TRAINING UPDATE: Course Status Updates | Firefighter 1 Course Clarification

COURSE STATUS UPDATES:

The training schedule has been updated at www.erie.gov/fire to reflect these course announcements:

COURSES AT RISK:

The following courses are at risk of not running if minimum registrations are not received prior to the course start:

• 1R16008 BEFO-Basic Exterior Firefighting Operations with HazMat starts 11/7 at Newstead, hosting for the Clarence-Newstead Fire Chiefs. Openings still available. Walk-ins welcome accompanied by Officer for Orientation session.

CANCELLED:

• L550-16001 FEMA Continuity of Operations Train-the-Trainer Workshop runs from 6-10pm Monday-Thursday 11/14-11/17. Class size is limited to 20 personnel. This is a follow-up to the COOP Exercise for Fire & Emergency Services Organizations offered in 2015. See the course announcement flyer previously distributed: http://www2.erie.gov/fire/index.php?q=press/training-coop-planners-train-trainer-workshop

The Continuity of Operations (COOP) Planner’s Workshop is to provide COOP training for Continuity Planners with special attention to Fire/EMS/LE and other public safety agencies and organizations – especially as a follow-up for those who participated in the COOP Exercise in 2015.

COURSE CLARIFICATION:

• 0516005 Fire Police at Bowmansville. For clarification, the course runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays: 11/15, 11/17, 11/29 and 12/1 with a triple session starting at 8am on Saturday-12/3. There are no classes scheduled during Thanksgiving week.

PLEASE NOTE:

• Please read all of the notes below, download the appropriate documents and share them with your recruits and firefighters. Start submitting standard training course applications and NYS OFPC training authorization forms immediately.
• As always, the training schedule is a “living document” with frequent updates. PLEASE NOTE THAT MORE COURSES WILL BE FORTHCOMING SOON

IMPORTANT FIREFIGHTER 1 COURSE CLARIFICATION:

As previously shared, the Firefighter 1 course no longer exists as a single course in its entirety, effective September 1, 2016.

The New York State OFPC Firefighter-1 certification will now be delivered in two (2) separate courses:

1. BEFO w/HMFRO: ALL students must begin with Course#1R-Basic Exterior Firefighting Operations with Hazardous Materials First Responder Operations (Most often represented as “BEFO w/HMFRO”).

   This course is designed to prepare students to respond to emergencies as EXTERIOR FIREFIGHTERS to accomplish the objectives of OFPC’s “Recommended Best Practices for Fire Department Training-Exterior Firefighter” (http://www.dhses.ny.gov/ofpc/training/firefighting-best-practices.cfm) objectives. (See attached.) Portions of the NFPA 1001 and NFPA 472 will be covered to train the entry level member as an Exterior Firefighter as defined by OSHA regulation 1910.156 Fire Brigade Standard. Training on OSHA’s 1910.120 Emergency Response to Hazardous Materials regulation, 1910.146 Confined Space regulations (awareness level) and the 1910.147 Control of Hazardous Energy regulation will also be covered during the course.

   Students attending this course will not be trained to wear an SCBA nor be trained to function in IDLH atmosphere. BEFO graduates should be committed to exterior operations ONLY and should not be placed in the HazMat warm or hot zone operations, interior structural fire attack, roof and/or ventilation operations and should not be in situations requiring them to come in contact with IDLH atmospheres nor the possibility of breathing smoke or contaminants.

   This course is 79 hours long, delivered in 25 units, including 4-4 hour HMFRO units. The completion certificate for this course will state: “Basic Exterior Firefighting Operations w/HMFRO”.

2. SCBA/IFO: Students seeking to be trained as an Interior Structural Firefighter who will wear a self-contained breathing apparatus must then progress into Course#1S-SCBA/Interior Firefighting Operations course (Most often represented as ”SCBA/IFO or SIFO”) following successful completion of the BEFO w/HMFRO course.

   If the student does not intend to be trained as an Interior Structural Firefighter they will stop at the successful completion of the BEFO w/HMFRO course.

   This course is 50 hours long, delivered in 16 units, including two (2) 4-hour structure fire skills units. The completion certificate for this course will state: “SCBA/Interior Firefighting Operations-Firefighter 1”.

View this video to see a sample schedule and hear how the new delivery method will enhance the learning experience: http://www.dhses.ny.gov/ofpc/training/videos/firefighter-1.cfm

NOTE FOR STUDENTS WISHING TO BRIDGE FROM LEGACY COURSES:

Students who previously completed either the 2015 BEFO; SSO-Scene Support Operations; Basic Firefighter or Firefighting Essentials curriculums can now bridge into the SCBA/IFO by first attending a series of 2016 BEFO curriculum classes. See the attached document for details. http://www.dhses.ny.gov/ofpc/training/videos/documents/legacy.pdf