As we all know ensuring everyone goes home after an incident is paramount to the success of the fire service which is why training begins immediately. On a daily basis every firefighter and fire officer should strive to participate in some sort of training. During drills every person in the fire service should act as if their life or the life of a brother or sister firefighter depends on how successfully they complete the drill. Why? Because in times of stress and danger firefighters like athletes revert to the skills and techniques learned in training.
Good training programs not only ensure that all members are trained and ready to go to work when needed but they also motivate firefighters and reinforce departmental goals. Although it’s every firefighter’s responsibility to perform training chief and training officers must delegate the overall mandate for training. If they don’t they aren’t doing their job.
Why then does training take a back seat to other tasks in the fire service? It’s often because most of our young people especially our volunteers work two jobs so they can afford to buy a home and live the American dream. So what’s the first thing that suffers? Training of course.
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Overcommitted
Nowadays people don’t have as much time to devote to training because other commitments such as their second job or family issues take first priority. Also trainees have been overexposed to federally and locally mandated training for weapons of mass destruction (WMD) hazardous materials emergency medical care confined space rescues and so on. Firefighters are far more likely go to a fire than to a WMD event but they can’t forego government-mandated training. As a result what little time they have during the week to train is consumed and they fail to train on hoseline placement or use of portable ladders-basic skills needed to respond to day-to-day incidents.
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A Hands-On Approach
So how can the fire service entice people with less time on their hands to perform more training? The key is to make drills and training sessions current and interesting. Most firefighters and officers would rather perform hands-on exercises than listen to a speaker. If a speaker isn’t engaging and interesting the classroom atmosphere can have the same effect as a dose of sleeping pills. To avoid this situation training officers should set up hands-on training drills explain what trainees should accomplish during the drills and demonstrate the skills they’re trying to achieve. Once students complete the drills officers should instruct students to continue practicing what they’ve learned.
Some training officers are hesitant to step outside the classroom atmosphere because they think hands-on exercises or programs are costly and difficult to set up. Actually training can be completed without much effort if officers are willing to put forth the effort and start a program. And drills don’t have to be costly or time consuming. Hands-on training can be something as simple as an SCBA emergency procedures drill which can be done with little or no money and provides great benefits to all participating members.
The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) performs about 1 hour of training per tour which gives most firefighters about 2 hours of training in a 24-hour shift-a minimal time commitment that has great rewards. The FDNY also performs sanctioned multi-unit drills (MUDs) during the weekends so companies that work together can get out of their own firehouse and drill on a skill or a building in the area together. If done right MUDs aren’t time-consuming or expensive. They simply expose firefighters and officers to other companies so they can build relationships before an incident occurs. These drills also allow local chiefs to address problems that have arisen at fires.
Important: If you think basic hands-on training is a waste of time I assure you it’s not. I’m always amazed when I ask a veteran firefighter to show a class how to remove their SCBA in an emergency and they can’t do it. Our SCBAs are our life-support system; all firefighters and officers must be familiar with how to get out of them in an emergency and how to overcome system failures. Some people have told me they learned the skill in basic recruit school but haven’t drilled on it since. What a crime it is that the one tool we must carry with us at every fire because it can save our lives is one tool we don’t drill on!
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Identifying Training Deficiencies
Ensuring departments perform the right kind of training exercises also helps entice people to train more often. The most important requirement of any training: that it be relevant to local fire department operations and standard fireground operational guidelines. How do you know your training is relevant? Ask yourself two questions: Is your department effective in its response area? Would you be comfortable with your department rescuing your family if your house was on fire? If you answer no to either of these it means your departmental training is not meeting the community’s needs and it’s time to go back to basics.
Officers must correct any deficiencies or shortcomings observed at a fire as soon as possible which is why an after-incident critique is so important. The critique is one of the best learning tools for new firefighters and officers because it allows them to discover what their training is lacking. If they find through the critique that they made a bad judgment call during size-up or made some bad decisions during the actual fire they can incorporate these lessons into their next training session so they don’t repeat their mistakes. And if all members who were at the fire attend the after-incident summary the department as a whole benefits from the knowledge gained during the discussion.
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Background Check
Today’s training exercises should also be flexible taking into consideration the background of each individual firefighter. For example most people entering the fire service aren’t coming from the trades like they used to so knowledge of tools and building construction isn’t as widespread. Therefore officers must train members on tools during low-stress drills before they can expect members to perform a complicated task in a high-stress fire situation. If trainees aren’t at ease with a tool and can’t use it proficiently during a drill they’ll be more likely to get hurt using that tool when they have to operate it in a dark smoke-filled atmosphere.
Knowledge of building construction has also decreased throughout the fire service which is dangerous because the building industry has changed over the years as well. Newer buildings aren’t built they’re engineered. And as they’re being engineered the building industry takes into account every load a building will be subjected to except two: fire load and impact load both of which are imposed by operating firefighters during a structure fire.
Because of this situation it’s imperative that today’s firefighters understand today’s building construction. One simple inexpensive way training officers can familiarize firefighters with the different types of construction is to take trainees to construction sites during a local scheduled training period. A local drill at the new townhomes being built in your response area allows trainees to view the structures before they’re finished and occupied. Knowing how buildings went up will help firefighters understand how they might come down during a fire. Also take pictures of the buildings and start a training notebook for members who were unable to attend the drill. Those items might just save a firefighter’s life in years to come.
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Conclusion
Training is key to protecting firefighters and extinguishing fires which is why every fire department must ensure every firefighter career or volunteer receives the right amount of the right kind of training before they set foot on the fireground. To do this officers should make drills interesting relevant and flexible.
Talk with trainees to determine a realistic practical training schedule and don’t be afraid to get out of the classroom and perform simple exercises. Set specific training goals for your department or company ahead of time so trainees can jump in right away. Goals can be based on observed problems or members’ requests for review in certain areas. And share your firefighting experience and war stories; they’ll pique firefighters’ interest in training drills.
If training officers do their job they’ll not only develop highly skilled well-prepared personnel they’ll also instill pride in their department making people want to make time for training.
