Pre Conference Workshop
Monday, April 20, 1:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. 236-237
“How Firefighters Learn: How Fire Instructors Should Teach Them.”
Brian Crandall: “How we train and lead firefighters influences our present and our future.”
A “remarkable, broad cross-section of the fire service and of the United States,” is what one finds at FDIC International, according to Fire Chief (Ret.) Brian Crandall, of the Rae and Sourdough (MT) Fire Department. He has attended conference for more than 25 years, and will be presenting “How Firefighters Learn: How Fire Instructors Should Teach Them,” on Monday, April 20, 1:30 pm-5:30 p.m. Rooms 236-237.
An FDIC presenter for many years, Crandall says the first time his presentation was accepted, he felt “honored, excited, humbled, nervous, and pumped–all at the same time!”
Regarding his workshop, he says how instructors and supervisors train and lead firefighters influences our present and our future.
“Everything–from firefighter safety to the support of the public (our customer and our source of funding)–rides on the capability of firefighter to perform when the customer calls.” Evidence-based instruction and supervision methods are used to improve firefighter performance, our service to our community, and the morale among our members.
“The more these methods are used in the street, the more evidence there is that the stuff works, and at little to no cost,” Crandall says.
The most effective methods Crandall presents are as follows:
- Using best work practices developed through thoughtful critiques, research, and actual experience in the street.
- Repeated training on the best work practices thus developed.
- Feedback coaching, in which the trainee is coached to analyze and correct his performance.
- Performance management using standard operating procedures developed and refined based on the preceding three items.
“These methods improve performance for everyone, everywhere, all the time. Improving firefighter performance is inspiring to me,” Crandall concluded.
