+ Organizational Statement

This is the starting point for any Fire Service Training Program. The organizational statement identifies exactly what operations the organization will conduct. (i.e., interior firefighting, exterior firefighting, first aid, open water rescue, etc.) This document may be created separately from the training program document; however, it must be completed before you can start to build your training program.

+ Risk Management Plan

This is another document that may be created separately from the training program; however, needs to be finished prior to the completion of your training program. The intention of the Risk Management Plan is to identify the risk of a specific operation, and then conduct training on that operation, in an effort to lessen that risk. The fact that your members are required to have training on this plan makes it a must for any training program.

+ Written Procedures

Whether you call the SOPs (standard operation policies), SOGs (standard operating guidelines), or BPs (best practices), chances are, your department already has this set of documents in place. This is good, because these documents are needed for the completion of your training program, and your members are required to be trained on these as well.

+ Job Descriptions

This document identifies what type of work is expected of your members depending on type or class of membership. It mirrors the Organizational Statement and defines the role that each member satisfies, according to the operation to be conducted, and the individual’s position. This is where the requirements of membership type are defined and training requirements, both initial and annual, of each are documented. This document also needs to identify what activities new members are restricted from.

+ Job Performance Requirements

JPRs define the specific performance requirements for each Job Description according to operation and position. JPRs are the back bone of a good training program. JPRs are used as a standard that is both trained to and evaluated to. JPRs are developed using information from the above listed documentation.

+ Training Curriculum

This can be one of the easier tasks, if the department decides to adopt a curriculum. The other extreme, is developing a curriculum, which could be much more intensive, but totally custom to your department. We suggest combining the best of both worlds, and adopt an accredited curriculum for a basic foundational use, while adding custom lessons for flavor. Either way, the curriculum will become the source of the training material, and account for a large part of the program.

+ Training Plan

Training plans are the meat and potatoes of a good training program. This document will become the most referenced of all the training program material. The training plan is where the activities of the program are spelled out. The plan becomes a road map for the; who, what, when, where and how training will be conducted. This annual document ensures that scheduled training, for a given year, will meet all of the current requirements based on NFPA, PESH, DOL, AHJ, ISO. If no other documents are, created this one should be!

+ Training

Training is the actual physical and mental action part. NFPA requires structural firefighters to receive training commensurate to their duties no less than annually. NYS says that training must be conducted no less than quarterly if you are going to run into a burning building. But beyond these requirements firefighter training is much more important than simple time frames. This is by far the most important part of any good training program. Here is where we can save more lives than any other area of our service. Whether it is training to keep us from getting into a bad situation, training to prevent a bad situation, or training to get out of a bad situation, training is the most critical step in the process. It is also the end product of all that the training program has been developed for. It is most likely the only part of the training program our general membership will be exposed to. Our goal here is to produce training that motivates our members to continue their education for their entire career and create an atmosphere that is constantly challenging and exciting. With that said it is important that we identify a training methodology that is best suited for the audience and environment that we will train in. This section of the training program will describe our chosen philosophy of training and develop the methods that keep your firefighters hungering for more.

+ Evaluation Process

Besides being a requirement of both NFPA and PESH the evaluation of the training is important to all those who step foot on the fire ground. The evaluation identifies the strengths and weakness of both the member and the training program as a whole. Without evaluation, it becomes difficult to assess skill development and company performance. The lack of an evaluation process would make the annual required skill sign-off, by the fire chief, nearly impossible. This document, when completed, will describe the evaluation process to be used and define a procedure to be followed. When properly executed, this procedure becomes a critical part in creating a proficiency cycle amongst the department membership.

+ New Member Training

All new members of a fire service based organization are required to have job specific training prior to performance on the fire ground. In other words before new members can perform a task on the fire ground, they must have been trained on that task in a non-emergency environment. This training may come from venues outside of the host organization or within the organization itself. Whether the training is conducted in-house or not, the member’s organization is still required to provide organization specific training in areas such as procedures, for example. Regardless of how the training is to be conducted, it must be included as part of the organization's training program.

+ Record Retention

Training doesn’t exist until it has been recorded and retained in some way. The training program needs to identify the process for record keeping activities. NFPA recommends a standard for records and in New York State the Record Retention and Disposition Schedule MU-1 gives specific ways and time frames for the retention of records. Without good record keeping a great training program will be lost in “hearsay”.