Where firefighters come to talk training

In House Training Challenge

I recently switched departments and am getting settled in at my new station. I have noticed a lack of interest in "in house" training, and have taken it upon myself to come up with a plan that will get us training, improving, and staying sharp. Here is where it gets tricky. We are a single engine house, with strictly engine specific equipment on the rig. This makes it very difficult to come up with training. What suggestions do people have for drills or props they have found effective in situations like this? One area I want to push is stretching lines. This is obviously something we can work on with the resources on hand. What else though? I want to come up with drills that are going to come across as beneficial to the rest of the crew, otherwise I fear I'll lose their interest. Thanks for your input!

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Permalink Reply by Brandon Stephens on May 16, 2013 at 7:08pm

From an article right here in Fire Engineering, title the 5-minute drill. I found a way to incorporate my entire crew into everyday training. We do a simple, ( don't try to trick of mess people up ) fire scenario, or wreck, or hazmat, or whatever the training for the day is. When we do these scenarios, everyone in the crew does their normal job, and they complete it. Then when everyone's job is done, we critique what we just did, and come up with better or safer ways to do things. Not only does this help our crew learn new techniques and ways to complete tasks, we also learn how each task depends on every other task, and we learn how to work off of one another. But most importantly, in my opinion, we learn to trust one another and gain confidence in each others skills. Hope this helps!!!

http://www.fireengineering.com/articles/print/volume-165/issue-12/d...

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Permalink Reply by Dave Werner on May 17, 2013 at 9:14am

Thanks brother, I appreciate the advice. Looks like something which would work well!

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