Training and Education

1
Chapter 7

• Training and Education

2
Overview

• Administrators are responsible for efficient and
  effective emergency operations.
• There are no shortcuts to having members who are
  well trained.
• Members should be trained, beginning with an
  intense recruit school, and should receive
  updated training regularly.

3
In-service Training

• Must be high priority.
• Use NFPA 1500 as a template.
• Training should involve teams when doing
  fireground operations.
• The best retention comes when applying the
  knowledge to an actual incident or training
  exercise.

4
Higher Education

• Most programs are offered at community colleges,
  with a few universities offering bachelors
  degrees.
• Most Bachelor degree programs are Internet based.
• This method requires great self-discipline.
• When researching programs, make sure they fit
  your needs.
• Is the college fully accredited?
• Will the offered courses transfer to other
  schools?
• What is the official degree title?

5
Professional Development

• Many excellent seminars and conferences with
  outside experts exist.
• Members attending outside programs should be
  required to present the knowledge to their
  department.
• Be selectivemany presentations are not founded
  on knowledge that would stand up to peer review.
• Training and professional development is a
  never-ending process.

6
Recertification

• Currently there are no recertification or
  continuing education requirements.
• Each department should create a standard training
  program and schedule.

7
Standard Operating Procedures

• SOPs are needed due to the nature of emergency
  services.
• Split-second decisions must be made by first
  arriving companies.
• They provide a margin of safety.
• They can have a huge effect on the final outcome.
• For consistency and reliability, they should be
  followed with few exceptions.
• Must be reviewed and practiced frequently.

8
Developing SOPs

• Developing SOPs can be a very contentious
  process.
• Best done on a regional basis.
• Dont reinvent the wheel!
• Always include the option for the company officer
  to deviate at his or her professional judgment.
• Include a critique process for each deviation.

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Regional Approaches to Training

• Greatest need is for multi-company drills and
  entry-level Fire Fighter I and II.
• Many smaller departments struggle with finding
  the opportunity to train on even a typical house
  fire that needs multiple companies.
• For more specialized training, regional
  cooperative approaches are very effective and
  affordable.

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Hazardous Materials Teams

• Hazardous materials emergencies have required a
  rethinking of many of the traditional approaches.
• In the past two decades there has been a huge
  increase in the number of hazardous materials
  teams in the public sector.
• Many communities have found that these
  specialized teams are used rarely, if at all.
• With so few calls, there is little chance to test
  the teams training and increase their experience.

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Initial Fire Attack Training Goals

• NFPA 1410, Standard on Training for Initial
  Emergency Scene Operations, outlines typical
  fireground evolutions and recommended completion
  times.
• If times are inadequate, evaluate the following
• Frequency of training sessions
• SOPs
• Staffing

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Company Officer Education and Training

• Either a lieutenant, captain, or a chief in a
  one- or two-station department
• Based on the NFPA professional qualifications
  standards for Fire Officer I and II

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Chief Officer Education

• Chief officer should look at formal education as
  a tool to be effective at his or her job.
• Many other agency heads will have at least a
  bachelors degree.
• Bachelors degree should be in relevant major
  such as fire science, management, or
  administration or public administration or policy.

14
Quality Service

• Training and education are crucial for quality
  service.
• Higher education is the key to the door of
  opportunity both personally and professionally.
• Education puts the fire officer on equal ground
  with contemporaries and elected or appointed
  officials.
• Education will give the fire officer the tools
  needed to be a change agent.