Under Construction: The Fire Department Training Program

TargetSolutions sponsored a special webcast presentation on Nov. 4 that delivered valuable insight for fire department leaders on how to build and maintain training systems.

It is critical for fire departments to evaluate their training programs on an ongoing basis. That point was driven home by Des Plaines (Ill.) Fire Department’s Division Chief Forest Reeder on Nov. 4 during a special webcast presentation, “Under Construction: The Fire Department Training Program.”

“Training programs always have to be a work in progress,” Reeder said during the hour-long event delivered by Fire Engineering with sponsorship from TargetSolutions. “It almost has to be written in pencil. It needs to adapt to different things that happen during calls, and different things that come down the pipe in terms of SOPs and procedures.”

A proper training program can be defined as one that doesn’t offer just enough training for members to perform adequately, but quality training that ensures they can’t get it wrong, said Reeder, who has been in the fire service since 1978 and is the Fire Officer I and II coordinator of Illinois Fire Chiefs Association.

Reeder also spoke to the importance of incorporating technology in today’s training and mentioned that every moment is a learning opportunity that should not be taken for granted.

“Make sure training allows members to be a little bit better, a little bit faster, a little bit safer, and a little bit smarter,” he said.