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2009 WORKSHOPS

Ever wanted a sneak preview of an FDIC class to help decide if you want to take it or not? Click on the links below workshop descriptions to hear Bobby Halton interview FDIC 2009 instructors about the subject matter of their classrooms and workshops. More interviews and links added each week.

8-Hour Workshops, Monday
April 20, 8:00 am–5:00 pm




Art and Science of Firefighting

Deputy Chief (Ret.) Ted Nee and Battalion Chief James Breen, Albuquerque (NM) Fire Department

How many times have you heard somebody say that firefighting is more of an “art” than a science? These workshop instructors think there should be more science behind the art. Fortunately for the fire service, this past decade has seen a tremendous increase in the amount of scientific research focused on firefighting. Much of this research has involved fire dynamics, personal protective equipment, positive pressure ventilation, lightweight building construction systems, and naturalistic decision making. But what does the research mean to the firefighter and fire officer on the street? Learn about the latest research and how it translates into strategies and tactics for the fireground. In addition, the instructors will apply the results of recent research to “bust” some common firefighting myths. You will receive a DVD with the class materials to train members of your department.




ALL LEVELS



Art of “Reading Smoke”

David Dodson, Lead Instructor, Response Solutions, LLC

There is a growing recognition that the modern smoke environment is exceedingly different from what our predecessors faced. Here’s a look at the modern smoke environment with an emphasis on tactical and behavioral solutions that can help you with first-due decision making and incident handling. Case studies, updated technical data, best practices, and group exercises (using raw fireground footage) emphasize situational awareness and intelligent exterior/interior solutions. Topics include why smoke is more explosive than ever, predicting hostile fire events like flashover and backdraft, the reading smoke process, street-tested recognition tools, and video practice (group projects).



ALL LEVELS



Assessing Dynamic Risk

Battalion Chief Mike Alder and Deputy Chief Mat Fratus, San Bernardino City (CA) Fire Department

While you were working your last fire, did you use safe procedures? Did you take unnecessary risks? Inadequate risk assessment continues to be one of the leading causes of firefighter fatalities and injuries across the nation. Understanding the normative behaviors of your own fire department can be one of the most important steps to becoming an effective and safe incident commander or company officer. Recognizing the leadership it takes to build a climate of safe behaviors is paramount. Actual videotaped fire incidents will help create a common vision toward risk assessment and fireground safety and some valuable insight and lessons learned from those who are addressing the risk assessment issues.

 




ALL LEVELS



Building the Training Field: Fire Prop Construction

Chief Nicholas Devita and Captain Scott Abston, Ocala (FL) Fire Rescue Department/Florida State Fire College

Learn techniques in prop design, construction, and use that will facilitate student and instructor safety while creating a realistic training environment. The emphasis is on low cost and ease of construction as well as functionality. Identify characteristics in prop design that facilitate rapid resetting and turnaround time, the tools needed for construction, resource material available, uses for scrap materials generated in construction and training, and factors that cause props to be unsafe.

ALL LEVELS



Chief Officer Development

Battalion Chief John Salka, Fire Department of New York

This program is geared toward chief officers and company officers preparing to move up into the chief’s ranks who want to develop the professional skills, abilities, and attitudes of a chief. It describes some of the best methods for handling various fireground situations including strategy and tactics, command operations, safety and accountability, progress reports and fire control estimates, search procedures and results, offensive/defensive operations, multiple-alarm management, and fire officer responsibilities. Whether you are a seasoned chief officer or in your first year as a chief, you will take away some great lessons and be better prepared for your next challenging operation.




INTERMEDIATE



Drill Development from Company Officer to Chief

Captain Bob Carpenter and Captain Michael Posner, Miami-Dade County (FL) Fire Rescue 

The roadblocks and pitfalls training officers encounter when planning a drill are not only predictable but manageable. Learn an organized approach to planning drills and evolutions from the company level up to large multicompany drills. Areas of discussion include needs assessment, drill topics, conducting briefings and debriefings, setting realistic drill objectives, and identifying the need for and preparing a safety plan. Learn from short video outtakes of fireground and training mishaps. This interactive program takes you through workgroups using sample safety plans that are adaptable to your own department's needs and ultimately serve as working templates for planning, preparing, and producing a successful, safe training exercise.



ALL LEVELS



Fire Dynamics for the Fire Service

Daniel Madrzykowski and Stephen I. Kerber, Fire Protection Engineers, National Institute of Standards and Technology

This workshop will discuss how building geometry, materials, furnishings, ventilation, and firefighting tactics can influence fire growth and spread, leading to untenable conditions for firefighters. A combination of videos and data will describe fire behavior to characterize the thermal environment that firefighters may be exposed to. Fire behavior or fire dynamics is based on the fundamental relationship between fuel, oxygen, and heat--i.e., the fire triangle. The type of fuel, the location of fuel in the room, the geometry of the fuel, building construction, and ventilation can have a significant effect on the speed of fire growth and spread. Ventilating the structure can provide cooling by removing heat, but ventilating a “fuel-rich” room may cause a flashover by allowing fresh air into the structure. It is important to remember that smoke is fuel. Ventilation does not equal cooling. Understanding ventilation will lead to improved tactical decisions, such as when to use positive pressure ventilation. Firefighters, fire marshals, and fire chiefs are encouraged to attend.

 

 

 




ALL LEVELS



Firefighter and Fire Officer Survival: Why Things Go Right and Why Things Go Wrong

Deputy Chief Billy Goldfeder, Loveland-Symmes (OH) Fire Department; and Captain (Ret.) Gordon Graham, California Highway Patrol

This workshop will provide organizational risk management training for firefighters, officers, and instructors on what they can do immediately to avoid/minimize incidents from going horribly wrong. It focuses on the "Five Pillars" (and the related "rules") of a successful organization and presents ideas you can bring home to your department. It will also feature an in-depth look (using video, slides, audio, and lecture) at numerous recent incredible firefighter close calls and fatalities with solutions to avoid them.

ALL LEVELS



Fireground Command Safety

Executive Assistant Chief Steve Kreis and Assistant Chief Todd Harms, Phoenix (AZ) Fire Department

The fireground is a very dangerous location: The building is under attack, visibility is limited, the atmosphere is hot and toxic, and conditions change rapidly. Under these extreme conditions, firefighters need to perform their duties to save lives and protect property. See how the first five minutes of a fireground operation set the stage for the remainder of the incident. For company officers and battalion chiefs, the main focus is on improving fireground operations and firefighter safety at the task, tactical, and strategic levels of operation. Learn the eight critical factors of size-up in the development of an incident action plan for the completion of the tactical priorities of rescue, fire control, and loss control. This program will follow the same curriculum used successfully every day in the Phoenix (AZ) Fire Department and taught at the Command Training Center (CTC).



INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED



Fireground Tactics

Deputy Assistant Chief (Ret.) John Norman, Fire Department of New York

Management styles and technologies change, but the firefighting basics—protecting life, confining the fire, and extinguishing the fire—are constant. This intensive course on strategy and tactics is designed to keep you mentally sharp for all your fireground operations. It uses case studies and hypothetical situations to fine-tune your focus on the art of structure firefighting.

ALL LEVELS



High-Rise Operations from the Command Post to the Fire Floor

Battalion Chief Jerry Tracy, Fire Department of New York

The challenge of operating in commercial structures considered high-rise or low-rise demands the disciplines of procedures that go far beyond routine operations. Many cities large and small are experiencing a tremendous growth in such structures because real estate space has become a premium commodity and availability is declining. Learn the information required for preplanning and how the cooperation and duties of building owners and managing agents fit into the plan of operations. The preplan will be more then a building profile--it will focus on a plan of action when the emergency happens. Understand the characteristics of different construction types as well as how features of fire protection, HVAC (heating, air-conditioning, and ventilation) systems, and standpipe systems are used in operations. Learn about strategies and tactics to extinguish fires—from the routine to the most difficult, controlling smoke movement, search and rescue, the command system that supports operations, and the results of the latest research on smoke control conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology in partnership with FDNY.

 



INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED



Modern Residential Fire Tactics

Captain Bill Gustin, Miami-Dade (FL) Fire Rescue

Firefighters who use the same tactics for fighting fires in modern, lightweight construction as they would for older residences of conventional construction place themselves at risk for sudden, early collapse of the structure. Examine why lightweight construction methods and materials demand that firefighters modify some of their conventional tactics when operating at fires in modern, single-family homes and garden apartments and other multiple dwellings. Most departments are suburban and seriously understaffed; consequently, they cannot implement some of the personnel-intensive tactics big city departments use. Learn how to conduct size-up before committing limited resources; water supply options; apparatus positioning; hoseline selection and placement; how to fight fires in attics, basements, attached garages, and old balloon-frame construction; and techniques to get hoselines to the upper floors of multiple dwellings when there are insufficient personnel to perform a conventional stairway stretch.




INTERMEDIATE



Positive Pressure Attack: Theory and Application

Battalion Chief Kriss Garcia and Battalion Chief (Ret.) Reinhard Kauffmann, Salt Lake City (UT) Fire Department

In the past two decades, lightweight building construction methods and the use of manmade materials in construction and furnishings have become increasingly more common. The time until structural failure can be expected in a fire has been reduced, and firefighters have seen hotter fires that generate higher levels of deadly gasses. Recent studies by NIST concluded that fires are growing more rapidly and that escape from some types of fires has been reduced from 17 minutes to three minutes in some situations. But the ventilation methods used by modern firefighters have not kept pace. Positive pressure attack (PPA), proven on the fireground, allows for a coordinated and systematic approach to hoseline and ventilation operations. This workshop covers the mechanics and the basics of PPV, precautions surrounding its use, and presents methods for incorporating PPV without delaying the initial fire attack.

ALL LEVELS



Pride and Ownership: The Love for the Job

Chief Rick Lasky, Lewisville (TX) Fire Department

This hard look at the fire service finds it short on the one element that makes it effective: passion. This is an upfront and honest criticism about the need to reignite the love for the job on every level, from chief on down. Revisit the proud history and tradition of the fire service and reflect on the family values and brotherhood that have made firefighting the best job in the world. Topics include our mission, the firefighter, the company officer, the chief, our two families, sweating the small stuff, the promotion, what September 11 did to us and for us, ceremonies, marketing, and making it all happen.

 



ALL LEVELS



Simulation Training for Instructors

Battalion Chief Frank Montagna and Captain John Miles, Fire Department of New York

This workshop will introduce you to fire simulation training, describe the various types, explain how to create them, and demonstrate the many ways to use this extraordinary training tool in your department. Several simulation programs will be demonstrated and discussed, including Fire Engineering.com’s online simulations. See how fire simulation training has developed from the chalkboard to today’s computer simulation programs and how to build a simulation from the ground up, including scripting the dialogue and running the simulation. Learn the types of incidents and problems you can integrate into simulations. Demonstrations of several different uses of simulations will involve the audience members as live simulations are run in the class to demonstrate their possibilities. The intent is to show that all of the featured programs can be used regardless of the department’s size, tactics, apparatus, or staffing. Your department’s tactics will be integrated into the simulation.

 

 



ALL LEVELS



Tactics for Strip Mall Fires

Chief (Ret.) Bill Godfrey, Deltona (FL) Fire Department; and Battalion Chief Doug Brown, Orange County (FL) Fire Rescue

Company officers, aspiring company officers, and chief officers, don't miss this hands-on strip mall tactics class. Learn how to handle the fire and exposure challenges of strip mall fires by practicing size-ups, creating tactical plans, and experiencing responding to several different strip center fires using students as responders in a multicompany simulation. Experience the critical link between tactics and command as it is in real-world firefighting. After each incident, discuss the tactical, strategic, and command decisions made; how well those decisions worked; and how to improve next time.



ALL LEVELS



Training Programs for Small Departments

Chief Thomas J. Wutz, Fire Service Bureau, and Mark C. Butler, State Fire Instructor, New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control

Many small career, combination, and volunteer fire departments struggle to provide comprehensive and challenging training for their members. Usually, these departments do not have a dedicated training bureau or division, and the officer/instructor assigned the training responsibility continually searches for resources and programs. Training officers will learn the tools and resources they need to establish a training program for their organization. Through a series of exercises, learn a step-by-step approach to identifying training needs, course/program design, and implementation of a comprehensive fire department training program.

INTERMEDIATE



Truck Company A to Z

Captain Michael M. Dugan, Fire Department of New York; and Battalion Chief Chris Costamagna, Sacramento (CA) Fire Department

Learn about everything truck--from apparatus to staffing, tools selection from basic to advanced, riding assignments and associated tasks, and standard operating guidelines and how to implement them. Does your department have an aerial ladder, a tower ladder, a platform, or a ladder pumper combination? Each apparatus has different operational considerations. Do you know the importance of proper tools and the need to have them available on the fireground? Do you know how to make the best of available staffing and set their priorities on the fireground? SOPs are needed to accomplish the required ventilation and entry and search of the fire building in a coordinated and controlled manner to ensure safety of operating forces and the public.




ALL LEVELS



Vehicles, Technology, and You

David Dalrymple, Education Chair, Transportation Emergency Rescue Committee-US

This fast-paced, informative educational program will be a dynamic coupling of classroom education and interactive skill sessions on new vehicles and their associated technology concerns and issues. Obtain the latest information and materials on such “hot topics” as safety systems, hybrid and alternative-fueled vehicles, vehicle construction and materials, and vehicle fire concerns. Also presented are cutting edge tool techniques that take into account technology issues and concerns and patient management and injury considerations. The materials presented represent a global perspective from emergency responders and vehicle manufacturers. Bring information and material back to your fellow responders, and enhance your educational programs and delivery.

 




ALL LEVELS

 

 

8-Hour Workshops, Tuesday
April 21, 8:00 am–5:00 pm




Aerial Apparatus Operations

Lieutenant Michael Wilbur, Fire Department of New York

Aerial operators can maximize the use of these very expensive yet underutilized and misunderstood pieces of apparatus. This greater understanding of aerial devices and their uses will enhance fireground operations and increase scene safety. Topics include the characteristics and operating features of rear mounts, tractor-drawn aerials, platforms, and quints. Emphasis is on truck company placement for various types of occupancies, rescue and life safety strategies, tactical work of quints, and strategy and tactics for operating and positioning aerial ladders and tower ladders.

ALL LEVELS



Chief’s Role at Structural Fires

Deputy Assistant Chief (Ret.) John Norman, Fire Department of New York

Improve strategic and tactical decision making at a variety of commonly encountered fireground situations. Topics include the command role (assuming command, command location); establishing accountability (protecting the troops); decision making; size-up, The Firefighter Survival Survey, watching for hidden dangers and “red flags”; and the “Four Rs” of fireground command. Emphasis is on developing chief officers’ decision-making abilities they can implement strategy quickly and naturally on the fireground and developing workable tactics they can implement under a variety of common and not so common conditions. Scenario-based exercises involve fires in apartment houses, garden apartments, strip malls, schools, and other occupancies.

INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED



Command Training Center Development and Management

Chief (Ret.) Alan Brunacini, Deputy Chief Nick Brunacini, and Captain (Ret.) John Brunacini, Phoenix (AZ) Fire Department

Command training should focus on the job you do every day in the streets. The end product of training should produce incident commanders who make better decisions that provide for a safer and more efficient operation. Learn how to make command training realistic and applicable within your system, the command training curricula other organizations use, and ways to build simulations that are applicable to a command training program.

INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED



Developing Your Fire Department Honor Guard


Commanding Officer Douglas Swartz and Academic Officer James McLoughlin, National Honor Guard Academy; and Driver/Operator Jon Ferguson, Palm Beach County (FL) Fire Rescue


The honor guard is involved in some of your organization’s most visible and high-profile events. It is important for that to remain in perspective and for your team to value the principles of honor, dignity, and respect. Although all eyes are on the team members, it cannot be and is not about them. A strict attention to detail will ensure uniformity and precision, in turn allowing your team to provide a proud visible presence without attracting unwanted attention. Learn the basics for establishing an honor guard. Topics include formalizing team SOPs and the organizational structure; selecting team members; uniform design, care, and maintenance; financing the group; flag etiquette; and ceremony protocol. It is easy to understand the benefits of having a dedicated honor guard to represent your agency. What is not so easy is determining where to get started and how to make it happen.

ALL LEVELS

Fire Officer Development and Leadership


Chief Dennis Compton, International Fire Service Training Association


Command and leadership responsibilities for performance and safety manifest themselves in many ways before, during, and after emergency incidents. These responsibilities are critical to creating an environment that focuses on performance, quality service, and responder safety. Leaders throughout the fire department must have the capability, courage, and commitment to help members be effective in emergency and nonemergency settings. This session will help fire officers of all ranks and department types focus on the mission, supervise and manage more effectively, improve training, and achieve desired performance outcomes. 

INTERMEDIATE

Firefighter and Fire Officer Survival: Why Things Go Right and Why Things Go Wrong


Deputy Chief Billy Goldfeder, Loveland-Symmes (OH) Fire Department; and Captain (Ret.) Gordon Graham, California Highway Patrol


This workshop will provide organizational risk management training for firefighters, officers, and instructors on what they can do immediately to avoid/minimize incidents from going horribly wrong. It focuses on the "Five Pillars" (and the related "rules") of a successful organization and presents ideas you can bring home to your department. It will also feature an in-depth look (using video, slides, audio, and lecture) at numerous recent incredible firefighter close calls and fatalities with solutions to avoid them.

ALL LEVELS

Five-Alarm Leadership: Preparing to Command

Chief Rick Lasky, Lewisville (TX) Fire Department; and Battalion Chief John Salka, Fire Department of New York

What are the issues and responsibilities officers handle every day? We all spend much more time managing firehouse issues and dealing with our firefighters than we do fighting fires. Shouldn’t we spend some time preparing for these tasks so our fire station environment is as successful as our fireground operations? Topics include your firefighters’ first day, the company officer’s role, your company officer’s first day, the chief’s role, roll call, setting up and planning your day, riding/tool assignments, company training and drills, communication, performance evaluations and awards, values-vision-mission, uniforms, and disciplinary issues.




INTERMEDIATE



Improving Incident Safety Officer Effectiveness

David Dodson, Lead Instructor, Response Solutions, LLC

This practical, street-tested program can help an incident safety officer (ISO) make a difference on the fireground. Learn how an ISO can apply a proactive approach to predicting hostile fire events, building collapses, hazardous energy releases, and firefighter injury traps. The workshop can also serve as a study tool for those seeking ISO certification. Case studies, best practices, and group exercises (using raw fireground footage) emphasize situational awareness and intelligent risk assessment. Topics include predicting hostile fire events like flashover and backdraft, the five-step approach to predicting building collapse, reading firefighters and firefighter risks, spotting command dysfunction, and video practice (four group projects).



ADVANCED



ISFSI Instructor Development Clinic

Eddie Buchanan, President, International Society of Fire Service Instructors; Captain Troy Webster, Florence (KY) Fire/EMS; Captain Kevin Milan, Parker South Metro (CO) Fire Department; Chief of Training Christopher Naum, Command Institute; and Assistant Chief Devon Wells, Hood River (OR) Fire Department

Are you striving to build an effective training program for your department? Are you seeking new ways to get the best value for your training dollar? This interactive training program will provide new and veteran instructors with some of the most effective tools and techniques available in fire service training. Designed with the firefighter in mind, it will include multiple breakout sessions focusing on designing effective training programs, developing effective PowerPoint© presentations, the use and application of computer-based animations, Web-based training ideas, designing and developing training props, and hot topics for enhanced fireground operations.

 




INTERMEDIATE



Leadership for the First-Line Supervisor

Battalion Chief Robert Burns and Captain Al Hagan, Fire Department of New York

This is a systematic review of the role of leadership in today’s fire service. Although the material presented is valid for officers of all ranks and assignments, it is of particular interest to newly promoted officers or members anticipating promotion in the near future. The workshop will identify the characteristics and traits of successful leaders and the skill sets required to manage effectively in the modern emergency service workplace. Leadership is basically a function of the extent to which our behavior encourages others to act in accordance with our directions or suggestions. Leadership training, therefore, is primarily a matter of learning how our behavior affects other people. Gain insight into the theory and practice of effective leadership and an increased awareness of the factors that influence human and organizational behavior. The skill sets developed in the class will enable you to have a positive impact on training, safety, and performance of the members you supervise.

ALL LEVELS



Modern Residential Fire Tactics

Captain Bill Gustin, Miami-Dade (FL) Fire Rescue

Firefighters who use the same tactics for fighting fires in modern, lightweight construction as they would for older residences of conventional construction place themselves at risk for sudden, early collapse of the structure. Examine why lightweight construction methods and materials demand that firefighters modify some of their conventional tactics when operating at fires in modern, single-family homes and garden apartments and other multiple dwellings. Most departments are suburban and seriously understaffed; consequently, they cannot implement some of the personnel-intensive tactics big city departments use. Learn how to conduct size-up before committing limited resources; water supply options; apparatus positioning; hoseline selection and placement; how to fight fires in attics, basements, attached garages, and old balloon-frame construction; and techniques to get hoselines to the upper floors of multiple dwellings when there are insufficient personnel to perform a conventional stairway stretch.



INTERMEDIATE



Most Common Fireground Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Battalion Chief (Ret.) John W. Mittendorf, Los Angeles City (CA) Fire Department

These mistakes are often the result of not using the basics you learned in the fire academy, yet they seem to be the most costly in terms of fireground safety and effectiveness. Learn the problems and how to correct them. Topics include using the IMS system correctly, determining available fireground time, prioritizing, the role of tool expertise, selecting the correct nozzle and hoselines and a timely water source, using protective equipment, apparatus placement, ensuring an escape route, reading buildings and the environment, and continually evaluating the fireground.

ALL LEVELS



Specifying Fire Apparatus

Battalion Chief (Ret.) William C. Peters, Jersey City (NJ) Fire Department

This program will guide the apparatus purchaser through the process of specification, including justification for replacement; outlining the options and features desired on the new apparatus; the various types of specifications and which one is best; the all-important general requirements to protect the purchaser; the factory preconstruction conference; and the final apparatus inspection, delivery, and acceptance. Several exercises will encourage group participation and reinforce lessons learned. All of the updates in the 2009 edition of NFPA 1901, the apparatus standard, will be included and discussed.

INTERMEDIATE



Strategic and Tactical Air Management for the Fireground

The “Seattle Guys,” Seattle (WA) Fire Department

“We have got to do a better job of air management!” This is the common finding of most LODD reports and yet the fire service continues to take a reactive posture. This dynamic video-driven workshop introduces and reinforces the idea of air management and the Point of No Return. It will provide the tools you need to implement air management in your department. It gets firefighters back to being proactive instead of hoping things turn out OK. Some of the areas covered include why our current air management practices are killing us, how firefighters are dying on the fireground and what can be done about it, the Point of No Return—how it draws us in and how to avoid its pull, the Rule of Air Management (ROAM)—the cornerstone of progressive air management programs, and what out of air looks like. Air management can be implemented in departments of all sizes, and it doesn’t take a lot of extra money, staffing, or new equipment.

ALL LEVELS



Ten Keys to Success as a Chief Officer in a Volunteer/Combination Department

Chief John M. Buckman III, Indiana Firefighter Training System; and Chief Tim Holman, German Township (IN) Volunteer Fire Department

Managing the volunteers in a volunteer or combination department in today’s environment of changing cultural values and decreasing volunteer availability is becoming increasingly complex and difficult, even for the smaller volunteer fire departments. Examine the significant management challenges in managing or interacting with individuals in a long-term, high-demand, and often hazardous volunteer environment that is critical to the safety and security of their community. Topics include making the volunteers and their families feel safe, the value of volunteers, why we volunteer, the rights of volunteers, providing benefits and incentives, the puzzle of recruiting and retaining volunteers, training for the response, successful leadership, bureaucracy, and national trends.

INTERMEDIATE



Training Programs That Make a Difference

Assistant Chief Rudy Horist, Elgin (IL) Fire Department; and Battalion Chief Forest Reeder, Pleasantview ( IL) Fire Protection District


After a firefighter completes basic training and graduates from a recruit academy program, the real challenge for the training officer and instructor begins. This program will address the professional development and progressions of fire service personnel from firefighter to apparatus operator to company officer. Each of these three critical aspects of a training program will be discussed to develop the department’s blueprint for professional development. You will define the need for minimum performance standards for the critical fire service positions of firefighter, apparatus operator, and company officer and develop minimum performance standards for each of these positions. The end result will be a professional development program based on the skills necessary for each of these critical positions.

INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED



Training Tricks of the Trade: Make Every Class/Drill a Homerun

David Walsh, Fire Science Program Chairperson/Instructor, Dutchess Community College Fire Science Program, Poughkeepsie, NY

Today’s fire instructors are challenged with providing top-notch training that is effective, safe, and time-sensitive. Learn how to make even the most boring training topic interesting. Presented are dozens of tried-and-proven, easy-to-accomplish “tricks” for transforming lessons on the most mundane topics into exciting and successful educational experiences.

INTERMEDIATE



Truck Company A to Z

Captain Michael M. Dugan, Fire Department of New York; and Battalion Chief Chris Costamagna, Sacramento (CA) Fire Department

Learn about everything truck--from apparatus to staffing, tools selection from basic to advanced, riding assignments and associated tasks, and standard operating guidelines and how to implement them. Does your department have an aerial ladder, a tower ladder, a platform, or a ladder pumper combination? Each apparatus has different operational considerations. Do you know the importance of proper tools and the need to have them available on the fireground? Do you know how to make the best of available staffing and set their priorities on the fireground? SOPs are needed to accomplish the required ventilation and entry and search of the fire building in a coordinated and controlled manner to ensure safety of operating forces and the public.



ALL LEVELS



Vehicles, Technology, and You

David Dalrymple, Education Chair, Transportation Emergency Rescue Committee-US

This fast-paced, informative educational program will be a dynamic coupling of classroom education and interactive skill sessions on new vehicles and their associated technology concerns and issues. Obtain the latest information and materials on such “hot topics” as safety systems, hybrid and alternative-fueled vehicles, vehicle construction and materials, and vehicle fire concerns. Also presented are cutting edge tool techniques that take into account technology issues and concerns and patient management and injury considerations. The materials presented represent a global perspective from emergency responders and vehicle manufacturers. Bring information and material back to your fellow responders, and enhance your educational programs and delivery.

 

ALL LEVELS