Driver's training for voluteers.

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Permalink Reply by Zack Spalding on October 24, 2008 at 11:57am

Some type of simulator would be nice, that way you can maybe prepare the driver for a variety of different situations.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Thompson on April 21, 2009 at 9:21pm

What department are you from? The volunteers are straped as it is for funding. How would that be possible? certainatly not from the the state.

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Permalink Reply by TJ Stone DVFD Unit 713 on October 24, 2008 at 1:23pm

Well I think you should have some time of driving the trucks around. And also some emergancy driving class. We have CEVO i think is what its called

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Permalink Reply by Fuzzy Carr on October 24, 2008 at 2:42pm

Basic Firefighting skills would be nice. I know you think I'm being an ass. But you would not believe the FF's that can drive a fire truck, but can't fight a fire.

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Permalink Reply by Andrea on October 24, 2008 at 5:28pm

I don't think your being an ass, I agree with you completely. Think about all the fire truck accidents there have been in the past few years, and how many of those drivers were severly underqualified. I brought up this discussion because of an accident we had here in our county where an unqualified driver killed someone in an oncoming vehicle and he shouldn't have been driving the fire truck to begin with.

I may have only been in the service for a year, but I have dedicated all my spare time to getting my certification and making myself comfortable with ALL our apparatus. I wouldn't drive them without our chief's okay, and he wouldn't give me the okay if he knew I wasn't certified or if I weren't qualified. I will not allow myself to be put in a situation where I don't feel comfortable driving any of our trucks. I'll leave it at the station first. I also won't put up with anyone on our department driving one that shouldn't be and have been in arguments with other fire fighter in our department who wanted to drive the big truck to an incident and I wouldn't let them. I made them drive their POV and the big truck stayed at the station. They weren't real happy with me, but the chief agreed that it was definately appropriate protocol in that situation.

I feel that the required 12 hours of training is not enough and a regulated course does not in any way apply to any kind of bad situation you could be put in when driving a truck full of water. I don't think some people realize what could happen when they try to go one way and the water wants to go another. I think on the road experience should be required for all volunteer departments in a non-emergency manner so that all department personel are familiar and comfortable with thier apparatus and the chief and officers are comfortable with thier capabilities.

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Permalink Reply by Fuzzy Carr on October 26, 2008 at 8:33am

I agree with you 100% what we are talking about is just like anything in the Fire Service. It's a tool if your dept. has a group of really qualified drivers. Then that to me is a tool. I have seen a lot of Depts just let men & women driver for many reasons. The worst reason you are my friend and I don't want to piss you off. Or he or she has been driving trucks all there life. Think about it what other depts do and I'm sorry to here about your depts crash.

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Permalink Reply by Padre Pete on April 7, 2009 at 10:48am

Seems a little fuzzy to me. Why not be expert in one or the other. You cant do both jobs at the same time anyway. With all the differnt jobs required of us, specialization is what we are going to have to build on. You never go in alone.

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Permalink Reply by morris washburn on October 26, 2008 at 4:50pm

i think all FF s should have EVOC Class and or should be an SOP in the dept. to have a CDL Class B , w/ tanker and air brakes endorsment !! we have ppl who should not be able to drive at all ,some cant start a deisel tck. because theyget in a hurry !! I have had my share of near misses !! so I know what I am saying here .My saying is slow down and when you get here you get here safely !! Always think safty 1st !!!!! Its your life and others a house can be rebuilt .

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Permalink Reply by Jenny Holderby on October 28, 2008 at 5:35pm

Go easy on that CDL talk. Those aren't that difficult to obtain but it doesn't apply unless you are paid to drive a truck. Most volunteers aren't. They are pretty hard to maintain & very expensive. Then you have the issue of who is responsible for the cost? The individual or the FD? I'm not going to say that drivers shouldn't TRAIN for the CDL and use those guidlines but actually testing for them is a little overboard in most cases.

Drivers should be trained to not only get the apparatus from point A to point B but they need to KNOW the apparatus as well. A fire truck without someone to operate the pump is useless. I have advocated for years that each truck driver should complete a number of hours in both operations & driving. I think our current requirement is 10 hours of each for new drivers & less time on other apparatus once they become proficient on one. Our trucks are pretty much the same & the pumps are all the same.

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Permalink Reply by PFC Harmon on December 1, 2008 at 8:42pm

Actually Jenny, CDL laws differ from state to state. Most states requirer that you have CDL's for any vehicle wieghing over 26,ooo pounds or having air brakes. That includes Semi's, dump trucks, R.V.'s and even those huge expensive international pickup trucks.

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Permalink Reply by John Menchen on March 19, 2009 at 10:14pm

NY used to expressly exempt fire trucks from being considered Commercial Motor Vehicles (CMVs) and thus requiring a CDL to operate, even though they fit the weight and mechanics of a CMV. At this writing, that may change due to loopholes in the Federal statute.
Such change is unnecessary: fire trucks are mainly operated for emergency purposes, except for fuel/water refills, needing service that is not on-site, parades, training and so on. EVOC and/or CDL training (not testing) is more than enough.

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Permalink Reply by Padre Pete on April 7, 2009 at 10:31am

Thanks to our own Senator Kathy Young, legislation has passed the NYS senate that will pull the CDL requirement for FD drivers and save most fire depts from simply folding up. That requirement slipped through originally as part of something larger and, when it was discovered recently, legislators hurried to CORRECT it. That same state offers an excellent "EVOC" (Emergency Vehicle Operations Course) which is very well attended and should be the first prerequisit for any D.T. Then you train on your own equipment and, when the OIC is satisfied that you can handle the vehicle and you know the wheres and hows of all its equipment, he/she makes a recommendation to the Chief who puts you on the Drivers List for that vehicle. And there is NO D.T. in the first year of membership. Works for us. Keep the faith.

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