The Cape Canaveral Volunteer Fire Department (CCVFD) in Florida has been serving the City of Canaveral and the Canaveral Port Authority since 1962. In the early years, the combination department only responded to fire and motor vehicle crashes, but today it answers more than 2,500 calls a year with 80 percent being EMS related.
With volunteer firefighters, budget and time constraints pose the biggest challenges to training. Since 2009, TargetSolutions has modernized the way the CCVFD trains its volunteers with user-friendly accredited training for a more convenient and cost-effective solution.
“TargetSolutions makes training painless,” said Tracy Braley, who serves as Cape Canaveral’s assistant chief. “It enables me to provide more training for our firefighters with less staff and less money without sacrificing quality.”
TargetSolutions’ training system allows the CCVFD’s 15 volunteers to finish EMS recertification and firefighter courses on their own time.
“It gets difficult to work around our volunteer’s limited schedules so training and renewing certifications are easier now that they can be completed whenever and wherever,” Braley said. “Classes used to be rigid and retention was definitely an issue. A lot of training objectives weren’t being met the way we would’ve liked and getting enough training hours was a struggle. But TargetSolutions made required topics like Hazard Communication and Sexual Harassment simple and consistent.”
In addition to making training easier to assign, adopting TargetSolutions has made meeting ISO requirements straightforward.
“I can check our records at any time and make sure we are on track in terms of ISO,” said Braley. “As firefighters, we wait until the last minute. So, I’m able to set deadlines for training and see who is missing courses. This way I know everything is good to go by the time we’re due for a review.”
The effectiveness of TargetSolutions makes it the only training program trusted by the CCVFD. Volunteers appreciate the convenience of flexible training hours and the community benefits from prepared firefighters that ensure safety.
“Cape Canaveral has been with us for several years now for both their career and volunteer users. Being able to deliver training for things like policy changes can be challenging, but the ability to log into TargetSolutions from anywhere has revolutionized training efficiency.”
Julie Blosch, Account Manager at TargetSolutions
