2027 Classes
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8 Hour, Hands On Training (H.O.T.)
Location: Kearney VFD Training CenterModern vehicle incidents demand more than basic door pops and dash lifts. Beyond the Guardrail: Advanced Vehicle Extrication is an intensive, hands-on program built for firefighters and rescue personnel looking to push beyond foundational extrication skills and sharpen their operational capabilities in complex vehicle rescue environments.
This class focuses on advanced extrication concepts, problem-solving under pressure, and realistic tactics for challenging passenger vehicle incidents. Students will work through stabilization, access, disentanglement, tool placement, advanced lifting and displacement techniques, and adapting to evolving vehicle construction challenges. Emphasis is placed on operational decision-making, crew coordination, and efficient rescue workflows that translate directly to the street.
Designed and taught by active firefighters with real-world technical rescue experience, this program cuts through textbook theory and focuses on aggressive, practical application. Attendees should expect a physically engaging, high-tempo learning environment built around realistic scenarios, teamwork, and critical thinking.
This is not an introductory extrication class, it is designed for responders who want to move beyond the basics and challenge the way they approach vehicle rescue.
This class is a Hands-On Physical Atmosphere and requires the participant to sign a liability waiver to participate.
Full Rescue PPE & Eye Protection required
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8 Hour, Hands On Training (H.O.T.)
Location: Kearney VFD Training Center“The Mission Driven Engine Company” is an aggressive, hands-on firefighting course designed to build highly effective engine company firefighters and officers who understand the true mission of the first-due engine. This class focuses on stretching and operating all sizes of attack lines under realistic fireground conditions while emphasizing speed, discipline, communication, and tactical decision-making.
Students will train on deploying and advancing multiple hose line configurations in a variety of simulated but realistic fireground environments, including suburban and rural residential and commercial fire scenarios. The course will place a strong emphasis on aggressive interior fire attack, coordinated engine company operations, and making mission-driven decisions that prioritize civilian life safety, firefighter safety, and fire control.
Through realistic scenario-based evolutions, participants will develop confidence in:
Stretching and operating various attack line sizes
Advancing hose lines in challenging environments
Nozzle management and water application
Coordinated aggressive fire attack tactics
Engine company positioning and operational readiness
Mission-driven fireground strategy and decision-making
Operating effectively with limited staffing and high-pressure conditions
Fireground conditions and training scenarios will be realistic in nature while conducted in a controlled and simulated training environment designed to maximize learning and operational effectiveness.
This class is built for firefighters who want to sharpen their engine company fundamentals while embracing a disciplined and aggressive mindset centered around accomplishing the mission on the fireground.
This class is a Hands-On Physical Atmosphere and requires the participant to sign a liability waiver to participate.
Full Structural Firefighting PPE, SCBA, and extra air bottle required.
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8 Hour, Hands On Training (H.O.T.)
Location: Kearney VFD Training CenterTactical EMS teaches skills not just for high-speed, low-drag tactical operators, they’re skills that can empower anyone to save a life in a any situation or setting. No matter if you’re a paramedic, a firefighter, or simply a well prepared citizen, this class will teach you the skills necessary to treat the most common life-threatening injuries to help save yourself, your friends, and your loved ones from preventable deaths in any situation you may find yourself in.
This class combines classroom, hands-on training, and role play scenarios to teach critical life saving skills and provide examples of scenarios in which they are applicable.
This class is a Hands-On Physical Atmosphere and requires the participant to sign a liability waiver to participate.
Comfortable (ready for Nebraska weather in February) clothing highly encouraged.
EMS CE Elligible
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8 Hour, Classroom
Location: Holiday Inn Convention CenterThe Les Lukert EMS Skills Rodeo is a full-day, hands-on educational program designed to maximize utilization of the State's newly acquired simulation resources while providing engaging, high-quality training for both Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Life Support (ALS) providers.
Participants will be divided into four teams and rotate through four immersive learning stations utilizing the new medium-fidelity simulation manikins and virtual reality (VR) equipment. Each station will provide extensive hands-on practice, scenario-based learning, and instructor feedback in a low-risk environment.
EMS CE Elligible
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4 Hour, Classroom
Location: Holiday Inn Convention CenterIn today’s fire service, it is common to see fire departments that purchase pumping apparatus with 1,500- to 2,000-gpm rated pumps. NFPA 1900 states that apparatus with pump capacities greater than 1,500 gpm must be capable of doing so using no more than two separate suction lines. This may seem like a trivial piece of information; however, it is often overlooked and results in less-than-ideal flow rates in the real world.
This course is designed to teach students fireground proven methods for maximizing their flow capability while operating from a static source. Students will be introduced to several alternative drafting techniques that don’t require the use of a primer. Methods for expanding the initial system to incorporate multiple intakes will then be discussed. This setup will yield higher fire flows and reduce the amount of work required by the pumper during rural water supply operations. The instructor will also discuss options and methods for accessing water from challenging water sources.
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4 Hour, Classroom
Location: Holiday Inn Convention CenterWhat is a skeptic? There are many definitions, but for the sake of this session, we will define it as "an individual who asks questions about widely accepted ideas and facts." In this session, we hope to examine many widely held beliefs and practices in mainstream training and leadership. We will consider the effectiveness and truths behind many of our practices and demonstrate methodologies that may transform how you approach training and how you actively lead.
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2 Hour, Symposium
Location: Holiday Inn Convention CenterThis discussion-based session will explore the need to move away from traditional lecture-based classrooms to deliver training that meets your real-life emergency response needs.
Instructors are responsible for distilling the need-to-know information from the nice-to-know and nuts-to-know information that overwhelms our standard training and saps our time and attention. Why is that so challenging? Participants in this class will learn to develop training tactics that use training time most efficiently to maximize their company's, battalion's, or department's operational capacity. Learn how to distill and transmit knowledge while creating a scaffold with lesson planning. Explore the importance of context in training, operations, and leadership.
Participants will use this contextual lens to integrate adult learning best practices and lessons from the Fire Service Research Institute with response needs, developing actionable training plans to achieve aggressive outcomes in the field.
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2 Hour, Symposium
Location: Holiday Inn Convention CenterNo matter your time on the job or rank, you will walk away from a Leadership From The Bottom Up class fired up to be a rockstar you were meant to be and help drive positive change in yourself, your crew, and your organization! This no-nonsense candid conversation discusses real issues plaguing fire departments along with tactics on how to solve them.
But wait! That’s not all, as a bonus you will also learn how to be a better leader! Warning: This is not your typical leadership class or for the faint of heart. This class is unfiltered, unapologetic, and unforgettable!
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2 Hour, Symposium
Location: Holiday Inn Convention CenterTaking Control: Homefront to the Fireground is a presentation designed for firefighters, spouses, and families. The program can be delivered to firefighters or spouses individually, a combined audience, or as a dual presentation by Joe and Heather, offering perspectives from both the fireground and the homefront.
The presentation begins by examining how stress affects the body. Firefighters routinely experience stress induced tachycardia, which differs significantly from exertion induced tachycardia. While physical exertion simply elevates heart rate, stress induced tachycardia can result in tunnel vision, auditory exclusion, diminished fine motor skills, and impaired decision making. Attendees will learn how these physiological responses affect performance on emergency scenes and impact communication, relationships, and decision making at home.
The second portion focuses on preparation and performance. This section bridges the gap between science and the fire service by exploring practical methods to manage stress before it manages us. Topics include controlled breathing, mindfulness, repetition based training, stress inoculation, and simplifying decision making. Attendees will also learn how these principles can be applied at home to reduce conflict, improve communication, and build stronger family relationships.
The final portion explores the mind. Through personal experiences as a firefighter family, Joe and Heather discuss balancing shift work, maintaining healthy relationships, involving family in the fire service journey, and prioritizing mental health. Attendees will be challenged to move beyond the idea of simply "leaving work at work" and instead learn practical ways to create balance between career and family life.
This presentation takes attendees on an honest journey through the challenges, lessons, successes, and struggles experienced on both the fireground and the homefront, providing practical tools to improve performance, and overall well being.
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2 Hour, Symposium
Location: Holiday Inn Convention CenterRecruitment and retention are not failing because people “don’t want to serve anymore.” They are failing because we stopped having honest conversations with purpose—about expectations, culture, leadership, and humanity.
This course cuts through excuses, generational blame, and surface-level fixes. Participants will examine why departments lose good people, why others never walk through the door, and what actually changes when organizations choose clarity, inclusion, accountability, and communication over silence and tradition alone.
Departments will explore how internal behavior shapes external reputation, why recruitment begins long before a social media post is ever made, and how retention is built through trust, opportunity, ownership, and meaningful leadership.
This is not a class about making flyers or improving Facebook engagement. This is a class about people.
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4 Hour, Classroom
Location: Holiday Inn Convention CenterPerfect for the classroom - this interactive, discussion based program will get us into the nitty gritty: your problems, your questions, and whatever you want to bring to the conversation. There is no set topic - simply what we can work through to get you ready to put in some elbow grease and make a change.
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4 Hour, Classroom
Location: Holiday Inn Convention CenterThis program dives deep into the complex and high-risk world of technical rescue, exploring the skills, strategies, and science behind saving lives in the most challenging environments. From structural collapse and confined space incidents to rope, trench and ice rescue, we break down proven tactics, real-world tips, and the underlying theories that guide successful outcomes. Understanding why our tools, equipment, and techniques work is just as vital as knowing how to use them. This knowledge ensures rescuers can adapt in dynamic, high-pressure situations when conditions don’t match the textbook. Whether responding to natural disasters, industrial accidents, or large-scale emergencies, this course equips rescuers with a blend of hands-on skills, critical thinking, and operational insight to work safely, efficiently, and effectively.
Designed for both seasoned responders and those building their rescue foundation, it’s a comprehensive resource for anyone committed to mastering the art and science of technical rescue.
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4 Hour, Classroom
Location: Holiday Inn Convention CenterFirefighting is a calling that demands everything, but too often, firefighters find themselves burned out and with a lost sense of purpose. This class challenges firefighters to rebuild their lives on a solid foundation so they can rediscover their passion for the job and their purpose in the fire service.
A strong foundation anchors your identity, purpose, and clarity to complete the mission. From that foundation, you can begin to intentionally build stronger family relationships and commit to consistent physical and mental fitness. And when the right things are in the right order, you become the best version of yourself, not only at home, but in the firehouse.
This class isn’t about adding more to your plate, it’s about putting the right things in the right order.
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4 Hour, Classroom
Location: Holiday Inn Convention CenterThis course offers an in-depth examination of the detrimental influences undermining our culture.
From the minimum call attenders, chronic complainers, and overall culture killers. We call them bottom feeders.
We will explore their methods and motivations, followed by a discussion of how they persist in our environment. After identifying and addressing these issues, we will focus on strategies to inspire our members to achieve success and foster a culture that encourages loyalty and retention.
