Saturday, August 29, 2009

Training Today’s Fire Service is a program designed to help students understand and be able to perform a GAP analysis on their training programs to help identify the priorities necessary to provide appropriate training for all levels of the organization. This class will present the instructor or training officer with tools and tips to build a training program in their department. Topics include GAP analysis, program focuses, time management, program scheduling, and member participation. Training officers and instructors from both paid and volunteer/combination departments will benefit from the class presentation and discussion of ideas to build your program bigger and better.

Douglas Cline is a 28-year veteran and student of the Fire Service serving as Training Commander with the High Point (North Carolina) Fire Department. Cline also serves in the position of Administrative Assistant Chief with the Ruffin Volunteer Fire Department.

Cline, a former Fire Chief, is a North Carolina Level II Fire Instructor, National Fire Academy Instructor and an EMT-Paramedic instructor/coordinator for the North Carolina Office of Emergency Medical Services. Cline is a member of the North Carolina Society of Fire Service Instructors and the International Society of Fire Service Instructors where he serves on the Board of Directors as the First Vice President. Cline also serves on the National Advisory Committee for the Congressional Fire Service Institute (CFSI), FEMA grant criteria development committee, peer reviewer for the Fire Act Grants, the Northern Director for the Piedmont North Carolina Fireman’s Association, Piedmont Director for the North Carolina Fallen Firefighters Foundation and Southeastern Association of Fire Chief’s Conference planning committee. Chief Cline also is a founding member of the Open Fire Academy (www.openfireacademy.com ), which is an interactive web based fire academy providing training, education and consulting to the fire service worldwide. Chief Cline is program manager for the Fire Officer and Firefighter Safety and Survival Programs.

Cline was honored as the International Society of Fire Service Instructors (ISFSI), 1999 George D. Post International Instructor of the Year. Cline is also a member of National Association of EMS Educators (NAEMSE). He has a bachelor’s degree in Social Services with a Minor in Education from Concord University.

Cline is a well known international speaker presenting dynamic power-packed programs on instructor development, officer development, rapid-intervention team training and firefighter safety and survival. Cline also is a highly published author with the most recent publications being with Thomson-Delmar Learning. The Publications are the Company Officer Test Preparation Guide Book with a scenario training DVD. Chief Cline is the technical content advisor for the Rapid Intervention Team Book published by Thomson-Delmar Learning and contributing author to the instructor support materials for the Rapid Intervention Team Book published by Thomson-Delmar Learning, test bank developer for the Fire Department Incident Safety Officer Book and contributing author to the instructor support materials for the Rapid Intervention Team Book published by Thomson-Delmar Learning. Chief Cline has also been a contributing author and reviewer to several of the IFSTA and Brady Emergency Medical Technician texts.

Cline hosts the monthly "Training and Tactics Talk" pod cast on Firehouse.com. Cline also has multiple training videos with the Fire Emergency Training Network (FETN) and American Heat to include, Rapid Intervention Team Training, Vehicle Fires, Hose Line Management, Emergency Vehicle Operations and Fire Ground Safety and Survival. Cline is also a contributing editor to Firehouse.com and The Pennsylvania Fireman Magazine.

The overall goal of this workshop is to teach participants how to use PowerPoint effectively and expose them to a number of alternatives to PowerPoint. As a result of these workshops participants will have increased confidence regarding their facilitation/training skills, and a better understanding of how to present materials in a quick-learning format.

I have spent a significant portion of my professional career, more than twenty-five years, working with individuals and groups in both private and public sectors, in developing their abilities as effective trainers/facilitators. Effective is the operative word here: it is not enough to merely present information; one must make the information alive. For this to happen, the following conditions should be met:

• Adults learn best when they see a practical application. Additionally,
• Adults must want to learn.
• Adults learn by doing; adults learn by solving realistic problems.
• Experience affects adult learning.
• Adults respond to a variety of teaching methods.
• Don’t let PowerPoint keep this from happening!

Howard Cross is the President and owner of Howard Cross & Associates, a human resources and organizational development consulting company specializing in fire and emergency services interventions. He instructs first and fourth year Executive Fire Officer courses for the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He has extensive experience in organization and human resource development for a large number of private and public sector customers. Mr. Cross has had direct responsibility for large scale, comprehensive change efforts including strategic planning, succession planning, re-engineering, self-directed/self-managed work teams, and partnership efforts. Mr. Cross is active on the national speaking circuit, having delivered special event, keynote and closing addresses for wide range of audiences. Mr. Cross is also a co-author of The Group Games Collection , a book on team building activities.

The fire department and fire training officer’s responsibilities are to ensure a safe training environment and to accomplish desired education and skill objectives. Training is also designed to prevent deaths and injuries of firefighters while on the job, however, improper and unsafe training has resulted in firefighter deaths and injuries. Increasingly, department training officer and staff have been targets of litigation caused by lack of preparation or safety oversight of the training scenario resulting in injury or death of a firefighter. Through selected case study and class discussion, we will examine the most common cause of fire training injuries and deaths, the investigative results, its legal implications and outcomes of those incidents. We will also discuss preventative measures to ensure safe training environment, minimizing incidents and reducing litigation opportunities.

John K. Murphy, J.D., M.S., PA-C, EFO, FACC, retired from the fire service in 2007 as a Deputy Fire Chief and Chief of Training. Mr. Murphy joined the fire service in 1974 as a firefighter/paramedic and a licensed physicians assistant (WA) since 1977 specializing in emergency medicine, family practice, and pediatrics. Mr. Murphy is an attorney, consulting with fire departments and other public and private entities on operational risk management, employment policy and practices liability, personnel management and labor contracts, internal investigations, and discipline and personal injury litigation.

Mr. Murphy graduated with a Juris Doctor from Seattle University School of Law; obtained Master of Science and Bachelor of Science degrees from Central Washington University in 1993; graduated from the University of Utah, School of Medicine, Physicians Assistant Program in 1977 and completed the Executive Fire Officers Program in 1997. Mr. Murphy is a licensed Physicians Assistant in Washington State since 1977 with a focus on Primary Care and Emergency Medicine and served in the U.S. Navy (1969–1973) serving a tour as a combat corpsman with the Marine Corps in Viet Nam.

Firefighters are action-oriented, hands-on learners. The challenge fire department instructors’ face is in meeting recertification mandates while keeping training realistic, relevant, and interesting. The Colorado Fire Training Officers addressed this challenge facilitating revolutionary change in the state of Colorado. Most of this class focuses on proficiency in training. This valuable skill is the basis for quality training regardless of certification implications. It is after all, all about doing the job, not logging the hours.

This course presents methods for analyzing training programs and provides a toolbox to create scenario-based training based on the NFPA standards. Training sessions are more enjoyable and performance improves when firefighters are out of their seats

Through case studies, examples and participation, participants in this session are introduced to proficiency-based training. The tools provided in the class allow each participant to take home strategies they can use immediately to begin the transformation from passive to active learning in their departments.

Captain Kevin Milan of the South Metro (Colorado) Fire Department is President of the Colorado Training Officers Association, Western Regional Representative of the International Society of Fire Service Instructors (ISFSI), and recipient of an NFA outstanding research awards in 2005 and 2006. Kevin served as Division Chief of Training for the Golden (Colorado) Fire Department from 2001–2007. Captain Milan is a State Advocate for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and serves on various fire service boards and committees. He has a master’s in Fire Service Leadership and is a graduate of the National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer Program.