Today at FDIC 2010

The FDIC team has been on the ground in Indianapolis for the last three days. This morning we saw tremendous activity as the hands-on training instructors poured into the city to start setting up their sites for Monday and Tuesday’s hands-on training. The logistics warehouse was buzzing with 50 logistic specialists and 200 instructors pouring over millions in supplies and consumables. Using a type II deployment structure everything moves through the requisition, procurement system flawlessly. Chief of logistics David Rhodes looks like a conductor and symphony is playing perfectly, only instead of French horns there are halligans and SCBA’s

It's remarkable to be a small part of this 82-year-old institution FDIC. Fire Engineering is celebrating it’s 133rd year and has been running the fire department instructors conference for 14 years now. Fire Engineering’s parent company Pennwell Corporation, the only privately owned publishing company in America, celebrating it’s 100 anniversary year rounds out the perfect team. The right values, the unrelenting devotion to the work and constant focus on improvement are why FDIC is the fire service.

In Pennwell’s tenure the program has seen tremendous growth we have seen the birth and evolution of the hands-on training program. A program that has never been duplicated successfully has never been replicated successfully and at FDIC has never failed to provide the best training in the country every year. Workshops have quadrupled to 78 and classrooms are now 190 strong and growing.


Someone asked me what makes the hands-on training program so successful in the answer is that it's based upon the basics. Now there are some evolutions that deal with advanced techniques and procedures but by and large most of the hands-on training focuses on is developing excellence in those skills and techniques which are most important on the fireground.

In order to ensure that those skills are taught correctly the folks from the FDIC advisory board 25 of America's most noted and revered instructors select the evolutions in the instructors very carefully. It is quite an honor to be instructor at FDIC, to be among these men and women these true leaders of the fire service is humbling.

At FDIC this year 500 of the Fire Services most dedicated educational specialists make this the most important training experience in the fire service, this year a special squadron detachment challenge coin was minted for those 500 and they are numbered for this deployment. It is a coveted and cherished symbol of being part of something greater, something which must endure to insure our profession continues to save lives, build communities, and we keep each other safe.

We are very excited to be anticipating an other record breaking attendance and hope to see you here. That has been my morning today, be sure to check our daily special coverage on FireEnginering.com for video’s interviews and braking news from your FDIC 2010. Bobby Halton FDIC det coin # 500