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CPR/AED Training



The Delaware State Fire School offers CPR/AED and First Aid Training through our American Heart Association’s (AHA) Community Training Center. Courses are taught using the most current AHA curriculum and materials.

AHA course completion cards are issued to every individual meeting all class requirements. Individuals receiving certification are required to renew their certification every two years.

Picture of a red color American Heart Association Authorized Training Center Logo with white text

American Heart Association NOTICE on Expiration Dates for AHA CPR Cards through the COVID-19 Outbreak. (as of 07/23/2020)

We offer the following AHA Courses at the Delaware State Fire School:

  • BLS Provider CPR/AED (4 hours) *Formerly BLS Healthcare Provider
  • Heartsaver CPR/AED (3 hours)
  • Heartsaver First Aid (3 hours)
  • Heartsaver First Aid CPR/AED (6 hours)
  • Heartsaver First Aid with BLS Provider CPR/AED (7 hours)
  • BLS CPR Instructor (16 hours) – Only offered as needed. See FAQ’s for more.

Upcoming AHA Classes       Click here for a Registration Form

* Please Note:  Any classes with less than 6 students may be canceled by the “Register by” date. You will be notified by 12 pm of the registration deadline date if a class is canceled/rescheduled.

2024 Summer/Fall Classes

Registrations for any class due ONE WEEK before class date.

July

BLS Provider CPR/AED (Kent) – July 11, 6 pm – 10 pm
BLS Provider CPR/AED (New Castle) – July 18, 6 pm – 10 pm

August

BLS Provider CPR/AED (Kent) – August 1, 6 pm – 10 pm
BLS Provider CPR/AED (New Castle) – August 8, 6pm – 10 pm
BLS Provider CPR/AED (Sussex) – August 15, 6 pm – 10 pm

September

BLS Provider CPR/AED (Kent) – September 5, 6 pm – 10 pm
BLS Provider CPR/AED (New Castle) – September 12, 9 am – 1 pm
BLS Provider CPR/AED (Kent) – September 21, 9 am – 1 pm
Heartsaver First Aid (Kent) – September 21, 2 pm – 5 pm

October

BLS Provider CPR/AED (Kent) – October 3, 6 pm – 10 pm
BLS Provider CPR/AED (New Castle) – October 10, 6 pm – 10 pm
BLS Provider CPR/AED (Kent) – October 17, 6 pm – 10 pm

November

BLS Provider CPR/AED (Kent) – November 7, 6 pm – 10 pm
BLS Provider CPR/AED (New Castle) – November 14, 6 pm – 10 pm

December

BLS Provider CPR/AED (Kent) – December 5, 6 pm – 10 pm
BLS Provider CPR/AED (New Castle) – December 12, 6 pm – 10 pm
BLS Provider CPR/AED (Sussex) – December 19, 6 pm – 10 pm

CPR Requirements For Delaware EMS Certifications (State Fire Commission Site)

Course Information and Cost

If our courses are not convenient for your schedule and you are unable to schedule an In-Service class with us, you can go to AHA’s Find a Course Page to find a class more convenient for you or contact another AHA Training Center.

CPR/AED and First Aid FAQs

BLS Provider CPR/AED is aimed at the Pre-hospital and In-Facility care providers, who would be performing these skills with some advanced training and equipment. Some examples would be EMS providers, Nurses, Police Officers, and Lifeguards.

Heartsaver CPR/AED and First Aid courses are generally for the public and initial responders to help, who would be doing basic care until the arrival of Emergency Medical Services.

You should receive your card within one to two weeks of completing the class. We now have transitioned to electronic cards, or eCards, through the AHA. Once you successfully complete a course, you will receive an email with a link to claim your card. You will need to complete a course evaluation to be able to save a .pdf copy or print your card or certificate. If you cannot find the link once you have claimed the card, you can claim it here. It would be best to save your card where you will be able to access it later. If there is a problem receiving the email to claim your card, you may contact our office to verify the email you used with the course and resend the card if you successfully completed the course.

Employers who cover the cost of the course and require copies of the cards may request a list from our staff, to be able to save a .pdf copy or print the cards through the same link under the employer tab, using the eCard code in the list you received.

Our office staff will no longer issue hard copies of cards and cannot resend emails once the card has been claimed. They may be claimed at the link above.

Each class has a different cost depending on the type of training you are looking for. The cost for each class is per person and prices are available on the fire school website and with our course descriptions. Please contact us for any further questions about pricing.

Currently, all courses are the same length as the AHA changed their guidelines for 2015. About two years after each update, they sometimes add a shorter “renewal” course, but is not available at this time.

As long as the CPR Certification can be verified as valid, it can still be accepted. But currently, recertification courses are not available as the content and duration of all courses are the same as initial certification courses, so it will not be a factor.

While being expired, recertification courses are currently the same content and duration as initial certification courses, so it will not be a factor. Only for courses being held by the Fire School requiring CPR/AED beforehand, will need to be through a valid agency and not expired.

Yes. As of July 1st, 2019, any Businesses and Organizations who do not have an on-site Fire Brigade can schedule classes but the class will need to be held at one of our Divisions (Locations). You will need to have at least 6 people taking the course to be held. Contact us for more information if you would like to set up a course.

The AHA does not mandate a minimum age requirement for learning CPR. Heartsaver CPR/AED can be learned so long as a child can perform the skills required. Generally, the Fire School has required a student to be 12 or older, but younger students may be allowed only if they are physically able to perform the skills. BLS Provider CPR AED is recommended by us for 16 and up, as it would be for those who would work in the prehospital or hospital settings.

The AHA Heartsaver Pediatric First Aid CPR/AED is designed to meet the regulatory requirements for child care workers in all 50 states. We no longer carry this program, but have several training centers around us who do. Visit www.heart.org to find a training center for this and other AHA programs that we do not carry.

Yes. But you will still need your skills verified by an AHA Instructor affiliated with a training center once you have completed the online program and printed the certificate of completion. The cost for the online portion of the course is separate from any practical skills testing fee of the Delaware State Fire School. Scheduling will be based solely on instructor availability. Visit  www.onlineaha.org/ for more about this convenient option and what courses are available. We currently do not provide the skills evaluations. To find another center who may, visit AHA’s Find a Course Page.

We do not offer this type of instruction at this time. We do not have the resources available to add these types of classes or provide as an in-service for your organization. Many fire companies and Paramedic services across the State provide this type of training at public events and gatherings when requested. We currently do not schedule this type of CPR training or provide it at events.

Here is a video from the American Heart Association that goes over “Hands Only CPR”


The Fire School only holds the Instructor course as needed for our staffing. But other training centers around us do offer the course regularly. Visit AHA’s Find a Course Page to find a training center. We will post when the instructor course is made available. When an AHA Instructor course is held by the Fire School, an affiliation with an AHA Training Center is required before the class begins to be admitted. Acceptance into any DSFS AHA Instructor course DOES NOT indicate an offer of employment or affiliation with the Delaware State Fire School.

For our EMR and EMT training, we recognize the following BLS level CPR certifications, under the direction of the Delaware Office of Emergency Medical Services;

– American Heart Association (AHA) BLS Provider
– American Red Cross (ARC) Professional Rescuer CPR
– American Safety and Health Institute (ASHI) – CPR Pro for the Professional Rescuer
– Emergency Care and Safety Institute – Professional Rescuer
– ProTraining/ProCPR

No other types of cards will be accepted. We currently only provide FULL BLS Provider courses, so “renewal” courses or Heartcode classes are not available.

For more information about our CPR and AHA programs, contact the AHA Training Center Coordinator Brandon Clark at  302-739-4773 or by email at fire.school@delaware.gov.

AHA Course Descriptions and Pricing

Notice about Recertification: At this time, there are NO “Recertification” Courses for any AHA courses available through the Delaware State Fire School. All courses are the length provided in the description.

BLS Provider CPR/AED Course (4 hours)

In-State Volunteer Fire/Ambulance Companies/Police Agencies $45.00
All Others $60.00
A pocket mask mask is optional for an additional $10 fee

Minimum number of students required: 6

This course is designed to teach skills and knowledge of adult one- and two-person CPR, pediatric CPR, AED and the management of the choking patient. This course requires the successful completion of a written and skills evaluation. This course is intended for those individuals who respond to pre-hospital situations, or any Healthcare Provider. A course completion eCard for BLS Provider CPR is issued for this course with recertification every two years. This course is the mandatory certification for all medically licensed providers such as RN, EMT, First Responder, and etcetera.

~ Effective 07-20-2023

BLS Provider CPR/AED Heartsaver First Aid course Adult/Child/Infant CPR & First Aid (7 Hours)

In-State Volunteer Fire and Ambulance Companies $75.00
All others $90.00
*All courses include the book and a pocket mask mask is optional for an additional $10 fee

Minimum number of students required: 6

This course is designed to teach rescuers the knowledge and psychomotor skills for medically licensed providers and police officers, and provide first aid. The first aid section covers general principles, medical emergencies, injuries, and environmental emergencies. The CPR section covers Adult, child, and infant CPR and choking, and the AED covers theory and operation of the AED. The first aid section covers general principles, medical emergencies, injuries, and environmental emergencies. Successful completion requires passing written and skills evaluations.

A course completion eCards for BLS Provider CPR/AED and Heartsaver First Aid is issued for this course with a re-certification period every two years. This course is intended for Fire Companies and Police Departments that require BLS Provider CPR and First Aid Training for their members and employees.

~Effective 07-20-2023

Heartsaver First Aid & CPR/AED course Adult/Child/infant CPR, AED & First Aid (6 Hours)

In-State Volunteer Fire and Ambulance Companies $65.00
All others $80.00
*All courses include the books and a pocket mask mask is optional for an additional $10 fee

Minimum number of students required: 6

This course is designed to teach rescuers the knowledge and psychomotor skills they need to recognize emergencies and give first aid. The first aid section covers general principles, medical emergencies, injuries, and environmental emergencies. The CPR section covers Adult, child, and infant CPR and choking, and the
AED covers theory and operation of the AED. Successful completion requires passing skills evaluations. A course completion eCard for Heartsaver First Aid/CPR/AED is issued for this course with a recertification period every two years.

~ Effective 07-20-2023

Heartsaver CPR/AED course Adult/Child/infant CPR, AED (3 Hours)

In-State Volunteer Fire and Ambulance Companies $45.00
All Others $60.00
*All courses include the book and a pocket mask mask is optional for an additional $10 fee

Minimum number of students required: 6

This course is designed to teach rescuers the knowledge and psychomotor skills they need to recognize a
cardiac arrest event and perform CPR with AED use. The CPR section covers Adult, child, and infant CPR and
choking, and the AED covers theory and operation of the AED. Successful completion requires passing skills
evaluations. A course completion eCard for Heartsaver CPR/AED is issued for this course with a recertification
period every two years.

~ Effective 07-20-2023

Heartsaver First Aid Course Adult First Aid (3 Hours)

In-State Volunteer Fire and Ambulance Companies $35.00
All Others $50.00
*All courses include a book

Minimum number of students required: 6

This course is designed to teach rescuers the knowledge and psychomotor skills they need to recognize emergencies and give first aid. The first aid section covers general principles, medical emergencies, injuries, and environmental emergencies. A course completion eCard for Heartsaver First Aid is issued for this course
with a re-certification period every two years.

~ Effective 07-20-2023

BLS Instructors course (16 Hours – 8 Hours Online and 8 Hours in the Classroom)

All $350 includes all materials including online prerequisite portion

Minimum number of students required: 6
Maximum number of students: 20

This course is an American Heart Association Program that teaches the skills necessary to instruct others in resuscitation skills and knowledge. Students are required to present a current AHA BLS Provider certification card and students must have a willingness and desire to teach in accordance with scientific and
program guidelines of the AHA. Each student is required to teach at least two classes per year and attend at least one instructor update. This course requires the successful completion of a written and skills evaluation. An instructor card is issued for this course after the student is observed instructing his/her first
class. Students will also need to create a profile on the AHA Instructor Network in order to complete the process.

Please Note: Acceptance into the class does not automatically assign you as an instructor affiliation or employment with the Delaware State Fire School. You should have an affiliation already established with an AHA Training Center or contact the AHA Program Manager to be accepted. If affiliated with the DSFS Training Center, a course completion card for AHA BLS Instructor is issued for this course with a re-certification period every two years. All other students will be required to finish the instructor certification process with their Training Center.

~ Effective 01-01-2022

Scheduled American Heart Association Classes

The Delaware State Fire School provides regularly scheduled American Heart Association (AHA) BLS Provider CPR/AED classes at our divisions in Kent, New Castle, and Sussex counties and we sometimes schedule Heartsaver First Aid CPR/AED at our Kent county location. Depending on availability and holidays, these courses run most months during the year on Thursdays.

These courses are taught by certified American Heart Association Instructors, and you will receive an AHA eCard by email upon successful completion of the course.


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