The Round Table
departments
Training is, or should be, an integral part of a fire department operation. Understandably, training is more difficult to accomplish in a volunteer department, as opposed to a paid, because of the limited time available to a volunteer who has a regular job.
With this in mind, what regular training schedule have you established? Does it include basic training for new members? And, are the training classes well attended?
C.J. Powell, Chief, Milton, N.C.: We have two meetings a month and have training every time we meet. During training for a new member we start with how to drive trucks and operate pumps. Next is hose and nozzle training. They train only along with old members.
We have two county-wide fire schools each year. Training classes are well attended.
As volunteers, our time is limited for training because everyone has a job. However, we try to get all the training we can. We think a well trained department makes a good department.
George Wahler, Chief, Wendell, Idaho: Volunteers train once every two weeks in the summer and every week in the winter. New members train every week for the first six weeks. Winter training is done in conjunction with the Idaho State Fire Service Training. The classes are taught by a paid professional fireman.
We have 22 volunteer firemen. Drill attendence averages between 10 and 15 firemen per drill.
Bob Artus, Chief, Oakland, N.J.: I am very proud to be chief of a 54-man, twocompany department and equally proud of their abilities to perform. We are fortunate to be only four miles from the Bergen County Police and Fire Academy who provide us with good classroom programs. However, the fire ground program does need improving. I am fortunate to have as a member of the department an instructor at the academy, who is helpful at drills.
It is compulsory for all new members to attend the basic firemenship course at the academy and, in the near future, all must attend company training. We also have our own training program. The material covered is flexible and can be changed to handle problems as they may arise.
A file is kept on each member’s performance, training, and education. I am happy to say, so far this year, I have had from two to 12 men each week attending various courses at the academy. Some courses attended were: Basic Training, Company Officer Training, Flammable Liquids and Hazardous Material Program sponsored by the N.B.V.F. I am looking forward to having approximately eight men attend the New Jersey State Fire School for a hands on weekend of training.
Zack Turner, Chief, Reedsport, Or.: We use the IFSTA 201 “Fire Service Practices for Volunteer Fire Departments,” and other IFSTA manuals. These provide a good line to follow.
Our department, like most departments, has only an hour per week for training. We use the whole hour for such. We don’t waste the volunteers’ time with cleaning the fire hall or equipment cleaning. All of this is done by the one full-time fireman that is employed as a fire marshal.
We go through department procedures and some basic training with new members.
We have a college close by that is set up for fire science training, and we all try to take quarterly training classes through the school.
Lionel Hazard, Chief, Red Oak, Texas: We are a small volunteer fire department, only 17 members, and we meet twice monthly. Since Texas started the certification program, we have started an active training program. We are fortunate and have two state certified training officers in our department. Attendance is between 75 and 80 percent, which I feel is good for a volunteer department. We use the basic plan adopted by our state for the number of hours under each subject and this year we have started some members toward the intermediate and advanced stages of certification. New members are included in this training as they join.
Some of our members have from six hours on up to over 400 hours and others somewhere in between. New members receive basic training and fall into the regular training program as they become members.
Our members realize the benefits of this training program and have made it the success it is. We really have not encountered any difficulty in setting up this program, and we have had a better turnout of members at these sessions since it was started.
Tom Hopkins, Chief, Bonners Ferry, Idaho: We meet every Monday and attendance is about 75 percent of the department. We have no set training schedule, but do pick an exercise, such as hose laying, ladder drill, pumping, etc. We concentrate on one phase of training each week, or do maintenance work on our trucks, or clean the fire station. In the winter time we do mostly class room work.
Carl Wegner, Chief, Grafton, Wis.: Our volunteer department has full department practices every other Thursday of the month. Our members must make 16 of these practices per year. We have Saturday practice once a month to help those who can’t make the 16 rehearsals. The engineers train every Tuesday. New volunteers must complete the basic fire fighter course during their probationary one year period.
I feel we are fortunate in that all our practices are well attended.
Wister H. Dougherty, Chief, Cape May, N.J.: Here in the city of Cape May, we have a paid department and a volunteer department. The paid department mainly involves men who drive the apparatus, commonly called chauffeurs. The actual fire fighting is done by the volunteers.
My responsibility, as volunteer chief, is to see that both departments are trained. Unfortunately, it is not always an easy task. To some degree, it is understandable, the paid men resent authority coming from a volunteer. Consequently, while I receive probably 90 percent cooperation from the volunteers at all drills, the paid men’s participation would have to be measured between a range of 60 to a high of 75 percent. Therefore, this does affect the overall efficiency of the department.
We have, by New Jersey State requirements, imposed on us through the New Jersey Firemen’s Association, a minimum of nine regular drills a year. Naturally, we meet this quota with no problem. We also have at least 10 additional drills which we classify as “specials.”
Basic training is done by individual attention from myself or the assistant chief to all new members. While there is no mandatory requirement, we request new members try to attend basic fire school which is sponsored by the Cape May County Firemen’s Association.
Tradition has been a vary important part of our fire department over the last 100 years and consequently, fire fighting is taken very seriously. The result is a department which has a reputation as being one of the best of its size in the entire state.
The recent fire at the Windsor Hotel, a famous national historic landmark, was a fine example of the dedication of the men in the department as a major conflagration was averted by a series of preplanned drills. Preplanning is number one priority in this department.
Peter G. Sarles, Chief, Mountain Springs Volunteer Fire Dept., Las Vegas, Nev.: The only way that I can get any sort Qf attendance for training sessions is to hold them in conjunction with our regular monthly meeting. I’ve tried all sorts of other times and days with very poor results.
We have a small department, approximately 20 to 25 men at a meeting, so we keep the business meeting to the point. Then we’ll spend at least an hour on training. This could be either films, practical work or a guest speaker. We have been through the Civil Defense Radiological Monitoring Course, etc. The county helps out with films and plans.
The engineer will spend time with new members on truck operation and basic procedures.
R.J. Milner, Chief, Williston, N.D.: We hold training drills once a month during the winter and twice a month in the summer. These drills last about three hours. We try to cover all phases of fire fighting in our outdoor drills, and work with all of out equipment. New men are given extra training in basics.
Winter drills include pre-planning, mask work and viewing training films.
Attendance at all drills is mandatory, unless the men are working at their regular jobs, or are out of town at the time.
The men enjoy the drills and take an active part in them. We try to make it interesting by having contests. Making up different teams and timing them to determine which is the best are a part of the contests.
