COURSE CORRECTION:
1S15003 - Firefighter 1 hosted at Newton Abbott for the fire departments under Hamburg Fire Control: There are no Saturday sessions as listed in error.
The 14 hr. Orientation is scheduled for Tuesday-February 10, Thursday-February 12, Tuesday-February 17, and Thursday-February 19 (starting at 7pm each night) at the Erie County Emergency Services Training & Operations Center in Cheektowaga. Chief or Training Officers are required to accompany their recruits for only the first two (2) hours of orientation on Tuesday.
2015 FIREFIGHTER 1 STUDENT PACKET RELEASED:
Please share the following and attached with all students (and chiefs of students) preparing for or enrolled in an Erie County Firefighter 1 Course:
Dear Fire Chief and/or Training Officer:
Your firefighter has enrolled in a Firefighter I training course conducted by the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control. Together, we strive to give your firefighter the best fire training experience and we are asking for your support during this course to accomplish that goal. Your leadership and guidance will help your firefighter succeed.
The 2015 edition of Firefighter I has been updated to meet the 2013 Editions of NFPA Standards 1001 and 574. In order to accomplish this task, thirteen (13) hours were added to skills sessions to accommodate necessary skills bringing Firefighter I to a total of (104) hours.
NYS OFPC has also switched to a new curriculum and student manual publisher: the IFSTA Essentials of Fire Fighting and Fire Department Operations, 6th Ed. We encourage you and your student to visit www.r1.ifsta.org, register and review the excellent free resources it offers.
Unless otherwise noted, all 14-hour Firefighter 1 Orientations are held at the Erie County Emergency Services Training & Operations Center in Cheektowaga. Please see the Erie County Emergency Services Training Schedule at www.erie.gov/fire for the date and time of the first (orientation) class.
A chief or training officer are requested to attend the first two (2) hours [only] of this first lesson which provides the student with course requirements, instructor expectations and course completion policies to prepare the student firefighter for the educational tasks ahead. The instructor will also explain any need for your department to occasionally supply equipment, apparatus and/or experienced firefighters to assist in the training of your new firefighter. If you are unable to attend, please send an assistant chief, training officer or other appropriate representative.
Accompanying your firefighter to this orientation lesson will demonstrate your commitment to your firefighter’s training and demonstrate the importance you place on your firefighter being well trained and prepared to perform the best, but most dangerous job in the world.
Please ensure that your firefighter brings a completed and signed New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control Training Authorization letter. That letter must be signed by a chief officer stating the student has completed a mask fit test and received medical clearance for S.C.B.A. use. This form is included in the 2015 Firefighter 1 Student Packet or can be downloaded from the Erie County Fire Safety web site at http://www.erie.gov/fire.
REGARDING THE AIR CONSUMPTION TEST:
Details of what is included in the Task Oriented Air Consumption test are included in this 2015 Firefighter 1 Student Packet. We encourage you and your student to watch the video we created to learn what will be expected of each student and what they should start practicing for: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRo2SnrR9cg&feature=youtu.be
The air consumption test is not a race, but a test of physical abilities and endurance that establishes a personal benchmark for the firefighter to understand just how long a nominal 30 minute air bottle may last them under firefighter working conditions. Instructors will work with each student to prepare them to be successful in this training scenario.
Recruit Firefighters must complete all eight (8) stations and stay on breathing air for a minimum of 10 minutes. Once all eight (8) stations are completed and the student still has air left in their SCBA cylinder, they will continue to rotate through each station until such time that their air is completely breathed down from their bottle. Each firefighter is partnered with a shadow/escort who monitors them frequently and records their air consumption and time after each station.
Those students who are not successful in the Air Consumption Test will continue on to the HazMat module and should also apply for one of the new BEFO-Basic Exterior Firefighting Operations course that will be offered.
Review the attachment, check out the video and start preparing. Please share with all existing and future Firefighter 1 students.
REGARDING SKILLS:
- There are a total of (68) skills to be completed during the 2015 edition of the Firefighter I program.
- Sixteen (16) of these skills need to be accomplished in the Firefighter I candidate’s home department.
- Several of these skills are better accomplished there using the firefighter’s home equipment in a manner that best suits the guidelines of their department.
- Two of the skills [hose loads] are optional and do not have to be completed if the department does not use them.
We encourage you to use these skill sheets as a tool to make your Firefighter I candidate a better firefighter for you. The list of required skills to be accomplished at the home department are included in this 2015 Firefighter 1 Student Packet, again in the skill sheets that each candidate will receive in class and further explained in the IFSTA Essentials of Fire Fighting and Fire Department Operations, 6th Ed. Your firefighter and you can also access videos of the skills and other free training resources online at www.r1.ifsta.org.
Please take the time to ensure your candidate knows the skills. The instructors may choose to evaluate the candidates on a portion of these skills during the course and any of these skills may be chosen for the final skills evaluation to be held at the end of the course.
In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact us or the lead instructor should you have any questions or require further information. Thanks in advance for your cooperation and commitment to the success of your firefighter student.
Course Coordinators:
Bill Taylor – Fire Protection Specialist Tiger Schmittendorf – Deputy Fire Coordinator
NYS Office of Fire Prevention & Control Erie County Division of Fire Safety
518.380.0547– william.taylor@dhses.ny.gov 716.681.7111 – tiger.schmittendorf@erie.gov
As of: 1/27/15