Training and coaching

Battalion Chief (Ret.) Robert Avsec answers a reader's question about how to reduce exposure to cancer risk during live fire training.

By: Robert Avsec, Executive Fire Officer So, the other night my fire service colleague, Sue Jones, a Fire Prevention Officer with the Ottawa Fire Services, posted the following message on Facebook: “Last night, at the Fire Chief’s Commendations and Awards Ceremony, I was honoured [sic] to receive the Fire Chief’s Ambassador Award for my efforts with Camp FFIT. I think ...

By: Robert Avsec, Executive Fire Officer This past week, I posted the following on my Facebook account: That’s me, at my first job at Allied Ambulance Services, circa 1979. Hard to believe that it was 40 years ago today, August 13th, 1979, that I arrived in Richmond, Virginia to start my first job in public safety working as an EMT ...

Whether you volunteered for the staff officer assignment or you were given the assignment, I think you’re going to find that many of your bosses, peers, and subordinates in operations are going to view you as a “newbie”. They’re going to expect you to “prove yourself” as being capable of handling your new assignment in operations.

The journey to become a career firefighter can look pretty daunting at first glance, especially the entry-level exam that's usually the first step in an extremely competitive hiring process. You can greatly enhance your chances for success by using the on-line exam preparation materials and practice exams developed by the professionals at JobTestPrep.

A staff assignment is a wonderful opportunity for you to broaden your professional horizons beyond your “fire station centric” point of view. You might have volunteered for this assignment, or you may have been “volunteered” for it, but regardless of the scenario, take advantage of it.

You’ve no doubt become very comfortable with your company officer and your fellow firefighters in your fire station world. Your success thus far has been based upon your ability to work and socialize with people just like you—firefighters. Taking a staff position, e.g., an assignment in one of your department’s non-suppression work units, means you’re going to find yourself working with a more diverse group of people.

By: Robert Avsec, Executive Fire Officer Several years ago, at a fire service conference, I attended a session on reducing risk in fire departments. The presenter, whose name escapes me, make a statement that really stuck with me, “You cannot manage or eliminate risk in this business, but you can regulate it.” He went on to explain that regulating meant ...

Training and drilling are opportunities to “sharpen the saw”, that is, work on the full range of firefighting and rescue skills necessary to do the job and make sure that everyone is still doing them safely and correctly. It's important to do that training in all weather conditions, yet it's equally important to do so safely, effectively and efficiently, especially during hot weather training.

Fire service training is much more than just the imparting of knowledge, the acquisition of new skills, and the ability to apply that new knowledge and skills. Fire service training, from entry-level through incumbent staff training, is also the vehicle by which a department's culture and values are initially imprinted upon individuals or reinforced.