Recently, I had a conversation with a fellow fire chief about training. We discussed the process by which we train new members and where priorities of training sit in our organizations. Presently, the other chief’s organization is going through a rebuilding phase. My department went through a similar rebuilding 5–6 years ago. What I laid out for the other chief is what I will share with you here.
In Tennessee, a new fire department member must complete a 16-hour introduction to fire and emergency services training program before that individual can make a call. This can be accomplished in several ways. The way that my department handles it: We have a curriculum that’s approved by our state’s Firefighting Personnel Standards and Education Commission, and we deliver it in house. Our goal is to complete this training within one week of onboarding a new member. This short time frame serves to enhance recruitment/retention efforts, because we get new members engaged in the organization quickly.
The 16-hour introduction to fire and emergency services consists of lessons on:
- Fire service history and structure—A simplified overview of the fire service’s origins, why we exist and how we are structured. The National Incident Management System (NIMS) and the incident command system (ICS) also are touched on, and students are required to complete IS 100, IS 200 and IS 700.
- Health and safety—The risks and hazards that are associated with firefighting and the mitigations to offset those risks. Emphasis includes traffic incident management, cancer prevention and safe hazard-zone operations.
- PPE—Turnout gear, SCBA and other PPE.
- Communications—Emphasis on proper radio procedure, types of radio communications, how communication systems function and face-to-face communication.
- Tools and equipment—All of the tools that we carry, their purposes and the locations on all apparatus.
Once the new member finishes the introductory class, that individual is fairly certain of what a fire truck is; is still confused by NIMS/ICS; can correctly identify and put on turnout gear—most of the time—and is less of a liability in a hazard zone.
Additional in-house training prepares the new member to function in a limited capacity on the fireground and to prepare for recruit school. Our department requires new members to obtain Firefighter II and a minimum of EMR within 24 months of joining. We accomplish this by having our own EMR instructor in house and by having our county fire chief’s association sponsor a recruit school that’s approved by the Firefighting Personnel Standards and Education Commission. Recruit school normally starts in January but may be scheduled as needed, so the individual might go to EMR first or recruit school first. Either way, the recruit gets plenty of work on honing the craft of firefighting between scheduled department drills each week or improvised, spur of the moment training during the week.
Primary focus: engine work
My department embraces the concept that we are a fire department first. We understand that EMS makes up 65 percent–70 percent of our call volume, and we are skilled in that area, too. However, we exist to protect life and property from the threat of fire. Our department was formed in 1986, because the people of our fire district couldn’t get homeowners insurance because there was no fire protection—not because there was limited ambulance service. We provide EMS because it was an identified need in the community several years later, and infrastructure already was in place because a fire department existed.
You might have heard that the one piece of equipment that bonds all departments together is the engine. You also might have heard that as the first line goes, so goes the fire. We believe this to be true and treat engine work as our primary focus in training. A new member will stretch lines, repack lines and stretch more lines from the very first drill through the rest of that individual’s time with us. Once we master the unimpeded stretch, we stretch around automobiles, buildings and other obstacles. We teach a new member to flow water from many positions, because that individual can’t pack up and work in an immediately dangerous to life and health environment. However, the focus remains on making the individual a productive member on the fireground, given the limited capabilities and training.
In addition to the preparation that these evolutions provide to the new member, they keep the more experienced members on their toes and serve to instill and maintain the culture of engine work of which we are so proud.
This focus on engine culture paid off on a fire several years ago in a neighboring district. My deputy chief was at the station with a recruit, going over vehicle maintenance and inspections, when the tones dropped for a possible kitchen fire in our automatic-aid territory. They responded immediately in our tanker, and I responded from home. We arrived on scene at the same time. Moderate smoke showed from the front door of a two-story, wood-frame private dwelling.
My deputy chief and I still must gear up as well as charge the line. The young recruit hadn’t learned much in just a few short weeks with the department, but he learned how to stretch the crosslay off of the tanker and did so to perfection, flaked out with zero kinks upon charging.
The homeowner gave me directions to the kitchen. As I walked to the front door, it was an easy turn, push and stretch to the kitchen to solve the problem. The rookie even stayed low at the front door and fed hose as we advanced.
The second-arriving company located and successfully revived the family dog. The third company in handled the overhaul.
The kitchen and dining room were gutted and remodeled, and the house still stands occupied today. In this instance, a member who was three weeks off of the street was an impact player in a not-so-ideal initial-arriving crew of three, thanks to a department’s emphasis on engine work from Day One.
Nothing but the best
Those of you who play the rural cards every day know all too well the stress of doing the work of 20–30 firefighters with 10 or fewer and that all of those 10 might not be interior firefighters. I can tell you from experience that the stress gets easier to manage when your department culture centers around the engine.
What does your department’s training say about your priorities? Do you pull hoselines often? If yes, exactly how often? In the rural setting, we usually show up short-handed and to advanced fire conditions. We must bring our A game. We don’t have time to figure things out on the fly.
Brandon Fletcher
Brandon Fletcher is the chief of the Gilt Edge Fire Department in West Tennessee and a 23-year student of the fire service. He is a second-generation firefighter who has a background as both a volunteer and career firefighter in the rural, suburban and airport/industrial settings. Fletcher holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Tennessee at Martin and is a graduate of the Texas A&M Fire Service Chief Executive Officer program. He is a designated Chief Fire Officer and Chief Training Officer through the Center for Public Safety Excellence. Fletcher is a member of the Institution of Fire Engineers and NFPA's Fire Service Occupational Safety and Fire Officer Professional Qualifications technical committees. He is a hazmat specialist and serves as an instructor for the hazmat program at the Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston, AL.
