Seminole County fire technician earns child passenger safety instructor certification

Sharon Gregory of the Seminole County Fire Department earned designation as a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician-Instructor, a credential that lets her train other technicians and expand hands-on child passenger safety help in the county.

Gregory is the only CPST Instructor in Seminole County, and a June 25 release identified her as one of only eight new CPST-I designees in Florida. Fewer than 100 CPST Instructors work statewide, and only 45 percent of Florida counties currently have one.

The National Child Passenger Safety Certification program requires experienced technicians to complete an instructor candidacy process and successfully teach a certification course before becoming instructors. Those instructors help other technicians become certified or recertified and also review seat checks completed by technicians already working with families.

The national program dates back to 1997, with the first courses offered in 1998. Since then, more than 230,000 people have completed CPST training, including more than 40,000 who are currently certified technicians. Safe Kids Worldwide counts more than 41,000 nationally certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians.

In Seminole County, the fire department hosts a monthly car seat check at Seminole County Fire Station 27, 5280 Red Bug Lake Rd. in Winter Springs. Gregory is the contact for the station’s third-Thursday inspection slot, which runs by appointment from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The county’s child-seat program operates through the Safe Kids Seminole County Coalition and the Community Traffic Safety Team. The class includes one hour of classroom instruction and one hour of installation practice, with a vehicle required. A $20 donation is requested to help cover the cost of the seat and support the program.