More than 10 percent of Iowa firefighters were granted national certifications over a four-year period despite failing exams at a state academy, authorities said Wednesday, as hundreds more were notified of the testing errors.
The Iowa Department of Public Safety informed 739 firefighters in 94 departments this week that they should not have been granted certifications by its Fire Services Training Bureau, the agency said.
The department announced in January that 1,706 firefighters and emergency personnel were issued nearly 2,300 improper certifications between 2012 and 2016.