Top Free Firefighter Training Resources for Fire Instructors

By William Off

Despite having 15-plus years of experience as a member of the fire service, I have only just discovered all the free firefighter training opportunities and drill that are available. I don’t feel that they were kept from me intentionally, but I feel that we are doing a huge disservice by not informing our members of these opportunities. The most amazing part of these trainings are that a large majority are free. There is no cost to the firefighter, the company, or the municipality—their training budgets would not be affected. I compiled a list of educational opportunities that are just a click away online. Education and knowledge are the key to being able to perform at any level, whether it be as a firefighter, officer, instructor, or fire chief.

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I work in New Jersey, so one of the first sites I found was New Jersey Division of Fire Safety webpage, https://nj.gov/dca/divisions/dfs. If you go to the publications page, it will bring you to line-of-duty death (LODD) and serious injuries section. There are reports from the state investigation. They start off with an executive summary of what occurred, which is beneficial because the factors and remedies are broken down for the reader. The remedies explain everything the Division of Fire Safety recommends that may have prevented the incident from occurring. If you as a firefighter or company officer review these remedies: you may use their key points when having a company drill or training.

At a national level, another resource are the NIOSH reports, on the CDC website, https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/default.html. They also have reports with the factors that cause the emergency and recommendations that could help avoid these incidents. The NIOSH page is much more current and has reports for across the country. These are a great opportunity for knowledge of what can happen and how you can prepare for those emergencies.

Firefighters often work closely with the Office of Emergency Management. On the webpage training.fema.gov, there are many OEM certifications you may take, all for free. The one that really stuck put to me is the Professional Developmental Series Certificate. It is a series of courses that could also be very beneficial for a firefighter or an aspiring officer. I feel these are a great starter for aspiring or new officers to help them with the tasks they will face in the future.

Professional Developmental Series Certification includes:

1. IS-120 An Introduction to Exercises
2. IS-230 Fundamentals of Emergency Management
3. IS-235 Emergency Planning
4. IS-240 Leadership and Influence
5. IS-241 Decision Making and Problem Solving
6. IS-242 Effective Communication
7. IS-244 Developing and Managing Volunteers

These seven short courses are a self-study program. There are many other courses, once again at no cost. There is a registration section that will give you a SID number that you will enter when taking the tests for your certifications. There are hundreds of courses to take, classroom and online.

An additional resource offered by FEMA is the National Fire Academy which can be found through their main website, usfa.fema.gov. They currently host 41 courses to apply to and attend. Some of the courses I’d like to highlight are for firefighter and officer development are as follows:

1. Q0297 Awareness of Command and Control Decision Making at Multialarm Incidents
2. Q0133 Firefighter Safety: Calling the Mayday
3. Q0751 Principles of Building Construction
4. Q0426 Introduction to Fire and EMS Supervision and Management
5. Q0368 Introduction to Fire Behavior in a Single-Family Dwelling
6. Q0880 Management Tools for Emergency Services Leaders
7. Q0843 Introduction to Community Risk Assessment

Based in New Jersey, another excellent training resource is keanfiresafety.com. Firefighters can make an account using their firefighter id number and registration. They have courses that are web-based and those that are instructor led and in person. Most of these courses are designed to obtain continuing education credits for inspector, instructor and fire official. These courses can range from half a day to multiple days. The instructors and presenters are from all over the country. Some of the classes are as follows:

1. We’re Only Human: Understanding Fireground Behavior, Deputy Chief Thomas Dunne, Fire Department of New York (FDNY)
2. Think Like an Incident Commander, Deputy Chief Thomas Dunne, FDNY
3. First Due Concerns for the Initial Incident Commander, Chief Moran MA. And Lt. Lewis Passiac.
4. Fire Size Up, Capt. Disbrow and Battalion Chief Seeburger Hudson County, Bayonne FD
5. Principles of Dynamic Leadership, Capt. Disbrow and Battalion Chief Seeburger Hudson County, Bayonne FD

There is often a stigma on using YouTube for training in the fire service. In my opinion, there are ways of using YouTube to your advantage as a firefighter or officer. If you are researching information on training or a drill, first refer to your department’s standard operating guidelines. The department I was with used the trifold lay in the cross-lay. After reviewing multiple examples of trifold lay line pulls, another captain and I performed each of them ourselves. We determined the two proficient ways and used them in our drills. Do some research and speak to your training officer before you attempt using what you see online, as some methods may not be approved for your department.

Some of my personal favorite YouTube channels to watch are FDIC and Fire Engineering. They offer the keynote speakers from FDIC to multiple leaders in our industry doing tabletop discussions on hot topics. There are also sections in Fire Engineering’s Training Minutes that I have watched, performed, explained, and taught to my firefighters, and I have had firefighters tell me when they used these skills on actual calls. Additionally, once exposed to different speakers, you can go down that rabbit hole and search out those that inspired you. I have spent hundreds of hours watching, learning, and listening.

My final example of free online education are seminars, many of which can be found on YouTube. For instance, multiple local departments have had Frank Viscuso, FDIC International keynoters and best-selling author of the book Step Up and Lead. The first time I heard him speak was a few years ago at a neighboring fire department. I was inspired by his leadership values. I then found out that he was speaking again about an hour away a couple of weeks later. I reached out and was able to take a new lieutenant to experience Chief Viscuso’s presentation. That new officer was very inspired and thanked me for introducing him to that source of knowledge. I have attended Chief Viscuso’s presentations two more times since then.

FDIC Keynote Speaker examples on YouTube:

FDIC 2013: The Fireman’s Standard, Battalion Chief Michael Walker, Oklahoma City (OK) Fire Department

Frank Viscuso: It’s Time to Step Up

Mike Dugan: Why Are We Here?, Captain Mike Dugan, FDNY

2009 FDIC “Culture Of Extinguishment” Address, Lieutenant Ray McCormack, FDNY

FDIC International 2019: Paul Combs, Lieutenant Paul Combs, Bryan (OH) Fire Department

Fire Engineering videos on YouTube:

The Can, Training Minutes, Lieutenant Mike Ciampo, FDNY

Vent-Enter-Search, Training Minutes, Lieutenant Mike Ciampo, FDNY

Engine Company Operations: Fire Wrapping and Sweeping, Lieutenant Ray McCormack FDNY

The Punch Technique, Training Minutes, Lieutenant Mike Ciampo, FDNY

The Company Officer and Firefighter Training, Tabletop

Making Company-Level Training Impactful, Tabletop

There are multiple sources to gain knowledge, both online and in person. Please do not just use one source for obtaining new information. Search for it. Check local departments for seminars and trainings. I first learned the value of these in-person trainings during my fire instructor class. The instructor had asked a question and we all started to discuss different calls and the way the calls were handled. I noticed the instructor sat down at his desk as we all kept shooting ideas and telling stories of the different calls we had. After about 15 minutes, he stood up and said: “Guys, did you see what you just did there?” We all looked at each other. He told us that it was a lesson for all of us to hear different ways of doing things from different departments. By meeting in person, we were able to learn from each other and gain knowledge from outside our own departments bubble. Don’t just listen to the superficial message, but understand how the message is being conveyed in its entirety.

William Off has been in the fire service for more than 15 years and works as a nurse at Virtua Mt. Holly Rehab. He began his career with the Hammonton (NJ) Fire Department and is a firefighter with Winslow Township Fire Department and Winslow Office of Emergency Management (OEM). He has served as an emergency medical technician in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and in addition to his New Jersey practical nursing license holds a number of certifications in fire, EMS, and OEM.