BY EDDIE DAVES
Regardless of how thorough a department’s training program may be, it can never be complete without a comprehensive driver training program. The Gwinnett County (GA) Department of Fire and Emergency Services recognized this in the very early 1990s. In 1991, Lieutenant Jeff Rice, an instructor with the Gwinnett Fire Academy, implemented what would eventually become one of the most comprehensive driver training programs in the fire service.
 (1) Pump evolutions progress from simple one- or two-line operations to multiple hoselines, master streams, and high-rise operations. (Photos by Kirk Corsello.) |
The initial Relief Driver program consisted of a weeklong classroom session and one additional week of pump operations and driver training. Students were required to successfully complete the course prior to operating fire apparatus under emergency response conditions. This would set the stage for a program that would be revised and upgraded constantly over the next several years.
 (2) Students learn first-hand about the advantages of using large-diameter hose. |
In recent years, significant changes have been made to the overall driver training program. New firefighters are required to successfully complete an Emergency Vehicle Operations course within their first year of employment. This is a requirement for driving any of the 17 ambulances the department operates. On or near an employee’s first year of service, the employee receives a Relief Driver study packet from the driver training coordinator. The employee then has one additional year to prepare for and complete the prerequisites for acceptance into the program. To be accepted into the program, each employee must have attained Firefighter II status, logged a minimum of 150 miles of supervised driver training, completed 10 hours of documented pump operations training, and logged five hours of classroom study of fireground hydraulics.
 (3) Extremely tight and confined areas of the driving course simulate maneuvering around parked cars, stopped vehicles, and other obstacles. |
Approximately 60 days prior to the start of class, each student is required to pass a written prerequisite exam relative to materials found in the study packet received on the employee’s first anniversary with the department.
 (4) Traveling uphill while negotiating a curve gives students additional experience in handling apparatus. |
Once classes begin, each student is assigned to the Fire Academy on the basis of an eight-hour workday. This allows students to concentrate solely on the course materials during the 160-hour class. With a maximum class size of nine students, each is ensured an adequate amount of hands-on instruction. The first week of class is fast paced and covers vehicle operations, departmental driving standard operating procedures (SOPs), positioning apparatus, pump theory, familiarization and features, motor maintenance, and fire service hydraulics. Homework assignment study sheets are required to be completed on all subjects covered during the classroom sessions.
 (5) A tight 250-foot straight-line exercise at 35 to 40 mph helps students realize the dimensions of their apparatus. |
Weeks 2 and 3 are dedicated to practical application (hands-on activities). Each morning students begin their day by performing daily operations and maintenance checkouts on assigned apparatus. The remainder of the day is spent training on the Academy’s seven-tenths-mile cone course and participating in comprehensive pump operations.
 (6) Emphasis is placed on skill, not speed. |
Repetition in both areas has been the overwhelming positive factor in the program. Within a few short days, students see their skills and abilities improving drastically. Pump operations are initially very basic procedures. Each time a student participates in pump operations, the scenarios become increasingly more difficult and complex.
 (7) Extensive backing maneuvers sharpen students� skills. Most minor accidents involving fire apparatus are caused by a lack of backing skills. |
After the first week of pump operations, a student begins to realize that a tremendous amount of water can be pumped if the water supply is available. During the course of the practical pump scenarios, students are exposed to practically every situation they could expect to encounter on a fire scene, from minimal handline operations to master streams and relay pumping evolutions. Maintaining a constant pressure and flow rate is not only stressed as important but is also required for successful completion of the course. Additionally, one entire day is set aside for over-the-road evaluations of students’ handling abilities on each type of pumping apparatus. The Fire Academy driving course exceeds all requirements set forth in NFPA 1002, Standard on Apparatus Driver/Operator Professional Qualification (2003). We have taken the minimum requirements and expanded them substantially by adding our own unique driving obstacles and extensive backing procedures.
 (8) Some areas of the driving course are only four inches wider than the width of the apparatus tires (two inches on each side of the truck). |
During the final driving test, the Academy cone course must be driven in less than eight minutes with no more than six infractions. With 285 cones in place, this is not easy. As stressful as it may sound, most students ARE successful during the final testing phase. Those who aren’t must come back for the class at a later date. Each student is also required to pass a final pumping evaluation with a score of no less than 80 percent. The final scenario consists of a variety of hoselines that could very well be required on any working fire. Students are required to pass a final written exam that covers all the classroom subjects. Additionally, written tests are administered for each type of apparatus for which they will gain certification as well as departmental driving SOPs.
 (9) Operating fire apparatus in close confines can be very stressful even in a training environment. Students are often surprised at how quickly their driving skills improve. |
The Fire Academy portion of the class is completed in three weeks; students are given station assignments during the fourth week. Each student travels to a different station daily over the course of the week and functions as a relief driver; a fire engineer evaluates performance. At the end of week 4, each student who has received five satisfactory evaluations is given Relief Driver status.
Another area of the driver training program that has been extremely successful is the battalion apparatus trainer program. Implemented in July 2003, it enables personnel to obtain certifications on aerials and specialty apparatus while remaining within their assigned battalion. At the present time, 32 veteran relief drivers, fire engineers, and company officers have completed the battalion apparatus trainer class. These veterans administer testing for additional certifications. Certification requirements include written testing related to the apparatus orientation manual, the cone course, and over-the-road evaluations. Personnel are not allowed to operate a vehicle on an emergency response until they have a valid certification for that vehicle. Each type of apparatus operated by the department requires its own certification. All certifications are maintained on a computer database, which is continually updated.
Through the years, the credibility of the driver training program has increased to overwhelming proportions. Personnel are now required to obtain Relief Driver status prior to sitting for any promotional exam. We often have a waiting list of firefighters desiring to attend the class. Our personnel recognize that even though they receive very comprehensive driver training, they are ultimately responsible for safe vehicle operations. We are fortunate to have an accident rate well below the norm for departments of comparable size.
The fact that the department’s upper management has essentially “bought into” the program and supports it fully has made our entire driver training program even more successful. I feel we have the best of both worlds here when it comes to driver training. The partnership is alive and well in Gwinnett County; as a result, our personnel and the public are much safer. ■
■ EDDIE DAVES, a 24-year veteran of the Gwinnett County Department of Fire & Emergency Services, Dacula, Georgia, is training officer and has coordinated the driver training program for 10 years.
(3) Extremely tight and confined areas of the driving course simulate maneuvering around parked cars, stopped vehicles, and other obstacles. (4) Traveling uphill while negotiating a curve gives students additional experience in handling apparatus. (5) A tight 250-foot straight-line exercise at 35 to 40 mph helps students realize the dimensions of their apparatus. (6) Emphasis is placed on skill, not speed. (7) Extensive backing maneuvers sharpen students’ skills. Most minor accidents involving fire apparatus are caused by a lack of backing skills. (8) Some areas of the driving course are only four inches wider than the width of the apparatus tires (two inches on each side of the truck). (9) Operating fire apparatus in close confines can be very stressful even in a training environment. Students are often surprised at how quickly their driving skills improve.
