BY KEVIN DIAMOND
One of the top goals of any fire department should be the development of a quality training program. Look at your department as a whole and decide what has been done in the past and what the department wants to invest in in the future.
An organization must do three things to develop its program: assess the needs and weaknesses of the department; develop a cadre of department instructors who want to impart knowledge and skills to the other members; and implement the training in a realistic manner and think about the quality, not the quantity, of the training the department receives.
NEEDS ASSESSMENT
To truly improve your department’s training program, take an honest look at its needs. Ask each member what type of training or what topics they would like in the upcoming year’s classes. Also, watch the members during actual incidents and look for areas that need improvement. Have a training officer list these areas on a sheet of paper in order of organizational importance.
For example, a rural department might want training in high-rise tactics but there are no buildings higher than three stories in its jurisdiction. Although members might request this training, such a request may receive lower priority over other areas, such as wildland urban interface training or coordinated training (with other rural departments on which it relies for automatic or mutual aid).
Regardless, the needs assessment is a “jumping off” point to get the train out of the station. It is a great tool to get ideas, but you should also take a good look at your organization in action to identify any areas that need improvement.
MOTIVATED PARTICIPANTS
A cadre of instructors can make or break the program. In 2½ years as one of my department’s shift training officers, I recruited the people who would work with me. This was important, because I selected people who had a love of training, allowing me to conduct many successful drills and classes for my shift. I also had a large cross section of fire service experience in my classes. One of my crew members had more than 20 years of experience; another had around five years of experience. This helped me understand what was important to different groups. Each member had important skills to bring to the training environment, and everyone put in long days. We developed some great ideas for drills and classes. I could not have completed half the amount of training done on my shift without them. After these drills and classes, our crew received many positive comments from everyone involved.
Aside from finding motivated instructors, you must have an idea of what motivates the people you will be training. Most people’s motivation is internal and, therefore, not obvious to the instructor. But there are common motivators that all firefighters possess.
Most people are “hands on,” so don’t put them in a class for three to four hours watching videos.
Use a task-oriented challenge to work for a goal. Senior members will have different motivators than someone fresh off probation. Your goal as a training officer is to look closely at each group and find something that will make them attend your events.
Develop the training classes and drills. I have always believed in the quality, not quantity, of the training. I have conducted company-level drills that lasted from five minutes to four hours. Each had a specific purpose or goal to achieve.
TRAINING GOAL
Each drill must have a specific goal. As a firefighter, I was not excited when the captain said we would be heading to the training tower to pull hose. At the tower, the only goal we achieved was pulling the hose off the engine, running about 200 feet, and flowing water. The training must motivate the student to want to be at the exercise and learn. Usually, I would find city areas to perform our drills. This would take more work than sending crews to the tower, but it also had them working in the environment where most of their emergencies occurred.
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For example, I conducted an “over-the-side” drill for each company, consisting of each crew’s putting together a rope system to get the paramedics over the cliff to the patient’s side. Normally, once the paramedics reached the patient, they would leave the drill and not be involved in the other portions of the rope rescue. For this drill, once the paramedics reached the patient, they were met with a patient that had specific signs and symptoms and had to be treated accordingly. This allowed their involvement in the drill even though they were 150 feet down the hill.
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We also conducted an obstacle course-style (see photos) drill that had specific tasks for each crew member. The company officer had to observe a simulated fire and give an accurate report of conditions as spelled out in our standard operating procedures. The engineer had to drive through cones and solve hydraulic problems while the firefighters had to throw a ladder, use their buddy-breathing system, and manipulate the radio on different frequencies. The crew also had to hit a target 200 feet away with the deck gun. This required a lot of teamwork to see and hit the target. The crew with the fastest time received a gift certificate and bragging rights until the next drill. The following month, I conducted a drill that focused on truck company operations. These are just a few examples of drills I have conducted, but each one had a specific goal and each member played an active role in the operation.
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Training is necessary for every organization to maintain proficiency and reduce injuries. Each member plays an active role in learning new skills and polishing old ones. The goal of the training officer is to put on quality training that meets the needs of the organization and has the department asking for more. Find out what your members need, recruit a solid group of instructors, and you will have a program that should meet the training standards for your department. The examples outlined above represent my ideas of how to achieve that goal, but always remember that each department is different and that what might work for one might not work for the other.
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KEVIN DIAMOND is a 19-year fire service veteran. He has served 17 years with the Costa Mesa (CA) Fire Department and has been a fire captain and an arson investigator for the past seven years. He teaches EMT and fire technology and has a bachelor’s degree in vocational education.
