Firefighters of Alabama's Largest City Receive Educational Incentive

The largest fire and rescue department in Alabama, Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service protects the more than 230,000 citizens of Birmingham, the most populated city in the state. A recent partnership with Columbia Southern University (CSU), one of the nation’s first completely online universities, now offers Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service employees discounted tuition rates and other special educational benefits.

Seven hundred Birmingham firefighters and rescue personnel, along with their spouses and children, will receive a 10 percent tuition discount and application fee waiver as a result of this partnership. CSU offers completely online associate, bachelor, master, doctoral, and certificate programs in a variety of fields including fire science, business administration, information technology, and health care administration.

“Firefighters and emergency services personnel in a large city like Birmingham don’t have much time to think about earning a degree,” said Ivor Brooks, Assistant Chief of the Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service. “The online programs offered at CSU allow our firefighters to study and complete courses according to their schedules.”

The Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service has been serving the city of Birmingham since 1872. It is devoted to providing speedy and dependable emergency services to all Birmingham citizens, protecting lives and property. In 2002, the Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service kicked off “Get Alarmed Birmingham,” a campaign to educate the people of Birmingham on the importance of working smoke detectors. The department has distributed more than 17,000 smoke detectors and credits this program for the drastic drop in the number of fire-related causalities.

“At CSU, our way of giving back to the individuals who keep our country safe is through offering educational benefits,” said Chantell Cooley, Vice President of Partnership Development. “Fire departments, police departments, and emergency services departments are just a few of the types of organizations that benefit most from the partnerships we build.”

CSU also holds learning partnerships with more than 400 organizations across the U.S. including Delta Air Lines, National Sheriffs’ Association, Commtest, and Quantum Drilling. Over half are with fire departments and include the New York City Fire Department, Tulsa Fire Department, Chicago Fire Department, and Tampa Fire and Rescue.