Tag Archives: firefighter training

Many people, especially those outside the fire service, believe that residential sprinkler systems cause more damage than the fire because we continue to let the builders and developers control the residential sprinkler agenda. Those same people do not know that sprinkler systems keep the fire from rapidly growing to the point that it can trap occupants or inflict substantial damage on the structure.

People say that we learn from our mistakes. Not necessarily true according to research. That research shows that we’ll act according to the “model” that our brain finds when we confront a situation. So the question becomes: do you want them to come up with a positive model or a negative model?

On August 29, 2015 we will mark the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina coming ashore with catastrophic results20150825_severe storm damage for the populations of Louisiana and Mississippi. How ready are your department and community to manage the consequences of severe weather when it comes to town?

I believe it is safe to say there are not many emergency services personnel who would deny that training is paramount to successful operations on incidents. However, there are some whose actions would show otherwise.

Another thing I've never understood is "down time". What is this "down time"? Do these firefighters and officers know their job functions, their response district, the fire risks in that district, etc., so well that there is no need for training, drilling, touring, pre-planning, etc.? As a Company Officer, how much time are you devoting each tour-of-duty to those four important human capital development tasks?