The requirements of today’s fire officer demand competence on more than just the fireground or EMS calls. Incidents that cause scandals, demotions, career loss, even line-of-duty deaths most often begin and end with a failure of leadership. Learn the elements required to set up a productive Officer Development Academy for new company officers, EMS captains, and 24-hour battalion chiefs. The class will discuss the elements of a successful training program and show how to work within constraints such as available time, instructors, budget, and resources. These elements and principles are not just academic theory but have proven effective for several ranks and for multiple fire departments. The material presented has worked well with career and volunteer organizations and can be scaled up or down to meet the needs of any size organization.

The importance of preincident training, confidence building, team building, and leadership development will be identified and discussed. Options for physical layout of the classroom, schedules, precourse requirements, postcourse training, and course evaluation will be presented.

*Eligible for CEH/CAPCE Credit