American Heart Association First Aid, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation,
& Semi-automatic External Defibrillator

Course Overview

All participants of the Vermont Fire Academy Firefighter I Program will need to complete the American Heart Association (AHA) Heartsaver First Aid, Adult/Child Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), & Adult/Child Semi-automatic External Defibrillator (AED) program or be able to present an equal or higher training level to the VFA office. This class meets the standards for Firefighter I curriculum NFPA 1001-2002 Revision.

This class or an equivalent, is a pre-requisite for the Firefighter II program candidate and must be current for recertification of Firefighter I and/or Firefighter II

This program is an 8 hour program that includes General Principles of First Aid, Medical Emergencies, Traumatic Emergencies, Environmental Emergencies, Adult/Child CPR, & Adult/Child AED. This course is taught in a one day 8 hour session or two 4 hour sessions.

If the program is taught in 2 days, the first night will cover the first aid sections of the book and night 2 will cover CPR & AED. Students must be present for the entire session or the sections they need and participate and pass all practical and written quizzes. At the end of this class everyone who has successfully completed this class will receive an AHA course completion card from the AHA that is good for 2 years.

Students in the Firefighter I class maybe excused from the class if a copy of the student’s card(s) are given to the instructor prior to the actual class date. For firefighter enrolling in the Firefighter II program, a copy of the card(s) must be presented to the VFA Office at time of registration. It is the responsibility of the firefighter’s department to verify current training for recertification.

A valid card is required for testing level I. Your current card must be presented to VFA with registration for Firefighter II. The firefighter’s Training Officer or Chief will need to verify current training for recertification.

The following are accepted alternatives to the AHA course:
  1. A current CPR card from AHA or American Red Cross (ARC) with Adult/Child CPR & AED and Advanced First Aid card from ARC, AHA, or Vermont First Responder Emergency Care Attendant (FRECA).
  2. Any other classes will have to be reviewed by VFA staff prior to the class.
  3. A current medical certification at the EMT-Basic level or higher, this includes Paramedic, RN, & MD.

Students maybe excused from the CPR section if they have a valid card, as mentioned above, but will have to attend the First Aid section if no first aid card is presented.

Any questions or concerns please contact Chuck Regula, cregula@vfst.state.vt.us, or Dan Zimmer, dzimmer@vfst.state.vt.us, at Vermont Fire Academy 1-800-615-3473.