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עברית (Hebrew)
Haifa University will feature a new graduate program, Fire Sciences, in cooperation with the Israeli Fire and Rescue Authority.
The Authority considered establishing its own independent institute for fire-related sciences, but opted instead to enter into cooperation with the academic institute. Fire Safety & Investigations Department Chief Ran Shelef teamed up Prof. Haim Kutiel of Haifa University to put together a syllabus complete with Emergency and Disaster Management. The Authority will partly finance the program.
Chief Fire Officer Shelef shared with iHLS the courses and themes the new academic program will feature:
- Physics and chemistry of combustion
- Fire safety engineering
- Structural engineering
- Smoke and fluid flow engineering
- Detection and firefighting systems and means
- Fire damage valuation
The Fire and Rescue Authority regards the new academic program as a major contribution to educating firefighters. As part of the reform the authority is undergoing, fire officers are required to complete their academic studies. According to Shelef, the new program will improve their level of education, in particular commanders’ training, and introduce a new dimension of research and event analysis in their respective fields and duties.
Students enrolled in the new Haifa University graduates program will complete four semesters and turn in a limited paper, or three semesters with a substantial paper. As the program was just launched, thus far, only 8 firefighters have registered. Next academic year, the Authority will promote enrollment to the program among firefighters with first degrees.
