Preplan for New-Member Training

Preplan for New-Member Training

TRAINING

The fire service is, by nature, an organization that requires its members to undergo constant change (training) and practice (drilling).

Planning your next drill or training class? If any new members have joined your department recently, this might be a good time to stop and consider the special needs of these individuals.

The fire service is, by nature, an organization that requires its members to undergo constant change (training) and practice (drilling). It is sometimes difficult to separate these tasks, especially in volunteer departments where there might be just one night per month set aside for instruction. Because we are trying to get the most out of our training/drilling night, the tendency is to present material needed by the majority of the members. It can be difficult to give special attention to the new people.

Experienced members can easily handle small changes in routine. The explanation of new radio procedures, converting to large-diameter hose, or replacing demand self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) with positive pressure breathing apparatus can be done on a per shift or per drill basis. Since almost all the people involved have had previous experience on which to build, these changes should be implemented with no problems.

It becomes more difficult to obtain the desired performance (change) if the individual has little practical experience or if the amount of material to be covered is large. The ideal solution is for every department to have an orientation program for new members. A printed set of notes covering the history of the department, apparatus inventory, glossary of firefighting terms, etc., could help to convey basic information without requiring a classroom location. Going back to basics can also help uncover weak spots in the knowledge of experienced members.

Unfortunately, some departments feel that new members will have to learn the ropes by just “hanging around.” And there are always those people who feel better if they know what a Halligan tool is and the next person doesn’t. A few members might try to keep all the information to themselves, thinking that this will make their jobs more secure. After all, if only some people know how to operate new equipment they feel pretty important and special, but probably at the expense of department effectiveness.

Mediumand large-sized departments are likely to be well equipped for training new firefighters. The true, small department probably depends on state or county training classes for its core of firefighter education.

Within the department, an officer is assigned the training and drilling function. The job is enormous: new-member training, current-member training, drilling, mutual aid. Done properly, each task will take hours of preparation for each hour of actual instruction.

Implementing the training program

How do we give each job the time and attention it deserves? First, break it up into workable pieces, then put it back together so that it works as an integrated plan:

1. Hold regularly scheduled meetings for the appropriate officers of your department to define and review standard operating procedures (SOPs) (drilling) and new material (training).
2. Write lesson plans to ensure uniformity and consistancy.
3. Prepare special training materials for a new-member orientation program. This should include: written material, videotapes, photographs, 35 mm slides, etc.
4. Locate the best teacher in your department to act as the new-member training officer. Remember that the individual with the best teaching skills often is not your best firefighter or a current line officer. Work with this person to develop a new-member orientation course under the direction of the regular training officer.
5. Make the orientation program modular so that it can be taught frequently if not immediately upon new-member acceptance (even if there is only one student involved).
6. Coordinate and integrate material taught by state and local fire schools into your department’s operation. After an individual returns from any fire school, all we have is a trained individual. It is up to the officers of the department to turn individuals into firefighting teams. This process requires substantially more work in the volunteer sector where every call involves a different manpower distribution, but it can be done.
7. Use every opportunity to teach in a non-emergency environment. Preventive maintenence work parties provide a good opportunity to go over equipment in detail.
8. Consider holding special apparatus training sessions for new members, but keep the number of students small. Pump operation classes, especially, should be kept very small because if there is a long wait to operate the pump, the members tend to get bored and not return for future sessions.
9. Set your standards high. Everyone will benefit from a welltrained, well-drilled department, including (especially) the firefighters.
10. Be prepared to lose some members as you increase the training and drilling demands. It’s true that some would have made good firefighters. But good firefighters today need a staggering amount of technical and practical skills. It’s hard to think of another job in which the span of duties and responsibilities might run from dealing with a chemical hazard to tying the right knot in below freezing temperatures.
11. Issue a departmental newsletter if possible, but once you do, make sure it comes out on a regular schedule. This is a great way to keep members up-to-date since it offers the opportunity to distribute schedules, advise of equipment changes, etc. But, remember that a newsletter can’t replace drills and training as learning devices.

Topics covered in training program

How long should a new-member orientation program run? The following outline describes a series of classes that takes six months to complete. When members finish this sequence they then join the other members of the department and drill under the direction of the training officer.

Break e ach job up into workable pieces, then put it back together so that it works as an integrated plan.

1. Essentials of Firemanship I covers: basics of combustion; extinguishers; protective clothing; common sense on the fireground; SCBA; search patterns for buildings; use of ropes.
2. Essentials of Firemanship II covers: tools and equipment; hose types, sizes and uses; foam types and uses; wet water; ventilation; radio techniques; pumper operation.
3. Ventilation and Forcible Entry covers: Why ventilate? This includes: symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning; stages of fire development; why water works well putting out most fires (latent heat of vaporization); features of building construction; evaluation; size up.

The course also covers: Ventilate now? Ventilate where? Type of ventilation? Providing fire control, rescue, firefighting, and ventilation trade-offs; why ventilation sometimes fails; exposure hazards from ventilation; direct and indirect fog application.

The forcible entry aspects include: cutting tools; prying and forcing tools; lock pullers; windows and doors (tempered-glass, plate-glass, wood, steel).

4. Pump Operation I covers: introduction to driver skills; truck mechanics and fundamentals of a centrifugal pump; gauges; piping; setting up the truck; getting ready to pump.
5. Pump Operation II covers: normal readings on the gauges; friction loss calculations; rules of thumb; nozzle pressures; layout problems; SOP for operation from booster tank, relay (or hydrant), and drafting; setting the governor and pressure relief valve.
6. Evolutions.

Try a new member orientation program and see how everyone will benefit: the public, the new member, the chief, and the department.