Entertaining or Training?

The comment this week is written to folks at all levels of the fire service. The firefighter who is a student, the training officer, the company officer and chief officer levels.

I feel that I am qualified to speak on this issue because I have probably been the victim or the cause of either of the above choices.

I have noticed a disturbing trend in the national fire service training circuit and I am wondering if it is good or bad.

The next time you leave a training seminar, ask yourself if you were entertained and trained or if you were just entertained? Many fire service trainings at many levels are providing more and more entertainment and a little less of what we need to know.

I hear many firefighters talking about the training they did and it sounds like "Boy that was awesome" "Wow, That is pretty ballsy!", "You should have seen what that instructor did" etc. etc.

I then press further and realize that they were talking about a low frequency high risk training topic that may or may not even benefit them in their own situation and or community. There are many of these out there all being taught by fine instructors. I am just wondering if our students are being drawn by what they NEED or by what they WANT.

I am also not talking about the instructor who makes a joke or makes his presentation entertaining because I truly believe there is a need for that and do that myself, but I am talking about when the presenter and the nature of the presentation is the only allure.

Fun dramatic stuff by presenters of major cities is interesting but will it help the guy who has less than a 10 person shift strength and maybe CANNOT or SHOULD NOT be operating this way?

I would like to look at some injury statistics for smaller departments and wonder if any of these injuries or deaths were due to previous training that indicated things like....the truck company operates above the fire.....

That is an example of statements that are being made and are valid when you have adequate manpower on that truck company, and adequate personnel and engine company support below it, but they are not true in what I would call a majority of small town America today.

A firefighter by their very nature will alaways want to participate in high risk hands on training. We should encourage that as a very valuable way to gain experience. I am a strong proponent of live fire training either in burn facilities or acquired structures.

Here is my proposed solution or thoughts and I will ask any of you to respond with your own.

Go to a training session that will directly help you in your community. Try to reflect adequately how you will adapt it to the circumstances in your community. Don't be blinded by the guts and glory all of the time.

When you prepare and give a training, discuss and share the techniques to be used for career departments with full staffing, small paid departments, and volunteer on-call departments all with a variety of circumstances. Also if a technique you are showing has any limitations, restrictions or contraindications then be sure you list and discuss all of them.

Know what your people have been told and taught. Insure you adhere with your department's established SOPs. While one member of your crew can come back from training with the greatest and most progressive idea, if they are the only one who knows it they are still freelancing! As a company officer, make sure new procedures are shared with all members and participate in the development of new SOPs if that is warranted.

Despite your level of education, be current in your training and reading. There is no excuse not to know what is going on around you and what your personnel are being exposed to. With the internet and all of the trade journals your personnel are literally being bombarded with a variety of ideas.

Be an active participant in what your personnel are being trained in. before you pay for a seminar know what you expect to get back from it. Maybe this seminar is not approriate for what the current conditions are in your community. Make training decisions!

Take training that is meaningful, have fun in your training experiences, but above all remember that it is training and somewhere among the glitz and sizzle there should be some tidbits that you can take back in your pocket to use in your community.