Emergency Services Leadership Institute

The Emergency Services Leadership Institute (ESLI) program is sponsored and hosted by the Florida Fire Chiefs' Association in the interest of addressing contemporary leadership issues that affect mid-level and Chief Fire Officers. The focus and content of the six-course Institute is consistent with upper-level academic achievement and address issues that are either not prominent in other curricula or not structured in a manner that allows for an integrated learning experience over a two-to-three-day period per course.

While the institute is comprised of six courses, each individual course is designed to stand alone as a specific educational experience. The six courses will be offered on a two-year revolving basis. The Institute is designed to allow a participant to start and finish with any course and can be taken in any sequence. Successful completion of the six courses will meet the requirements for graduation from the Emergency Service Leadership Institute. The six courses are Human Resources and Labor Relations; Personal Qualities, Leadership & the Organization; Government Relations and Public Policy; Marketing Fire & Emergency Services; Finance & Budgeting; and Emergency Management.

Enrollment Requisites

1. Participant must be a Lieutenant rank or higher
2. Participant must hold a current membership with the Florida Fire Chiefs' Association at the time of registering for each module
3. ESLI fees are currently $235 per student, per module

NEW! Updates to the ESLI Program:

1. Registration is on a first come first served basis, regardless of enrollment or wait-list status. Please ensure you register timely as this is a high-demand educational program.
2. Wait-list request does not guarantee a seat, it simply ensures you are notified about the ESLI program and upcoming courses. Please contact [email protected] to be added to the wait-list.
3. Elective modules will be added to the ESLI program, the first of which is available in 2024 - Community Risk Reduction.
4. Equivalency: The Florida State Fire College (FSFC) has agreed to provide equivalency of Chief Officer, a 60-hour course toward gaining Fire Officer III certification, and Managing Personnel in the Fire Service, a 45-hour course toward Fire Officer IV under the following terms:
1. Students of ESLI must complete the 6 core modules and the new course Community Risk Reduction.
2. Students that have completed these 6 core courses from January 2012 and complete the new course Community Risk Reduction will be eligible for the equivalencies.
3. The FSFC will establish the process for obtaining the equivalency, however, all students must present all 7 certificates to gain the equivalencies.
4. Presentation of the 7 certificates from the period of January 2012 to current will earn the students the equivalencies of Chief Officer, a Fire Officer III course and Personnel Management for the Fire and Emergency Services, a Fire Officer IV course.
5. There will not be any other substitutions or equivalencies offered or accepted.
5. Cancellation: Any cancellation of course/series registration must be made in writing and is fully refundable up until 30 days prior to the start date of the class or first class in the series. Cancellations within the 30 day period are not eligible for refund; substitutions will be permitted on a case by case basis.

Click Here to view the article by Francis J. Ennist, Retired Fire Chief regarding the updates and future goals of the ESLI program.

2024 Public Schedule

Class Begins at 8:30 am - 5 pm