Joe London Training Facility

People training to become firefighters at Joe London Fire Rescue Training Academy LR-4

Joe London Fire Training Facility

Monroe County owns and operates the Joe London Fire Training Facility, located on Crawl Key in the Middle Keys. It is one of only 43 certified firefighting training centers in Florida. 

The facility is named after Joe London, Monroe County’s Fire Marshal from 1984 to 2003. 

Classroom Training Facility

Construction was completed in 2017 on the training facility’s new $1.96 million, 5,000-square-foot classroom facility for educating and training firefighters.

The training academy includes a training tower and a burn building. Training includes both basic and advanced levels, culminating in certification to become a state-certified firefighter. The academy also offers medical training for EMTs and paramedics.

The academy offers a range of courses throughout the year, specifically designed for Monroe County Fire Rescue firefighters, local volunteer firefighters, and members of the Florida Keys' municipal fire departments.

The concrete building includes LED energy-efficient lighting, a two-bay garage, shower facilities, an office, and a classroom.

All required Insurance Service Office (ISO) facility training is conducted at the facility. It includes 18 hours of facility training, live-fire training, vehicle extrication training, and ground ladder training. Using the facility’s drill tower, firefighters drag hoses and flow water in hot and smoky conditions. Search and rescue drills are conducted in blackout conditions. Training also includes practicing ventilation techniques, whether it be vertical, hydraulic, or positive and negative pressure.

It was funded with the county's one-cent infrastructure tax.

The Hot Shots lay down on the ground and do warm-ups in rows during training.

Firefighting Courses

The academy hosts a variety of courses throughout the year specifically designed for our career employees, volunteers and members of local municipalities. These courses include:

  • FFP 1302 Apparatus Operations - 40 hours
  • FFP 1301 Fire Service Hydraulics - 40 hours
  • First Responder - 40 hours
  • FSFC 109 Firefighter I - 235 hours
  • FSFC 703 Aerial Operations - 40 hours
  • FSFC 906 Firefighter II - 235 hours
  • FSFC 3530 Live Fire Training Instructor - 40 hours
  • PD 3328 Emergency Vehicle Operator - 16 hours
  • RN 3842 Live Fire Training Instructor Refresher - 8 hours

Fire Officer I

  • FFP 1505 Fire Prevention Practices - 40 hours
  • FFP 1540 Private Fire Protection Systems - 40 hours
  • FFP 1740 Fire Service Course Delivery - 40 hours
  • FFP 1810 Firefighting Tactics I - 40 hours
  • FFP 2120 Building Construction - 40 hours
  • FFP 2720 Company Officer Leadership - 40 hours
  • FFP I-200 Basic Incident Management - 16 hours
  • FFP I-300 Intermediate Incident Management - 16 hours

Fire Officer II

  • FFP 1793 Fire and Life Safety Educator I - 40 hours
  • FFP 2111 Fire Chemistry - 40 hours
  • FFP 2610 Origin and Cause - 40 hours
  • FFP 2706 Public Information Officer - 40 hours
  • FFP 2741 Fire Service Course Design - 40 hours
  • FFP 2770 Legal and Ethical Issues for Fire Service - 40 hours
  • FFP 2780 Fire Department Administration - 40 hours