Most online training deals with reading text and posting to discussion boards. However, on December 6th, 2011, that is about to change. The Open Fire Academy, International and Firefighter Radio are offering the first class that is both synchronous and asynchronous in delivery. It will encompass live discussion and course delivery, while providing for you jump in at your convenience. We will be offering the live segments at specified times where you can join in the discussion with others in the class and the instructor. Miss the class segment? No problem… you can download and join in the discussion later. In the coming weeks we will also be adding video chat and group sessions where you can talk, see, or interact.
The course: The High Performance Instructor.
Description:
What defines an average instructor compared to an amazing instructor? While many may say talent, giftedness, or an ability they were born with, becoming an amazing instructor is about skill. In this five part seminar, we ill share and discuss the skills you need to become a high performance instructor. We are not talking about unreachable goals, but tangible skills anyone can obtain. We will break it down to the steps and means to gain such, and put you on the path to becoming a high performance instructor.
We, initially, are integrating two types of technology to allow you to participate in the live broadcasts and provide your thoughts in the forums.
While the course is free, you will need to register by going to:
We want to get the word out about what we are doing to help better promote training to the fire service. If you are a website or blog publisher, we will pay you to promote the Open Fire Academy, International. Promoting our mission and efforts to the fire service is our goal. We want you to be a part of it.
Congratulations to John Sawyers for being the winner of our October Giveaway. He won a $50.00 gift card to Amazon.com. Watch our Giveaways page for more coming up and earn rewards for participating on the Firefighter Radio. More to come!
With this episode, we begin a series called Hometown Heroes. We will look at fire departments and organizations around the globe. We will launch our series in Minnesota.
If Minnesota’s 20,000 firefighters raise enough money by the end of the year, an area of the Capitol Mall known as Parking Lot H could be transformed into a new memorial by October 2012.
Fire departments in the state are trying to raise $600,000 for the construction of an interactive firefighter memorial.
The purpose of the new project would be to honor fallen Minnesota firefighters and provide a new home for a current firefighter memorial that stands near the baggage claim at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
Join us as we talk with Chief Esbensen about this incredible project, ask questions, and find out how you can get involved. To help now, go to http://mnfireservicefoundation.org/.
Join our roundtable discussion as Mike, Orlando, Jeremy, and BJ discuss Accountability and Safety in the Fire Service. We would love to hear your comments and questions. Please join us and call in! Don't forget to "Like" us on Facebook at Firefighter Radio and follow us on Twitter @FirefightRadio
NEW BEDFORD — Nearly 30 people were left homeless early Thursday morning when fire destroyed a South End apartment building.
The fire "was pretty well advanced when (firefighters) got here" shortly after 1:15 a.m., said District Fire Chief Michael Dandurand while standing outside the blackened triple-decker at 46 Ashley St. At the general-alarm fire's height, about 50 firefighters were on the scene, Dandurand estimated.
Asked Thursday night about the fire's cause, origin and whether it is suspicious, Dandurand said the blaze, which was called in as a porch fire, remains under investigation.
Aside from a New Bedford firefighter who was treated and released from St. Luke's Hospital for smoke inhalation, the district chief said there were no injuries. He said he believes there were smoke detectors in the building and that everyone was safely outside by the time firefighters arrived.
But residents "lost everything," said Major Gilbert Parkhurst, commanding officer of The Salvation Army New Bedford, where a gym had been converted into a shelter.
American Red Cross volunteer Winnie Dimock said 28 people had been displaced from the building's six apartments. Among them, she counted seven children and two adults over the age of 60.
"My dad woke up by the alarm," said 11-year-old Henry Alvarado, who was among the majority of the victims who, as of Thursday evening, were expected to stay at the shelter overnight. "He started to smell smoke, so he woke us up."
Henry said he was tired and passed the time at the shelter Thursday by shooting hoops.
Asked whether they were able to save any of their belongings, he answered "Only my mom's purse."
As with Henry's parents, Juan Molina and Norma Alvarado — who are from El Salvador and spoke with The Standard-Times with the help of their children, Henry and 8-year-old Jacqueline Molina — Spanish is the primary language for most of the adult residents, according to Dimock.
Parkhurst described how The Salvation Army was working with the Red Cross and other local groups to address people's immediate needs before helping them with more long-term concerns.
"We're not sure how long they'll be here," Parkhurst said. "We'll take it one day at a time."
Local businessman Jeffrey Glassman is also spearheading an effort to provide clothing to the displaced families.
Glassman, president of the Belleville Avenue-based Darn It! Inc., a quality-control company in the warehouse distribution business, said he had contacted some of his business partners in the clothing apparel business and has secured enough commitments to outfit all of the residents with new clothes.
One of Glassman's 60 or so employees lived in the building.
"His exact words were 'It's a total loss,'" said Glassman. "I don't think they had time, from what I've heard, to get anything out of the house."
Although the extent of the damage wasn't visible from the front of the home — which displayed rows of gaping, charred windows — Dandurand said stairs were burnt out, floors were sagging and part of the roof had collapsed.
"The building will be coming down as soon as possible," said Kristen Laycock, an administrative specialist with the city's inspectional services department.
Online assessor records indicate the wood-shingled building is owned by the Sunshine Realty Trust and lists Christopher Cardoso as a trustee; it was constructed around 1909.
Sitting in front of a home across the street, Bill Caton of Fairhaven said his sister, Sylvia, lived in a second-floor apartment with her family. Caton said he'd been on the scene for hours since hearing about the blaze over a scanner.
Upon his arrival, the first-floor stairway "was all flames," Caton said, pointing his finger to show how the fire spread up and over. "It was a freakin' mess."
Caton described how fortunate it was that his sister and her family all made it out safely but called the situation "a shame."
And while he said he didn't yet know where they'd wind up for the long term, he said "I ain't going to let my sister stay out in the street."
Staff writer Dan McDonald contributed to this report.
The Incident Command system is based on flexibility and adaptability. The capability to develop a management system to address the needs of any event or incident regardless of size type or complexity is one the hallmarks of ICS. In this session we will discuss the process of transition from a “routine” (ICS Level 100) or “working" (Level 200) incident to the more extensive or complex (Level 300 and above) incident.
In this session we will:
Describe the incident/event management process for supervisors and expanding incidents as prescribed by the Incident Command System (ICS) for evolving incidents as they expand in size and/or complexity.
Describe how the Incident Command System “classifies” incidents and some typical fire and rescue services classify incident type and levels of response.
Describe how to implement the incident management process on a simulated Type 3 incident.
To complete this segment for training, click here: coming soon
On October 13, 2011 Contra Costa Firefighters rescued two women from a burning building. The raw footage was captured by the firefighters helmet cam. Share your thoughts.
If you are unable to attend the National Fallen Firefighter ceremonies this weekend, you can still watch all the events on Firefighter Radio. We will be simulcasting the ceremonies all weekend. Click the link below for schedule and to watch. Click on the link below to watch.
Below is the link to listen to the live stream of the Bureau County response to the train derailment. It streams the whole county, so you will also pick up some additional communications.
TISKILWA, Ill. – A fiery freight train derailment early Friday forced authorities
to evacuate residents of the small community of Tiskilwa in north-central Illinois.
Capt. Steve Haywood of the Ottawa Fire Department said the train's tanker cars were shipping ethanol for Decatur-based corn processor Archer Daniels Midland, and possibly other materials and chemicals. At least six tanker cars are burning, Haywood said.
The Calling the Mayday has become a foundational course for many departments. However, some still have not had the opportunity to take this important course. To help, the Calling the Mayday is now available via the Facebook platform. Taking the course if very easy. You simply "like" the course to enroll. Then follow the instructions and participation requirements on the Information Page. While it is still in beta form, anyone can begin. To get started, go to the link below:
Hosted by William Jetter. Join BJ and his guest panel as they discuss the often hidden issue of the fire service… stress and mental health issues. They discuss the causes of stress, how does PTSD impact the firefighter, the impact of wellness programs, and what the fire department can do about it. Feel free to post comments, questions, and join the discussion.
Firefighter Radio is about to welcome a new addition to our broadcasts. We have spent the past month finalizing what we feel will be a new innovation in the way you are doing firefighter training. While this will be a gradual launch… starting simple of course,. We know you will never go back to the old way of doing training again, once you experience the way training should be. Check back often as we begin a new era in training…
A disaster is a high risk, low frequency event—but they ARE becoming more frequent. Failure to plan to protect your facilities and resources, including personnel, will ensure the failure of your other response and emergency management plans. This hour we'll talk about how a small volunteer or combination department can ensure that it can sustain 24/7 operations in such a situation by focusing on nuts and bolts items that can get lost in the shuffle of federal regulations, intergovernmental agreements, and the "big picture."
Terrorism concerns dominate some aspect of our life every day. An emerging threat in our country is the radicalized US resident or Homegrown terrorist. The threat of ‘radicalized residents’ continues to redefine our Homeland Security landscape. Host Brett Hicks and his guest Raleigh Rhodes explore this growing threat and discuss the four stages of radicalization and provide you with some tools for identifying early indicators of radicalization and how public safety can help combat this threat.
Hosted by John Kimball. The bi-weekly broadcast will review the concepts, principles and practices of the National Incident Management system and ICS as they are applied in real world incidents or situations. In addition to actual incidents, the moderator will lead discussions concerning target hazards and situations faced by the participants. The Focus will be on the ICS “300” level incidents; those requiring robust interagency coordination and having the potential of escalating into a major incident. In addition to structural fires, the broadcast will include hazardous materials mass casualty, technical rescue, and terrorism incidents as well as including the subject of planning for interagency response and extended multi-operational period incidents.
