Prerequisites

• Prerequisites are indicated in the course description section for each Academy course. Please make sure your personnel have successfully completed all necessary prerequisites before signing up for a class.
• If a person has taken a course which is a prerequisite for an Academy course from an institution other than ESTA, he or she must supply documentation at time of application.
• Copies of certificates for these courses must accompany the course application in order to receive equivalency credit for that course.

Registration

• Registration forms must be completely filled out and submitted prior to the start of the class. NO WALK-INS WILL BE PERMITTED!
• If you have personnel you wish to enroll in a course, return the application form for that course.
• Please use the full legal name of the student on the application form instead of nicknames or initials.

Confirmations

• Course confirmations will be sent to the sponsoring agency approximately 15 days prior to the start of the course.
• Please submit appropriate payment (check or purchase order) upon receipt of the course confirmation and invoice.

Cancellation Policy

Substitutions

• If you discover that a person who has preregistered cannot attend a course, you may send a substitute, as long as he/she has met the prerequisites for that course.

Attendance Requirements

• Students are responsible for signing the roster for each lesson to assure receiving credit for the course.
• In order to be evaluated or to be issued a certificate of completion, 100% attendance is required.
• Any student reporting late for class shall report to the lead instructor before reporting to class. Habitual tardiness without a valid excuse will result in the student being dropped from the course.
• Any student missing more than three (3) of the lessons in any course will be dropped from that course and will be required to reapply for that course the next time it is run.
• No student shall leave the Academy prior to class dismissal without permission from the lead instructor of the program.

Makeup Policy: Firefighter I & II, Fire Prevention Inspector

• Lessons missed in a Firefighter I or II class must be made up within 18 months (unless over 3 sessions).
• It is the student's responsibility to contact the Academy for the dates of the missed class.
• The student must sign the class roster, complete a make-up form, and also indicate the prior class number in order to receive credit for the session.
• When all missed lessons have been successfully completed the student will be awarded a certificate.

Classes Under 30 Hours

Class Hours

• Evening courses: Begin promptly at 7:00 PM
• Day and weekend courses: Begin at 8:00 AM
• Day and weekend EMS programs: Begin at 9:00 AM

Jewelry

Protective Clothing

• All protective clothing worn must meet OSHA (29 CFR 1910.156) and New Jersey PEOSHA requirements.

Beards, Breathing Apparatus, and Smoke or Live Burn Evolutions

Hair Length

• Any student participating in live fire training, who comes with hair that extends below his or her collar must arrange it so that it does not fall below the collar.
• Hair enclosed in an OSHA approved hood is acceptable.

Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA)

• For any courses requiring the use of SCBA, it shall be the student's responsibility to provide his or her own, plus a spare air cylinder.
• The Academy has a limited amount of SCBA equipment and that is dedicated to Instructor use and for demonstration purposes only.
• The academy will refill any student's air cylinder, provided it has an up-to-date hydrostatic test date on it.

Physical Qualifications of Students

• Students shall not be given credit for any unit of instruction in which they did not actively participate.
• Students who do not actively participate in any portion of the class will not be given a certificate of completion for the class and will not be eligible to return for other courses for which the uncompleted class is a prerequisite.
• The aforesaid rules shall conform to the requirements of the A.D.A.

Student Conduct

• Students shall be courteous and disciplined. Proper decorum shall be observed at all times toward fellow students, academy staff, and instructors.
• Eating and drinking must be confined to the cafeteria area only. No food or drink is permitted in classrooms.
• Students are responsible for maintaining all books, equipment, apparatus and buildings made available for their use.

• Books, papers or other materials on the instructor's desk, podium or chalkboard are for the use of the ESTA staff only.

Facility Rules

Parking

• Students will park only in areas that are designed for student parking in the front of the main building

Student/Organization Liability Responsibility

This certificate of insurance shall contain the following information:

• Liability insurance in a minimum value of $1,000,000
• A 30-day cancellation clause must be on this certificate
• The County of Somerset shall be named as an additional insured
• The certificate of insurance holder shall be the Somerset County Emergency Services Training Academy
• A new certificate of insurance must be submitted upon expiration of the existing insurance certificate
• Payment for any and all medical, first aid, and related charges shall be the responsibility of the student's or user's sponsoring organization

General Certification

• Certificates will be awarded for all courses three hours in length or longer.

Records

• A training file will be established for all students who successfully complete a ESTA certificate course.
• Copies of this certificate, will be disseminated only at the written request of the student.

Academy Closings

• If, for any reason, ESTA is forced to suspend operations (inclement weather, natural disaster, etc.) notice of the closing will be posted on the Academy website, or you may call (908) 725-5070.
• Every effort will be made to reschedule suspended classes at the earliest available date. Students will be informed of the rescheduling when the class next meets.