This thesis examines the implications of instituting a policy of mandatory certification in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to help reduce the number of Line Of Duty Deaths in Pennsylvania. Historically the training in the Pennsylvania fire service and the lack of regulations mandating training has left the fire service fragmented and Pennsylvania's form of government also contributes to a fragmented system of regulation in the fire service. Using interviews from Pennsylvania's leaders in the fire service, research from the United States Fire Administration and the Pennsylvania government study both the positive and negatives of this policy are examined. While doing research for the paper a coloration was found from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) administration. NIOSH is charged with investigating line of duty deaths in the fire service. The coloration showed that if the fire fighter, driver operator and the fire officer were all certified at minimum levels from the National Fire Protection Associations (NFPA) consensus standards they would have a one in two chance of dying in the line of duty. Conversely if one or none of the fire personnel were not certified their chance of dying in the line of duty rises to a two in one chance. From the research in this paper a need for this policy is evident and the challenges there would be in implementing it.