcement officers and graduates between 80 and 100 individuals annually who are ready to join the workforce, many of whom are already serving or sponsored by local agencies. In 2023, we held 193 classes and trained 4,433 individuals. We are maintaining this pace in 2024, having already held 30 classes.
Partnerships and Pilot Programs - Expanding Our Reach
Strategic collaborations with our local public safety agencies are essential to our efforts in training public safety personnel. These partnerships offer invaluable insights into agency needs and create opportunities for our students to learn directly from professionals in these fields.
Our initiatives extend nationally, with Cape Fear Community College (CFCC) selected as the official pilot testing site for American Jail Association (AJA) courses in 2023. These courses serve aspiring and current correctional officers, jail administrators, and law enforcement personnel across the U.S.
Additionally, CFCC received a grant from the North Carolina Governor’s Crime Commission to improve training in child forensic interviewing, allowing us to offer specialized courses for advanced interviewing skills.
We also launched a new apprenticeship program with Pender County EMS and Fire, providing students with paid, hands-on training alongside their academic studies.
Our achievements in public safety education are crucial for sustaining a high quality of life in our community. I invite you to support these initiatives as we adapt and expand our programs to meet growing needs. Together, we can ensure that our community remains a safe, secure, and thriving place for all who live, work, and visit.
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