Any FL firefighters here? Questions

[t1tan]

So I relocated to Florida in the past year or so, Palm Beach County area and trying to navigate the process to transfer certifications as an out of state firefighter and have a few questions. I've sent out a million emails to schools, departments, etc and haven't really clarified anything, somebody literally got back to me and said "I don't know". It took almost a year just to get somebody willing to do a skills evaluation to go from my previous states EMT to NREMT, so I'm trying to get some answers and speed things up.

If anybody has been through the same process or currently works in the area and can help me out, I'd appreciate it.

Where I'm at now:
I'm awaiting a notarized letter from my former training chief to submit to the Florida CFO/State Fire Marshal as proof of training hours along with my FFI/FFII and other certs. So I am hoping to be allowed to take the state exam and practical in order to gain all equivalency in the near future. The pages describing the process and requirements are very vague and my attempts to reach out have pretty much gone unanswered.

Best I can find is, 1) if my hours meet or exceed Florida's requirements I can proceed, take a 3 day refresher, test and certify in FFI and FFII 2) or be told some of my hours count and be allowed FFI only 3) or that none of my hours count and to start over.

I have no issue retaking things, I'll gladly do it to get back to work, and I have already been reaching out to academies in the area, but so far I've held off enrolling while I'm waiting to get an answer from the state and with how things are shut down in my area I haven't been working all of covid and my son is doing kindergarten at home now, so I'm trying to avoid sinking unnecessary time and money if at all possible while not having reliable babysitting options, etc.

I'll leave some questions below, and will add more as they come to mind, if anybody can help, post or PM.

• In my former state, every step of the process was a separate test and cert, FFI, FFII, Tech Rescue Awareness, Hazmat Awareness/Ops, and so on. Is Florida the same way?
• Aside from the ISO stuff and some miscellaneous certs, I currently hold FFI, FFII, Tech Rescue Awareness and Hazmat Awareness, but my department relied on mutual aide for Hazmat and did not offer or require Hazmat Ops certification during my employment. Is that going to be an issue?
• Any academy or training site recommendations if I have to attend FFI and/or II?
• Any options in the area for CPAT besides PBSC charging $150?
• Any academy or training site recommendations for EVOC? Also is this something I can take before FFI/FFII certification?
• Any departments or training sites offer reasonably priced BLS Provider? Mine recently expired and I need to renew in order to submit my online application to have my FL EMT license issued.

[ffchewy17]

Dm me... I’ll give you my cell number to call me ... I work for the City of Orlando