Training

[htvfd2910]

I am head of our training and drills program. I am looking for some new ideas to get more people involved. We do the usual like extrication and simulation drills. We do a lot of book and movie classes. Once a year we have one of the guys on our department who owns a wrecking company bring a car down so we can cut it apart. I am looking forward to seeing what people on here have for ideas.

[Josh FFD]

Do you burn the car after you cut it up? We get a couple of cars and cut and burn them. In the summer instead of drilling with using water on the roads or where ever it may be, we will water lawns in town or the football field. Helps get the idea of pump and roll for grass fires.

Im not sure where you are located but in south central Minnesota we have practice bin rescues, houses, smoke trailers, and much more. You could check into things like that, for us its free.

Good Luck

[FFSKPII]

We built our own roof vent prop, door frame for forcible entry, and car fire prop (uses propane). We don't have a junior/explorer program, but that might be an idea for your entire dept that you might benefit from

[mtg55]

The roof prop is a good idea. I like the crazy look people give me when I tell em to open up with an axe, no saw. Another good idea that I throw in every once in a while is a FF combat challenge. Timed course, different event stations. Keep it a friendly competition and it really boost's moral also.

[PaulC.]

Try these for starters:

1. Talk to the department's training chief/captain, and have them give you a copy of their academy plan. Take the academy plan and run it through as closely as possible to include benchmarks with scoring that explorers must pass.

2. You can also add value for your guys by getting them training on HOW TO GET HIRED. This can be very motivational and inspiring for them if done correctly. (Hint: get the best leaders on the department to provide presentations and mock orals to get the guys/gals incredibly fired up about what you're doing. Sometimes, they need to really be able to see what they're working towards.)

3. Recruit a stellar truck company officer for training on truck ops. Roof props, saws, axes, and aerials are shots of adrenaline and extremely valuable in your fire career.

Keep it up!

Paul

[dragonfyre]

You have your question listed under Fire Explorer and Jr Firefighting so my question is, are you looking for ideas for training juniors?

If so you have to be careful to obey your state's labor laws for those members under 18. In PA they can't use any hydraulic tools or air packs so we're limited in what areas they can train.