The Federal Emergency Management Agency's U.S. Fire Administration announced that Golden Fire Division Chief Kevin Milan successfully completed the National Fire Academy's Executive Fire Officer Program March 27.

"The intensive Executive Fire Officer Program is designed to provide senior fire officers with a broad perspective on various facets of fire administration," said U.S. Fire Administrator R. David Paulison.

"This program provides fire service officers with the expertise they need to succeed in today's challenging environment.""We highly encourage all of our staff and members to achieve higher educational standards and goals," said Golden Fire Chief John Bales, who is a 1995 graduate of the program.

"Our ability to analyze and strategize issues facing the department today and in the future is constantly changing. Only through professional development of our personnel are we able to tackle these issues and meet them head on."Each of the program's four courses requires a written Applied Research Project to demonstrate application of course theory and concepts to real life situations within the student's own organization.

Each of these projects is evaluated through a formal process, and progression through the program is contingent on achieving each of these milestones. Milan received an Outstanding Research Award for his research on technology in emergency response training, which he presented to the U.S. Fire Administration during its Annual Executive Fire Officers Symposium in 2006.

"This was the greatest professional experience of my life. To spend four years exchanging ideas with leaders in the American Fire Service is the opportunity of a lifetime for a firefighter," said Milan.

"When people hear about the NFA, they think of live fire training, and that's just not the case. It's an academic campus teaching leadership skills, much the same as WestPoint or the Kennedy School of Government."

Milan is also a recipient of the National Society of Executive Fire Officers A. Don Manno Award of Excellence. He is pursuing a Master's Degree in Fire Service Leadership, maintains a professional educator's license and is an active member of the Jefferson County Incident Management Team.

Currently, he serves as President of the Colorado Training Officers Association and a Western U.S. Regional Director of the International Society of Fire Service Instructors.

The National Fire Academy, www.usfa.dhs.gov/nfa, offers a wide array of programs and courses for fire service and allied professions. Courses are delivered on campus, as well as throughout the nation in coordination with State and local fire training officials and local colleges and universities. For more information on the Executive Fire Officer Program, visit www.usfa.dhs.gov/nfa/efop/index.shtm.

Sabrina D'Agosta is the public information officer for the city of Golden.