Free Training from the Firefighters Support Foundation

By RALPH MROZ

In these lean times, some agencies have been forced to cut training to levels below those legally required. Even in the best of times, there are the 10 percenters in every agency who want to soak up as much training as possible. However, funding is usually the constraint. There are some governmental sources—both federal and state—that offer free or low-cost training; these should be taken advantage of as much as possible. There is also at least one organization, the Firefighters Support Foundation (FSF), which provides free video and PowerPoint®-based training programs by download. Fire Engineering has teamed up with FSF to provide FSF’s free programs at emberly.fireengineering.com with no advertisements or strings attached.

FSF programs usually consist of 20- to 120-minute video presentations with an accompanying PowerPoint® presentation. The PowerPoint® files act as student notes and a hard copy reference to the material; together they provide a turnkey complete training solution for agency trainers. Trainers can distribute PowerPoint® hard copies to a class, play a video segment, and then pause the video at any time to discuss the content. Programs can be used to schedule training sessions or for short roll-call type training and are self-documenting.

FSF programs tend to fall into two categories: mainstream subjects and critical—but not usually covered—subjects. In fact, FSF prides itself on addressing subjects that impact the safety and well-being of firefighters, EMTs, and search and rescue personnel that aren’t covered enough in professional training. Examples of mainstream subjects are the recent “Emergency Incident Rehabilitation” program. Examples of critical, less covered subjects are the “Meth Labs Recognition and Response” and the “Evidence Preservation” programs. FSF uses experts in their fields to develop and present their programs. For example, the Meth Labs program was presented by a major state police SWAT team member in a senior command position who previously worked several years undercover in the meth subculture. He has conducted high-risk dynamic raids on 150 meth labs, ran a statewide clan lab program for five years, and was the safety supervisor overseeing the dismantling of more than 400 labs. You can’t beat those credentials.

Here are the highlights of the current FSF programs, all available for free by clicking through to the FSF YouTube page:

Meth Labs, Meth Lab Response, and Meth Users. This program familiarizes public safety personnel with the following:

• How to recognize a lab if you are approaching one or if you are in one.
• How to recognize a dangerous meth user.
• How to recognize the chemicals used in clandestine meth manufacture.
• What to do if you encounter a user or lab. 

Emergency Incident Rehabilitation. This program consists of a 30-minute video presentation and a 90-slide PowerPoint® presentation. Topics covered include the following:

• What is rehab, and why do we need it?
• The functions of a rehab operation.
• When to establish rehab.
• Heat factor/windchill.
• Locating and staffing the rehab operation.
• Osmolarity. 

Self-Defense for Firefighters and EMTs. This program goes beyond simple physical techniques. It includes discussions on the following:

• Awareness and how firefighters and EMTs can avoid many of the confrontations that they get into each year. For the first time on a national basis, it introduces the “color codes of awareness” that have served the law enforcement community so well for decades.
• The appropriate use of force and the issue of “What level of force can I legally use, and when?”
• The tactics, which take only a couple of seconds, that you can add to your routine on each call to greatly reduce the chance of an assault.
• Easy-to-learn self-defense techniques that will aid responders in the event of a confrontation. 

After-Action Self-Evaluations. Public safety professionals are usually encouraged to conduct after-action evaluations after every significant event or call. This necessary continuous-improvement activity is often either forgotten or devolves into a relatively meaningless exercise. This training program presents a disarmingly simple continuous-improvement method widely used in the business world but that has yet to be adopted much by the public sector (although it is just as useful there). This tool is at the core of what world-class companies like Toyota and IBM do to improve every year.

Dealing with a Line-of-Duty Death. This video program is presented by Dr. Ellen Kirschman, one of the best-known first responder psychologists in the nation and author of I Love a Firefighter and I Love a Cop. Kirschman discusses the following questions and others regarding line-of-duty deaths (LODDs):

• How is the death of a first responder different from other deaths?
• What can families do to prepare for an LODD?
• How is it different to lose a first responder parent?
• What is the grieving process?
• What do agencies sometimes do to make it worse for a first responder’s family?
• What advice do you have for the family regarding media coverage?
• How should a family deal with the ongoing aftermath?
• Should the family allow footage of the incident to be used as a training film?
• Should the family listen to the last radio transmission of the deceased?
• How should the family prepare for LODD anniversaries?
• How much help should colleagues offer?
• What advice do you have for management?
• What about unhappy or separated families? 

Response to Mass Shooting Events. Mass shooting events are becoming more common; the response to them involves every public safety agency for miles around. This program details the actions firefighters and EMS agencies can take to prepare themselves before and after this all-too-likely event occurs. Presented by August Vernon, the program covers the following:

• Multiagency planning and preparation.
• Creating a prevention environment.
• Command, command post, and crowd-control issues.
• An overview of the tactics with which agencies should be familiar. 

A New Way to Lift. James Shaw presents this video seminar, based on Tai Chi principles and other eastern disciplines as well as the sound biomechanic principles, on lifting heavy objects from the odd positions that firefighters encounter every day. The seminar covers the following:

• Standing correctly.
• Three ways to lift effectively.
• Making your bones—not your muscles—do the work. 

This proven approach is quite different from the “lift with your legs” approach that most of us have been taught; it works well in confined spaces whereas that approach sometimes doesn’t.

When a Child Dies on a Call. This program is presented by Dr. Anne Bisek, a mental health professional with the San Mateo (CA) Critical Incident Stress Debriefing team; a psychologist practicing in Fremont, California; and a debriefer for the California Highway Patrol. Dr. Bisek answers the following questions and others:

• What makes a child’s death different from other deaths?
• What happens to first responders when a child dies on a call?
• Why do different responders react differently to a child’s death?
• How can a first responder identify with the victim, someone else on the scene, or even a perpetrator?
• What are the unhealthy ways to respond to a child’s death?
• What are some productive things to do?
• Is there something wrong with not feeling affected?
• Can we prepare for such a call?
• How long do the effects last? 

When to Seek Therapy. Dr. Anne Bisek goes in depth on the topic of therapy. Most public safety professionals have been given very little information on this subject beyond an occasional brochure. Bisek discusses questions she has found that first responders often have about seeking therapy, which include the following:

• How do we know when it’s time to see a professional?
• How do I find the right therapist?
• Does the therapist need to be a (or a former) public safety professional?
• Is it always post-traumatic stress disorder from which first responders suffer?
• How might I be making it worse for myself?
• Does therapy really work? 

Evidence Preservation. This program addresses all aspects of preserving evidence at fire, medical, and rescue scenes. It also discusses the following:

• The types of evidence that first responders will likely encounter and how to preserve it for law enforcement.
• Putting evidence preservation into proper context for firefighters, medics, and search and rescue personnel as they arrive on scene, at which doing their job is always the first priority.
• Several examples of first responders preserving evidence in cases where their action made a difference to the subsequent investigation. 

Bombs, Bomb Response, and Suicide Bombers. This training program is at the practical level for frontline responders; it does not veer off into more academic areas. The program was reviewed by a technical review committee consisting of experts in homeland security, police special operations, and the fire service nationwide. It includes more than a dozen open-source documents full of information on handling all aspects of this kind of event, from communications to hazmat to tactics. The program provides the following:

• An overview of explosives and bombs, providing various examples of each.
• Informs public safety personnel on what to look for on calls to recognize bombs and their precursors.
• Ways in which agencies can respond to bomb threats and bombing incidents.
• Ways to interdict suicide bombers and minimize loss of life. 

Additionally, several shorter programs are also available from FSF.

Are these programs any good? The “Bombs, Bomb Response, and Suicide Bombers” program is included in the Federal Aviation Administration’s official training catalog. The “Response to Mass Shooting Events” program was reviewed by the Department of Homeland Security’s Emergency Management and Response Information Sharing and Analysis Center’s November 12, 2009, INFOGRAM. Additionally, Fire Engineering Editor In Chief Bobby Halton has said, “FSF’s programs are as valuable as many commercially available ones, filled with great content, thought-provoking commentary, and life-saving information. All the productions are professionally rendered by nationally recognized industry professionals. I highly recommend firefighters, law enforcement, and all public safety professionals make good use of these materials.” The FSF adds several new programs each year; they are all free to download. Check the FSF YouTube page for new programs.

RALPH MROZ is the president of the Firefighters Support Foundation.