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Tom Fentress's Page

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About Tom Fentress

Tom Fentress
28, Male
Demotte, United States
Residence.
Demotte IN
Department:
Keener Twp Fire Dept
Title/rank:
Training Officer
Years of public service:
5
Agency structure:
Volunteer fire department
Top issues in your department:
Young Blood vs old blood in regards to training...The mentality that "We have done it this way for so many years why should we change now"
Professional Qualifications:
Firefighter 1/2
Hazmat Operations
Instructor 2/3
Tech Rescue
Motorsports Rescue
EMT-B
Topics you provide training for:
I set up all training for my dept. I enjoy teaching RIT, HazMat, and FF 1/2.
Areas of expertise:
HazMat, RIT, FF 1/2, Rope Rescue
Bio:
I am 27 years old. I joined the fire service by a recommendation of a friend. He told me that I would enjoy this job. I became the Training Officer of my department 2 years ago. I like to train on all the new ideas of the fire service and be trained to continue to developed the best training for my dept.
Web site:
www.ktvfd.com

Tom Fentress's Groups

F.O.O.L.S.
(110 members)
Created by JD Dulworth
Tactical Building Blocks & Air Management
(324 members)
Created by Frank Ricci
“Pride and Ownership”
(249 members)
Created by Rick Lasky
The Volunteer Fire Service
(43 members)
Created by Jay Wieners
Haz-Mat
(95 members)
Created by Robert E. Shelton

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Forum

Motivating Firefighters to train

Added a reply May 10

Thanks Dennis, I like your idea of putting together a power point. That is something that I may end up putting together soon. Thanks Again, Stay Safe out there Brother. Read More »

Tagged: firefighters, motivating

Motivating Firefighters to train

Added a reply May 9

Ben and John, Thanks Guys. I am going to keep doing what I do, I know that it will work in the long run. Hell I made changes in 1 year like bring 6 new Instructors to our department. Now I just hav... Read More »

Tagged: firefighters, motivating

Motivating Firefighters to train
15 Replies

Started this discussion. Last reply by Ray McCormack May 18.

Hello All, I have a problem...I am the training officer in a rural town. We just had election and we have a new chief. After talking to him the other morning I have come to see that he may not go a... Read More »

Tagged: firefighters, motivating

 

Latest Activity

Ben Marler left a comment for Tom Fentress Jun 26
Tom Fentress left a comment for John Power Jun 26
Tom Fentress left a comment for Ben Marler Jun 26
John Power left a comment for Tom Fentress Jun 26
Ben Marler left a comment for Tom Fentress Jun 26
Tom Fentress added the blog post 'Bloomington Fire School' Jun 25
Tom Fentress left a comment for John Power Jun 25
John Power left a comment for Tom Fentress Jun 24

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Tom Fentress's Blog

Bloomington Fire School

Hey Just wanted to say that I had a great time at Bloomington Fire School. I learned alot and would highly recommend to anyone to go and allow yourself to learn new and ever changing ideas.

Posted by Tom Fentress on June 25th, 2008 at 3:09pm — No Comments (Add)
 

Duneland Fire School

Hey Everybody,
Just wanted to talk about Duneland Fire School (Chesterton, IN). I wanted to give some much needed praise to my instructor for my Fire Officer 1 class. Scott Chasteen, chief of Greensburg Fire Dept (Greensburg IN) taught my class in a professional manner. I felt that he got this class handed to him last minute and probably didn't get all the information from Duneland Fire School. Scott made the best of it. He made sure that we all had the material, including the practical boo…

Continue Reading…

Posted by Tom Fentress on April 28th, 2008 at 8:30pm — No Comments (Add)
 

Comment Wall (18 comments)

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At 5:44pm on June 26th, 2008, Ben Marler said…
That's all anyone can ask, Brother. You can walk and talk with your head high. KTF
At 9:53pm on June 25th, 2008, John Power said…
I didn't make it to Bloomington this year although we did have a couple of guys that went. I went to Jasper instead this go around. I was getting a little burned out after that. I took four classes from Jan through April and needed a break. I am studying to recert for my EMT right now. Like a dummy I let mine drop so now I have decided to retest. Go figure.

Be Safe

John
At 9:09pm on June 25th, 2008, Ben Marler said…
Hey,Tom. Looks like you've been training you're @#$$!% off. That's GREAT. I just wanted to touch base withyou and see how things were going up your way. Take care, Brother. FTM-PTB
At 6:49pm on June 24th, 2008, John Power said…
Southwest of Indy about 75 miles or 75 miles due north of Evansville. We are the little bump in the state about 2/3rds of the way down the state on the IN, IL border. Follow US 41 south just south of Terre Haute. Thanks for the ad!
At 6:04pm on June 23rd, 2008, John Power said…
Hey Tom,

Where is Demotte, IN? I live in Sullivan County, IN.
At 11:49pm on May 9th, 2008, Dennis E Sampson said…
Tom ,
It's nice to see your commitment to training ! It is the back bone of the fire service as change is starting to take the place of yesteryear. Our future is based upon firefighters like yourself. If your right never back down,but always be open to constructive criticism. Glade to have you in the training community !!

STAY SAFE !! Dennis
At 8:13am on May 6th, 2008, Mike Cervik said…
Hey do you happen to have some rough measurements on the training props you guys made? Specifically the low profile box. Just trying to get ideas. Thanks.
At 8:39pm on May 3rd, 2008, Ben Marler said…
Next time your in the area, give us a holler and we'll give you the nickel tour. I saw that you're a training officer, that's great! Keep the passion, sometimes it's hard. If you need any help, give me a yell. I work with a training company on the side, and come across some good ideas. I can't take credit for them, but sure take advantage of the info. Take care. FTM-PTB
At 10:45pm on April 29th, 2008, Mike Cervik said…
Things are going well here. Hey how much did it cost you guys to build all your props? I've been looking into doing something like that. I'll probably do alot of dumpster diving.
At 4:39pm on April 29th, 2008, John Aldrich said…
I noticed you are you have the same problem I had to fight with, the old timers not wanting to change. i have a few tricks but I am always looking for more.. if you have anything that helped you bridge that gap i would be glad to hear about how you did it.....what has worked for me so far is during classroom drills i give the "old timers" a "what do you think?" and with hands drills on I have the "seasoned" officers lead a station. there are always one or two that will just sit in the back and talk, or just watch and complain.but for the most part atleast in the classroom setting they have come around a bit. I just had to remember that "old school" stuff still works just as long as its safe.... hope this helped for you, and I'm always looking for advice in return on the same subject. though advice is free and some times you get what you pay for. our job is to save and be safe, as long as the fire got put out and they all came home you did your job Thanks

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