Ten Traits of a Positive Fire Service Instructor (pre-conference instructor developement course)
Pride and Ownership: The Love for the Job
Avoiding Human Error on the Fireground
Lead With A Vision, Not a Tradition
Functional Fireground Accountability
Thriving on the Fireground
Adaptive Fireground Management for Command & Company Officer
Firefighter Rehab and Medical Monitoring
Situational Awareness
Fire Instructor I
The Company Officer- Leading, Learning and Laying In
Ice Rescue

Ten Traits of a Positive Fire Service Instructor
(**Pre-conference Instructor Development Course)
Friday February 10, 0900 - 1700
As an Instructor, it is essential to promote a positive and safe fire ground environment, and the preparation begins on the training ground. However, in some jurisdictions, the training ground has become anything but an environment that promotes positive and safe attitudes.

Look back over your career. Can you recall a fire instructor who influenced you positively? Negatively? What were the major differences between these instructors? Several attitudes, practices, and attributes distinguish the positive instructor from the negative one.
The course is being taught by K. Doc Patterson. Doc is also teaching Lead with a Vision, Not a Tradition at the Conference. (see below)
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Pride and Ownership: The Love for the Job
click here for a short video from Chief Lasky
Ignite Your Love for the Job. Pride and Ownership holds
no punches. Chief Rick Lasky takes a
hard look at the fire service and finds it
short on the only element that makes it
effective: passion. Chief Lasky gives an
upfront and honest criticism about the
need to reignite the love of the job on
every level, from chiefs on down.
Do you have what it takes? Not everyone
is cut out for the fire service. It takes only
the best to serve the public when people need help most.
Pride and Ownership calls for men and women with honor
and integrity to measure up to the task.
There’s nothing else in the world like being a firefighter.
Every day Chief Lasky remembers why his job is the best
in the world and he brings that passion to Pride and
Ownership. Chief Lasky revisits the proud history and
tradition of the fire service and reflects on the family values
and brotherhood that have made firefighting a truly family oriented
vocation.

Rick Lasky, a 30-year veteran of the fire service, is chief (ret.) of the Lewisville (TX) Fire Department. Rick began his career as a firefighter in the suburbs on the southwest side of Chicago and while in Illinois received the 1996 International Society of Fire Service Instructors “Innovator of the Year” award for his part in developing the “Saving Our Own” program. He served as the co-lead instructor for the H.O.T. Firefighter Survival program at FDIC for over 10 years, is an editorial advisory board member of Fire Engineering Magazine and also serves on the FDIC advisory board. Rick contributes monthly to Fire Engineering’s Roundtable column, is the author of both the “Pride and Ownership-A Firefighter’s Love of the Job” leadership series featured in Fire Engineering Magazine and the best-selling book published by PennWell Books, as well as the host for the radio show “Pride and Ownership” heard on Fire Engineering Radio.
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Avoiding Human Error on the Fireground
The Fire Service has recognized many of the fireground
injuries and related LODD’s are directly related to poor
decision making by personnel on the fireground. Findings
show how a fatal chain of errors made by personnel, from the
Incident Commander to the rookie firefighter, promulgate the
problem in the American Fire Service. This course is designed
to identify those specific factors associated with the error
chain and establish corrective action models to reverse this
dangerous trend.

Ed Hadfield is a Division Chief with the City of Coronado Fire Department in San Diego, California. In his 25 years of professional experience, he has been recognized as a leader in Fireground Command Operations, Command Officer Succession Development, Truck Company Functions, and Fire Service Leadership. He holds a Bachelors’ Degree from Azusa Pacific University in Organizational Leadership, and is currently completing his Masters Degree in Leadership Studies at Azusa Pacific University and the EFO program through the National Fire Academy. He is a frequent speaker at fire service conferences and training programs nationwide, and provides leadership training to multiple corporate agencies as well.
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Lead With A Vision, Not a Tradition

K. Doc Patterson, Chief Creative Officer, K. J. Patterson Doc started his career as a volunteer firefighter to career Fire Officer in Monmouth, Illinois. Doc served as the Director of Education & Media Affairs in the Chicago area. Doc has over 37 years in the fire service. Doc has taught many aspects of the fire service, from basic firefighter skills, instructor and fire officer development and firefighter safety. His specialty includes Honor Guard Development, American Fire Service History and Emergency Team Motivation. Doc Patterson is known for his contagious excitement and enthusiasm. His interactive experience will ignite your Phoenix inside! If you help people grow…You will rise to a new level in you life. The key is to move with determination, sense of faith, achievement and self-respect.
Doc has made three national television appearances, worked with the Professional Athletes, and is a nationally known speaker across this great nation. The Heart and Mind of a champion is in every one of us! Go for the gold in all aspects of your life! “May Your Spirit Rise… like a Phoenix from the Ashes!” Doc Patterson has a Degree in Fire Science; serves with the Illinois Fire Service Institute and his own consulting firm K.J. Patterson, specializing in personal & professional development for teams and officers in all aspects of Emergency Services.
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Functional Fireground Accountability
Fireground non-cardiac line of duty deaths that involve
some level of accountability failure are in the majority.
We can, and must do better. This course will utilize case
studies to identify the issue of fireground accountability as
an important contributing factor in many line of duty deaths
and offer realistic solutions to fire departments, volunteer,
combination and career on how they can begin to address
this issue within their own fireground operations. Establishing
and maintaining effective and functional fireground
accountability with a strong command and control system,
establishment of identifiable and cohesive crews and good
communications is well within the grasp of every department
regardless of size or make-up.
An
injured Los Angeles firefighter is taken for treatment following a
house fire in July. His injuries were not life threatening. Photo courtesy firerescue1.com |
Tracking personnel can be difficult, especially when mutual aid is involved, or personally-owned-vehicles respond to the scene. Who is keeping track of you when you answer the call? We will discuss the challenges that you face, especially issues associated with keeping track of personnel from several different agencies and response styles, and leave you with tools to simplify this challenging process. Lastly, we will discuss personal responsibility. Each of us has a responsibility to let someone know where we are and what we are doing. We will explore how you and your crew can stay accountable while you work, no matter how big or small your department is, incorporating proven practices into your on-scene work habits.

Chris Langlois, Midwest Fire Training Group, has 23 years of volunteer and career fire service experience. Presently he serves as a Training Officer with the Omaha Fire Department. His national certifications include Firefighter I & II, Instructor I & II, Fire Officer I & II, Driver/Operator and Incident Safety Officer, as well as being a NREMT-Paramedic. He holds degrees in Public Fire Administration and Executive Fire Service Leadership.
Captain Dan Miller has over 30 years of volunteer and career experience. He is a Training Officer with the Omaha Fire Department and an adjunct instructor with Metro Community College. He is NFPA Instructor-II certified. Dan is an instructor with Midwest Fire Training Group.
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Thriving on the Fireground
Are you Combat Ready?
Are you prepared to THRIVE on the fireground?

Chris Brennan is a 14 year fire service veteran who has taught and consulted for local, state, federal, and international responders. His articles have appeared in numerous publications including Fire Engineering and Fire Chief. Christopher Brennan is the author of The Combat Position: Achieving Firefighter Readiness and the website www.fireservicewarrior.com.
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Adaptive Fireground Management for Command & Company Officer
This highly interactive program will present insights into
emerging concepts and methodologies related to the unique
challenges during combat structural fire engagement that
require new strategic, tactical and operational modeling
due to extreme fire behavior, building construction and
occupancy risk. Predictive Risk Management, Command
Compression, Tactical Patience and Five-Star Command™
theories will be presented though interactive scenarios and
group activities. This program will address operational
considerations for command and company officers and
will focus on various department sizes and organizational
profiles.

Chris Naum is a 36-year fire service veteran and a highly regarded author, lecturer, national author and fire officer; he is a distinguished authority on building construction issues affecting the fire and emergency services. He is a nationally recognized authority on command and operational excellence and firefighter safety. An Adjunct Instructor with the National Fire Academy, he served on the Board of Directors, IAFC Safety, Health & Survival Section and is the second vice president of the ISFSI. A former architect and fire protection engineer, he was the 1987 ISFSI George D. Post National Fire Instructor of the Year, is a technical reviewer to the NIOSH Firefighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program and is the Chief of Training for the Command Institute, a Washington, DC based emergency management & training organization. He served over thirty years with a large volunteer fire department in NY, with twenty years as a company officer in field operations.
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Firefighter Rehab and Medical Monitoring
Using the IAFC “Rehab and Medical Monitoring: An Intro to
NFPA 1584” program, this presentation provides a realistic
look at implementing rehab that increases available
manpower, allows firefighters to work harder and longer
with less injuries. Practical pointers for medical monitoring
with examples of effective rehab programs will be provided.

Mike McEvoy, PhD, NRP, RN, CCRN, is the EMS Coordinator for Saratoga County, New York and EMS Director on the Board of the New York State Association of Fire Chiefs. He is a Professor Emeritus in Critical Care Medicine at Albany Medical College in New York and continues to practice as a clinical nurse specialist in adult and pediatric cardiac surgery. Mike is a paramedic for Clifton Park-Halfmoon Ambulance, chief medical officer and firefighter/paramedic for West Crescent Fire Department. He is the FireEMS editor for Fire Engineering magazine, a widely published autheor and popular speaker at Fire, EMS, and medical conferences worldwide. In his free time, Mike is an avid hiker and winter mountain climber.
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Situational Awareness
Things Every Firefighter & Officer Should Understand About Fireground Dynamics
click here for a short video from the instructors

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Earl Rudolph has been providing EMS
and fire service for 38 years. He began
his career as a volunteer in Papillion in
1972 and retired as Training Officer for
Fremont Fire Dept in 2010. He continues
as a volunteer for Springfield Fire
Department and part-time instructor for
the State Fire Marshal Training Division.
Earl became an EMS Instructor in 1975, opened his private
EMS Training Agency in 1977 and has provided EMS and
Fire training to many people throughout the years. Earl has
been married for 36 years to his wonderful wife, Rita.
Eric Rasmussen began his volunteer
fire service in 1968. He has served as
Firefighter, Fire Chief, Training Officer
and Board member for Southeast
Rural Fire District. He is Firefighter
II and Fire Instructor I certified.
Eric worked for 32 years as the
Training Specialist for the Nebraska
Forest Service. In the mid 1970’s, he participated in the
development of the Red Card certification system. Although
he’s retired, Eric remains active at Southeast Rural, is on
the Greenwood Rural Board and is active with NSVFA,
Nebraska Fire Chief’s Ass’n and NSFSI. He’s also an advisor
to the Southeast Community College Fire Protection program
and is a part-time instructor for the SFMTD.
Russ Daly has been involved in the
fire service since 1963, when he joined
Ralston Volunteer Fire and Rescue.
During his time at Ralston, he served
as a fire fighter before becoming the
Rescue Capt and later Fire Chief. In
1981, he began teaching with the
Nebraska State Fire Service as a Full
Time Instructor, and in 1986 became Director. He held this
position until 1992. Russ is currently Board President of
the Murray Rural Fire Protection District and serves as Fire
Instructor for the Murray Fire and Rescue Department.
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Fire Instructor I
This course is designed to give the student the knowledge
and ability to teach from prepared, predominately skills
oriented, materials. Areas covered include: communication,
learning concepts, human relations in the teaching-learning
environment, teaching methods, organizing the learning
environment, records and reports, testing and responsibilities,
teaching techniques, and use of instructional materials. An
additional weekend of class (March 2, 3 & 4, 2012) is
required to complete Instructor I certification. The second
weekend will be hosted at the Kearney Fire Department
Training Center.
The required textbook for this course, IFSTA Fire and
Emergency Services Instructor
(7th Edition), will be available for
purchase at check-in. Class Limit - 26
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Bill Pfeifer is a Training Specialist
for the SFMTD serving the Northeast
region. He has been a full time
instructor since 2001 teaching classes
in Extrication, Haz-mat and Fire and
Emergency Services Instructor.
Rick Grauerholz has been an
instructor with the SFMTD since 1984.
He is a 27 year member of NSFSI
and has taught numerous times at the
Winter Conference. Rick has been a
member of Ashland Fire Department
since 1972.
Michael Lloyd began his fire
service career in 1980, serving with
a variety of career and volunteer departments. He is
currently a Station Chief with Offutt
AFB providing structural and aircraft
fire suppression in addition to EMS,
HAZMAT and technical rescue. Mike
has been a part-time instructor with the
SFMTD since 1997 teaching Incident
Command, Building Construction and
Fire Instructor
courses.
Dennis Baber (not Pictured) is a Training Specialist
with the SFMTD.
Brent Doring (not pictured) is a parttime
instructor with the SFMTD.
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The Company Officer, Leading, Learning and Laying In
Leading, learning and laying in presents the three priorities
of the company officer: leadership, training and critical
decision making, using a “day in the life” format that can be
applied the next day in the front seat of the rig and in life
at the station.
This presentation is designed for both new company officers
and the veteran looking for a recharge. The goal of this
class is to distill these massive topics down and bring them
together for immediate application. The result is a fast
paced presentation of nuggets, plans and thought processes
critical to success for motivating, training and working at the
company level. The points shared were found both the hard
way and given by those who inspire me. The program will
be essentially divided into sub sections.
Leading - The first component of the class is leadership.
When you step into the role of company officer your actions,
words and associations are constantly being observed. If
you are unaware, this will kill you. If you recognize this it will
catapult you. I will show how to set the example by getting
out of bed early to hit the gym to handling personnel issues
with honesty and straight talk.
Learning - This section will provide training programs, lists
of online and print resources, drill and lesson plans that are
easy to plug into day to day operations. With the demands
on today’s company officer it is difficult to do things right
because so many administrative duties demand our attention
right away. Training cannot suffer from this. This will save
officers time by showing them ready made material for
immediate use.

Lieutenant Brian Brush of Lakewood Colorado has 15 years experience in the fire service. Brian received his Fire Officer Designation from the Center for Public Safety Excellence in 2010. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Fire and Emergency Services and an Associate’s Degree in Paramedicine. He has written for Fire Engineering, presented at FDIC, and is a contributor for www.fireservicewarrior.com
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Ice Rescue
Is your team prepared to be first on the scene to handle
an ice emergency?
Dive Rescue International’s Ice Rescue certification course teaches:
How to avoid becoming a victim
How to recognize ice hazards
How to evaluate ice strength
This program allows you to practice multiple ice rescues
with victims who have fallen through the ice.
Other program
topics include:
Ice conditions and ice formation
Hypothermia & cold-water near-drowning
Equipment selection and rigging techniques
Operational planning and scene evaluation
Prerequisites - Member of a public safety agency and at
least 18 years old. This program is designed for personnel
who are physically fit. Participants are encouraged
to participate after successfully completing the IADRS
Watermanship Test or testing to a fitness level of 13 MET
(Metabolic Equivalents) or greater. Participants with aerobic
fitness questions or concerns should consult their physician
prior to in-water training. Participants who have poor
aerobic fitness may attend this program as surface support
personnel with the approval of the instructor.
Ice Rescue requires the purchase of a student manual ($15).
It may be purchased with your registration. Limited numbers
will be available at the Conference. Also note, class is
limited to 30 students. The class will be split in half for hands
on work (Sat PM/Sun AM) to allow more hands on time.
When you register, please select Ice Rescue AND a 4-hour
class for Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.
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Brad Thavenet is an 11 year veteran of Lincoln Fire Rescue. Currently Captain Thavenet is Water Rescue Commander for the department, member of NEFT-1, and an international instructor and author for Dive Rescue International. Captain Thavenet has presented at international conferences and has instructed classes to FDNY, Los Angeles City Fire, Canadian Fire Depts and many others.
Joe Vandenack has been a member of the Yutan Volunteer Fire Department for 13 years. During that time he has also been on the Emergency Response Dive Teams at Boystown, Ralston and Yutan, Nebraska. Joe has been teaching Dive Rescue International’s Ice Rescue Course since 2003.
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An
injured Los Angeles firefighter is taken for treatment following a
house fire in July. His injuries were not life threatening. Photo courtesy firerescue1.com







2011
P.O. Box 80405