Sharon Fire Department recognized as Gold-Level by State Fire Commissioner's Office

The Sharon Fire Department is celebrating its recognition as a Gold-Level Participating Department by the State Fire Commissioner's Office.

The Gold-Level certification is given to departments where all personnel are certified firefighters.

According to the department, every Sharon firefighter holds a certification of at least Firefighter I, with most certified as Firefighter II or Fire Officer I.

A Firefighter I certification means the person is trained or certified in hazardous materials training, CPR and EMS training and has demonstrated the ability to attack an interior structure fire as a member of a team, according to the PA.gov website.

Firefighter II certification requires the person to be a certified Firefighter I while also completing an incident command course, a vehicle rescue operations program and provide communications, preparedness and maintenance experience.

According to the Sharon Fire Department, only 42 out of 2,448 departments in Pennsylvania earned this honor, making Sharon one of the top 1.7% of departments statewide.

To recognize the achievement, the department has added decals showing the certification on its vehicles.