By THOMAS J. GARRITY
Volunteer chiefs are always looking for new ways to attract and retain members, which is still as challenging as ever. The Montgomery County (PA) Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) recently voted to approve an initiative that may help do both.
The mission of the Montgomery County LEPC is to prepare and coordinate a chemical safety program for the county. One way the LEPC carries out its mission is to support the Montgomery County Hazardous Materials Response Team (HMRT). Several members of the LEPC are also members of the HMRT, which responds from the Montgomery County Public Safety Campus. Two members are hazardous materials instructors at the Montgomery County Fire Academy (MCFA), also located at the Public Safety Campus, and one of those is also a part-time hazmat instructor at the Montgomery County Community College (MCCC). So, LEPC members are involved not only in overseeing hazmat safety programs but also in response, training, and education and, therefore, work closely with MCFA and MCCC program administrators.
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| (1) Members of the Montgomery County Hazardous Materials Unit training at the Center for National Response located in Kanawha County, West Virginia. (Photo by Richard Rowley.) |
The HMRT is the responsibility of the HMRT program administrator, who also serves as the HMRT chief. The HMRT relies on volunteer firefighters to staff the unit. The members of the unit are all trained firefighters and hazmat technicians. Achieving this level of training is no easy task for volunteer firefighters trying to balance the responsibilities of family, career, fire company, and HMRT.
The MCCC and MCFA have had a decade-old agreement to work together to train firefighters. The MCCC approves fire training courses and funds and administers the salaries of the MCFA’s part-time instructors. To help the MCCC increase and retain enrollment in the fire science program, the MCFA allows the MCCC to offer fire science courses at the MCFA. Considering that Montgomery County firefighters are familiar with the MCFA, it was thought that firefighters would be more inclined to continue their education in fire science if core courses were offered at the MCFA.
It is a challenging time in Pennsylvania for educational training agencies that conduct fire and hazmat training. This is especially true for training programs that are affiliated with community colleges, such as the MCFA. The Pennsylvania Department of Education no longer specifically reimburses community colleges for firefighter training. Fire training programs are now seen as a loss by some colleges, and most are looking for increased training fees and/or economies in delivering training programs.
Because of the existing partnership between the MCFA, the MCCC, and members of the LEPC, it was decided that, rather than run the series of training programs at the MCFA to train a new member for the HMRT, the Montgomery County HMRT would direct the new member to take the three-credit hazardous materials MCCC course offered at the MCFA. This three-credit course, required as part of the fire science curriculum, provides the didactic material needed to test to the level of hazardous materials technician. What the course doesn’t provide is hands-on training. The MCFA agreed to provide more than 30 hours of training that requires students to work in teams–fully encapsulated–using meters and tools in situations that simulate a real hazmat incident. Once students have completed this training, the MCFA will provide the opportunity for the students to test for hazardous material technician certification. Finally, the LEPC agreed to reimburse the firefighter for the course tuition, provided the firefighter passes the course and agrees to serve on the HMRT.
This arrangement is a win-win situation for all concerned. The students not only receive training, but they also earn college credits at a regionally accredited institution of higher learning, which they can apply to their degree in fire science. The HMRT now has a training/educational incentive it can use for recruitment, and the MCFA can more efficiently use its resources for firefighter training. With cooperation and communication, the LEPC, the MCFA, and the MCCC are working together to cost effectively educate and train their HMRT.
THOMAS J. GARRITY is the deputy director of fire programs for Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He retired as a deputy chief from the Philadelphia (PA) Fire Department in 2010 after 36 years of service. Garrity has a master of science degree in public safety administration from St. Joseph’s University and is a graduate of the Executive Fire Officer Program. He is also the part-time coordinator of the fire science and public safety administration program at Holy Family University.
