Daviess County fire inspector Keith Hurm is the second fireman in Kentucky to have completed the United States Fire Administration’s National Fire Academy Managing Officer program.
He recently received a certificate of completion from the fire academy and was recognized by the Daviess County Fiscal Court on Thursday.
“I decided I needed to get smarter, needed some more knowledge,” he said. “As a firefighter, things are always changing, nothing stays the same.”
NFA’s managing officer program is a multiyear curriculum that introduces emerging emergency services leaders to personal and professional skills in risk reduction for example. It helps jump-start professional development.
Hurm said as a fire inspector, this was right up his alley.
“Part of my job as an inspector, investigator is I handle all the fire prevention for all the local schools and adult locations as well,” he said. “We do a very good job with your kiddos, with our children. Older adults need some help with fire prevention as well.”
Hurm took classes at the fire academy in Emmitsburg, Md., and created a capstone project called “Risk Reduction for Seasoned Citizens” as part of the course curriculum.
The goal of the project is to address trends of home safety issues for older adults. He said this topic was personal to him.
“I decided to put the fall prevention directive in it as well and that’s something I’m kind of passionate about,” he said. “Both my parents are in their 70s. My dad has fallen a couple of times and one fall leads to another fall to another fall.”
Hurm said informing citizens on something as simple as furniture placement can have a significant impact on reducing the risk of fall for senior citizens.
He said planes are in the works to connect with community groups to inform the public.
The other person in Kentucky who has completed this program is Owensboro Fire Chief James Howard. He finished his several years ago and his capstone project dealt with fire prevention within the local Burmese population.
