The application period for the National Fire Academy's Executive Fire Officer Program will close June 30. Applicant packages received by this date will be considered for entry into the program, which is scheduled between Oct. 1, 2007, and Sept. 30, 2008.

With more than 2,500 graduates, the EFO program is designed to provide senior officers and others in key leadership roles with an understanding of:

• The need to transform fire and emergency services from reactive to proactive organizations, with an emphasis on leadership development, prevention, and risk-reduction;
• How to transform fire and emergency services organizations to reflect the diversity of America's communities;
• The value of research and its application to the profession; and
• The value of lifelong learning.

The program also is designed to enhance executive-level knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to lead these transformations, conduct research, and engage in lifelong learning.

The selected fire officers enhance their professional development through series of four graduate and upper-division baccalaureate-equivalent courses. The EFOP spans a four-year period with four core courses. Each course is two weeks in length. Each EFOP participant must complete an applied research project that relates to his or her organization within six months after the completion of each of the four courses. A certificate of completion for the entire EFOP is awarded only after the successful completion of the final research project.

For more information and application forms, click here.