LECTURES

Attack from the Burned Side

There are many different tactics for attacking structure fires. For years the fire service has been preaching to Attack from the Unburned Side. This isn't always the best tactic. The fireground is evolving more than ever before and with the use of research to enhance our procedures this class will show different tasks and tactics that can be used to extinguish fires as quickly as possible from any geographical position on the fireground. Using case studies paired with practical experience this class will examine this particular fallacy along with others that have led to firefighters being injured and killed across the country due to water not getting on the base of the fire. This class is against the grain of traditional firefighting, and has an innovative approach at fighting the fires that we face today. This 2 hour presentation will also take a detailed look into the current UL-FSRI Fire Attack and Coordinated Attack research from the inside perspective of an FSRI Advisory Board Member. Interior and Exterior Fire Attack will be discussed at length and students will be given an inside look into the future of UL-FSRI research into these topics and the importance of them for fireground success.

Building Upon Ants: Avoiding Aerial Embarrassment

Firemen, like ants, have a level of eusociality to build upon a division of labor and colonies that occupy territories to survive and defeat a common enemy (fire). Many organizations struggle with aerial and ladder operations during fireground operations that cause suffering to the citizens they serve and the morale within the organization. This lecture will attack the core values of aerial embarrassment and communicate tasks, skills, and information that will build an aerial ladder culture within your organization. Don't fall to the aerial embarrassment, build a colony.

Challenges of Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Responses

Understanding new vehicle construction while responding to incidents involving electric vehicles (EV's) and Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV's) New vehicles are now designed around the propulsion systems (batteries) and how our techniques must change to mitigate emergencies in the battery systems, charging systems, high voltage converters, wiring, and computer systems. Earlier vehicles simply replaced combustion engines with batteries and a smaller system. The vehicles of today and tomorrow are designed around the batteries and 2-4 high voltage wheel motors that propel these vehicles. Challenges of knowing the different methods of construction that protect the multi-cell, module, bricks of battery containers. How to access the systems for shutting down the vehicles safely. Fighting fires in these vehicles safely, efficiently, and effectively is becoming an ever increasing challenge. Understanding the chemical makeup of the Battery materials, flammable lubricants surrounding them, and limited access issues plague the fire service.

Courage Under Fire

As a fire service professional in today's fire service of any rank, and from any type or size of department, you must possess “Courage Under Fire” and continuously aspire to be the best you can be for those you are fortunate to serve and/or lead. Most importantly, if we truly care about "them", we will do everything we can to be the best we can be, which includes being aggressive in all of our aspects of the job, most definitely when we are on the fireground and/or preparing for that opportunity to best serve the community and those we serve alongside.

The saying, “If I only knew then what I knew now” is the focus of this session. Do you have what it takes to be a great fire professional in the year 2023 and more importantly beyond? Situations a fire service professional of any rank may face today can have severe consequences to the positive image of the fire service, their career, or the careers of those they lead or follow.

Current topics affecting the fire service, events that have occurred to the fire service (good and not-so-good), as well as personal lessons learned (some the hard way), will be shared and discussed in a positive and productive manner. Regardless of rank, attendees will leave with numerous tips for leadership success!

Fireground Decision Making: A Combination of Science & Art

No one can naturally assume command at a dynamic incident and be successful at the endeavor. Leading forces at an emergency is an acquired skill. Unfortunately, many organizations do not understand the varied elements that make up a truly effective incident commander. This course is designed to produce effective leaders who understand how they are making decisions, not just filling out tactical worksheets or repeating what they have heard others say on the radio. This course can include scenarios and fireground simulations built around buildings from your jurisdiction, using your operating guidelines, and your resource capabilities. This customized approach will require additional lead time and interaction to ensure the deliverables meet your expectations.

Five or Die Culture - Preparing Your Organization to Survive the MAYDAY

Annually, the fire service experiences Line Of Duty Deaths (LODD) attributed to sudden events where members are Down, Unconscious, Not Breathing in a IDLH environment. We call these a Fire Chief's worst case scenario, a MAYDAY Rescue Event or "Five Or Die" situation. These MAYDAY events, both career and volunteer, are frequently caused by medical events. Time is everything and this presentation serves as an attempt to change a deep rooted existing culture which supports a slow reactive rescue mindset. This presentation is based in part on sound data submitted by departments which have experienced a MAYDAY event. Chief Don Abbott's Project MAYDAY has become a standard in the search for more effective data regarding the causation and prevention of the MAYDAY event. This data coupled with 20 years worth of studies on Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) has assisted us in identifying behaviors which can be modified in delivering preventative measures. This presentation provides a candid opportunity to challenge attendees to go home and conduct a fair and reasonable assessment as to exactly how many minutes it takes to remove their members from a "Five Or Die" scenario in a below/above grade situation. The four major studies we reference have shown it takes between approximately 12 to 24 minutes to remove one of their own from a below grade environment. We suggest this is a failure and this presentation is designed to help the student go back home and build an exciting new culture. We will discuss a proven process of how to remove their own in less than 5 minutes. The class goes on to discuss how RIT is no longer FAST and when one of their own is in a "Five Or Die" situation their partners have literally 5 minutes to remove and provide critical pre-hospital care. We intend to provide an atmosphere where the attendee's can openly discuss conventional RIT operations versus what can be done by their own members in proximity of the down member. MAYDAY prevention, firefighter self rescue, and pre RIT removal and handoff will be discussed. As an added bonus we will share new techniques for victim movement and rescue with drags, carries and a Hasty Rescue Device (HRD) In closing we discuss the value and critical need to incorporate Fire Fighter Down CPR into their training program. This session is designed to be FAST paced and thought provoking. Our ultimate goal is that it serves as a catalyst for a new culture in todays fire service.

Lazy to Leader

This class go through a plan and tools to help get that non performer in the station engaged and build a better crew. The presentation goes through experience gained in over 20 years in the fire service and uses real world examples. This class is designed for officers, senior firefighters, or anyone just trying to make their crew better.

Resolute Leadership

What if I told you leadership has nothing to do with rank? Leadership is far too often seen as something above us, or out of our reach. Having the courage to lead, even when we are not in a leadership position, has been vital to the sustained success of the fire service for decades. Both formal and informal leaders of all ranks will benefit from this lecture and discussion on leadership, owning one’s own actions, the actions of their crew, and implementing positive change. Simply leading by example and holding yourself and those around you to a higher standard can change attitudes, performance, and even an organization as a whole. Join us for an open, honest, and high energy discussion about how we, the current and future leaders of the fire service, can be better servant leaders.

The Art of Reading Smoke

Today’s structure fires are more dangerous than ever before. Lightweight construction, low-mass synthetics, and open space floorplans have created a perfect storm for rapid, prolific fire growth and extreme behavior. It is imperative for firefighters of all ranks and experience levels to be prepared for this new battle. The Art of Reading Smoke, developed by Dave Dodson and continued by Rob Backer, provides the knowledge necessary for first-arriving firefighters, officers, and chief officers to determine the fire’s location, progression, and future “from the seat” before seeing any flame. This knowledge ensures that the correct tactics are implemented for the best possible outcome. Through the extensive use of actual fireground videos, first-time students will develop, and return students will refine their knowledge and skills to become INTELLECTUALLY aggressive firefighters, rather than ARBITRARILY aggressive. The next generation of Reading Smoke brings new research, a new library of videos, and discussion on cancer prevention, tactics and strategies to develop the next generation of aggressive interior firefighting!

The Engine Company Playbook

At every fire, a line must be stretched. No matter the building construction or the occupancy type, this action must be taken. In this class we will take a no nonsense approach to the coveted “Engine Company Playbook”. Do you call the correct play to meet the needs of the fire? Do you contain the ability to call an audible when necessary? The Engine Company Playbook focus’ on first due tactics, efficient methods of fire attack, and alternative methods when the preconnect just wont cut it. Every occupancy type, residential, commercial, and high-rise, has its own challenges. We will discuss these challenges and how to call the right play. This course will take a comprehensive, yet simplistic approach to engine company operations. It’s time to start building your playbook for game time!

The Hat Dance

As adequate staffing continues to become more of a fantasy than a reality for many departments, the modern company officer is asked to wear many hats ranging from tailboard firefighter to command level officer. With a strong company officer often being the difference between fireground failure and success, we must reconsider what we are asking of our company officers and how they carry out their duties. This class aims to empower and encourage company officers battling the realities of limited manpower armed only with strategies found in formal training and education designed for staffing models that are no longer realistic for the average fire department. We will break down how to balance firemanship and leadership, adapting leadership and managerial responsibilities to low staffing environments, the delicate balance of mentor and boss, proper approaches to delegation, the importance of humility, and strategies for accomplishing mission critical tasks early in the incident without the manpower to do so. By bridging personal and departmental expectations with the realities of limited manpower, current and aspiring company officers will leave with the tools and attitudes necessary to lead their teams to victory lane.

The Power of Balance: Unlocking Your Full Potential in Leadership & Life

Unlocking Your Full Potential in Leadership & In Life is a presentation that I have been extremely excited about creating and sharing with leaders at all levels. This class will help the audience fill in the gaps that have always existed in leadership character & qualities. To begin, the audience and I will look at the process of listing character traits that are important for leaders to have and how our own personal bias affect what our lists look like. In other words, without even thinking about it we put a higher value on those traits that we possess over the ones that we struggle with. This is an interesting thought and one that we need to understand better.