Outside training exercises and events can be a frustrating and difficult part of any fire service career or department. Training external to your fire shift is always scheduled at a bad time and is never expedient to you, your department or your family schedule. Unfortunately, current social demands and community expectations make outside training critically important to the survival of an independent and progressive fire service. Learn how to choose outside training that will expand your skill set and benefit your department.
Basic training covers the basics
Rookie firefighters learn significant lessons from the hours spent at basic training. Valuable lessons are acquired, such as learning to secure a mask, advancing a line and checking the door before initiating forcible entry. Over the course of basic training, firefighters begin to notice how things are put together and the importance of repetition.
Certain techniques taught in basic training are often repeated over and over, as knowledge is gained by combining simple tasks into more complex tactical objectives. Firefighters absorb the idea that what took 10 minutes to accomplish yesterday could be done in eight minutes today. More importantly, they learn that if a task is not practiced religiously, it might take 15 minutes tomorrow, when it counts.
These early trainings sessions give firefighters the understanding of how difficult tasks are and, more importantly, how long they take to accomplish. A coordinated fire attack is dependent on one firefighter hoisting tools to the ventilation crew on the roof, and a number of other combined efforts. Effective training at every service level allows line officers to calculate their emergency response accurately and place firefighters in safe positions to succeed. Solid training allows firefighters to progress, on the fireground and in their career.
Where traditional training falls short
We know that training is important, but as firefighters grow and broaden their knowledge base, we have to ask, “Is our departmental training keeping up?”
Fire department training in today’s litigious society can fall into the trap of replacing training with recertification; simply rehashing what we already know. How many times have you sat in a hazmat refresher, a command tutorial or a seminar on the latest tool technique and thought to yourself, “I could be teaching this,” while counting down the hours to lunch?
The end result is an abundance of paperwork with few new skills to show for it. The fire service has little time to measure how proficient firefighters are with an introduced technique, only to collect proof that they are authorized to act. And, just as the last renewal is completed, another one raises its laborious head.
Unlike the ropes and ladders of the past, the tools and technology of a modern fire department are more costly and require more extensive training. When attending a conference or class, the costs for hotels, transportation and meals can quickly add up, and that’s not counting tuition, bump-up pay and other incidentals. With budgets tight and training becoming a vulnerable line item, fire departments are reluctant to approve any outside and seemingly esoteric classes, preferring to “move that money where it is really needed.”
Outside training should reflect the needs of the department
So how do fire departments, and firefighters in particular, ensure quality and value in the outside classes taken by firefighters?
Begin by taking an honest look at yourself and your department. What will help connect your department and your community? Be specific and be critical. Is incident command terminology not tight enough, or are budget requests late and loose? Are personnel issues taking up meeting agendas, or are citizen complaints on the rise? Do departmental goals take a back seat to the grumblings of the rank and file? Are inspections, hazmat or water rescue being ignored? Are firefighters becoming tired, stale and uninspired?
Go the extra mile for effective outside training
Whatever your rank or time in service, become a student again and do some homework. Find out what trainings are close to home and free or low cost. Sponsored or government seminars are a good place to start, and fire-related industries, such as sprinkler and alarm companies, often put on relevant presentations with only a minor sales pitch. The same goes for energy, transportation and supply companies. And, who knows, you may get a free coffee mug.
Preview classes and study the instructors. Check out teaching credentials and class history. Use the internet and network with other firefighters to find out what they find valuable. Share needs and departmental strategies. More than likely, one of your past seminars could fit the bill for another department and, in turn, they might have what you’ve been looking for.
Talk to local organizations. Present the need for specific training and how they can benefit. If presented properly and with an eye toward the law, they can sponsor trainings without threatening municipal or district regulations. You may have to research city policy and consult an attorney, but the opportunity may be worth it. This approach is especially effective for volunteer and combination departments that have less governmental budget restraints.
Share your knowledge of outside training techniques
Bring any training you receive back to your department. Too often we share our enthusiasm after a great class or seminar, but fall short in communicating exactly what we have learned. Take notes and make time to share them. Do this while you are still eager and the information is fresh. Request agenda time to summarize and make available this newly acquired training in a scheduled class. Copy handouts and pass them out. Teach what you have learned. The value of your education has now increased exponentially.
Arguments and excuses aside, firefighters know that there are benefits to be gleaned from all trainings vital to the progress, and ultimate success, of any department. Staying involved in training keeps firefighters safe, allows for improvement and provides a platform for accomplishing the goals and mission of their fire department.
Increased safety, specialization and professionalism are the direct results of effective peripheral training. Without the existence of outside training, firefighters work in the past, live without passion and replace improvement with mindless duplication. The fire service cannot allow this, and must find the time, finances and inspiration to train its membership to a new level of expertise understood and expected by a new world, no matter how inconvenient.
