The second option is designed for persons who have at least five years of full-time equivalent experience as a Florida certified Fire Officer. This method is intended to reduce the redundancy in courses taken by crediting the applicant’s educational experience to the objectives required by the NFPA 1021 Fire Officer IV standard and the Fire Officer IV curriculum as evidenced by documentation in the Fire Officer IV Portfolio (DFS-K4-2109 PDF or DFS-K4-2109 Word). To qualify for certification using the Portfolio Program, the applicant shall:

• Possess an active Firefighter Certificate of Compliance issued by the Division or have met the curriculum requirements for Firefighter Part I as defined in 69A-37.055(1) F.A.C.
• Possess an active Instructor I Certificate of Competency issued by the Division.
• Possess an active Fire Officer III Certificate of Competency issued by the Division.
• Meet the program prerequisites, the objectives required by the NFPA 1021 Fire Officer IV standard and the Fire Officer IV curriculum as evidenced in the Fire Officer IV Portfolio.

The Fire Officer IV Portfolio Workbook enables a candidate to document that their educational experiences meet the program prerequisites, the objectives required by the NFPA 1021 Fire Officer IV standard and the Fire Officer IV curriculum.

The Division recognizes that a Fire Officer IV candidate may have already met requisite job performance requirements and student learning outcomes when achieving certain academic and professional development accomplishments. This method is intended to acknowledge these accomplishments, and reduce any professional development redundancy. Through a portfolio review process, the candidate can evaluate and document their accomplishments in any combination of three experiential areas;

Academic Degree & Course Work, Executive Fire Officer Designation, and Chief Fire Officer Designation. Academic Degree & Course Work. Fire Officer IV candidates that have an academic degree or completed academic coursework are encouraged to assess the applicability of their course work and to correlate the respective course learning objectives and student learning outcomes to the respective Fire Officer IV job performance requirements. Correlation can be demonstrated by submitting a copy of the academic institutions course description including the objectives and student learning outcomes and itemizing this information in the Fire Officer IV Portfolio Workbook.

Executive Fire Officer (EFO) Designation. Fire Officer IV candidates that have obtained the designation of EFO from the National Fire Academy (NFA) are encouraged to assess the applicability of their course work and independent research, and to correlate these to the respective job performance requirements and student learning outcomes. Correlation can be demonstrated by submitting a copy of the Executive Fire Officer course descriptions including the objectives and student learning outcomes and itemizing this information in the Fire Officer IV Portfolio Workbook.

Chief Fire Officer (CFO) Designation. Fire Officer IV candidates that have obtained the designation of CFO from the Center for Public Safety Excellence are encouraged to assess the applicability of their CFO portfolio elements and correlate these to the respective job performance requirements and student learning outcomes. Correlation can be demonstrated by submitting a copy of the CFO designation and itemizing the elements of the applicant’s CFO portfolio in the Fire Officer IV Portfolio Workbook.