hvSTRUCT-O-GRAMrsFsr THE HANDS-ON TRAINING GUIDE

FOR THE FIRE INSTRUCTOR

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NFPA 1021 - An Officer's Guide (Part Two)

TASKThe purpose of this month's Instruct-O-Gram isto provide fire service personnel with a greater un-derstanding of how to utilize the skill and knowl-edge components of being a fire service officer, asspecified in NFPA I02l - Standard on Fire Of-ficer Professional Qualifications. You will be bet-ter able to accomplish this educational processthrough the use of lecture and the attached check-list. We would also recommend that sufficient cop-ies of the standard be made available so that stu-dents can perform required reading assignments.The development of this training session will re-quire the instructor to do a great deal of readingand preparation.

INTRODUCTIONIt is critical for students to have a basic understand-ing of their role within their fire department. Theymustknow whatthey are expectedto do during eachtype of suppression and station operations whereinthey are to play a role. Each student should alsounderstand why officers are required in order foran ors.anization to fulfill its mission.

Copyright @ 2002 International Society ofFire Service Instructors

All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher.

If they have no concept of mission, they maybe unable to accomplish the goals and objectivesof their organizatton. In order to better participatein their fire department, students should understandwhat organizations are. It is critical that they un-derstand how they personally fit into the overallfire department operation.

CLASS OUTLINEThe instructor should first give the students read-ing assignments that will allow them to prepare forthe training session. The instructor will review theoutline with his or her class. The instructor maywish to use examples, or call for examples fromthe students. The instructor may also wish to en-courage brainstorming sessions to create an enthu-siasm among the students.

1. Chapter One -Administration - Definitions

2. Chapter Two - Fire Officer I

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES1. Upon completion of this class, the student

will be able to explain and use the defini-tions within Chapter One of NFPA 1021.

2. Upon completion of this class, the studentwill be able to describe those elements ofprerequisite knowledge that officer candi-

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dates should possess as listed within theStandard.

3. Upon completion of this class, the studentwill be able to explain the concept of FireOfficer I.

4. Upon completion of this class, the studentwill be able to understand and explain theduties and responsibilities that an individualat the Fire Officer I level must be able toperform as listed within the Human Rela-tions section from NFPA 1021.

PRESENTATION OUTLINE1. Definitions (All definitions are from the

Standard)

Approved - Acceptable to the authorityhaving jurisdiction.

Authority Having Jurisdiction - The organi-zation, office, or individual responsiblefor approving equipment, an installa-tion, or a procedure.

Comprehensive Emergency ManagementPlan - Planning document that includespreplan information and resources forthe management of catastrophic emer-gencies within the jurisdiction.

Fire Department - An organization providingrescue, fire suppression, and otherrelated activities. For the purposes ofthis Standard, the term "fire depart-ment" shallinclude any public, private,or military organization engaging inthis type of activity.

Fire Officer I -The fire officer, at the super-visory level, who has met the jobperformance requirements specified inthis Standard for Level I.

Fire Officer II - The fire officer, at thesupervisory lmanagerral level, who hasmet the job performance requirementsspecified in this Standard for Level II.

Fire Officer III - The fire officer, at themanagerial/administrative level, whohas met the job performance require-

ments specified in this Standard forLevel III.

Fire Officer IV - The fire officer, at theadministrative level, who has met thejob performance requirements speci-fied in this Standard for Level IV.

Incident Management System - An orga-nized system of roles, responsibilities,and standard operating proceduresused to manage and direct emergencyoperations.

Job Performance Requirement - A state-ment that describes a specific jobtask, lists the items necessary tocomplete the task, and defines mea-surable or observable outcomes andevaluation areas for the specific task.

Labeled - Equipment or materials to whichhas been attached a label, symbol, orother identifying mark of an organiza-tion that is acceptable to the authorityhaving jurisdiction and concernedwith product evaluation, that main-tains periodic inspection of produc-tion of labeled equipment or materi-als, and by whose labeling the manu-facturer indicates compliance withappropriate standards or performancein a specified manner.

Listed - Equipment, materials, or servicesincluded in a list published by anorganrzatron that is acceptable to theauthority having jurisdiction andconcemed with evaluation of prod-ucts or services, that maintainsperiodic inspection of production oflisted equipment or materials orperiodic evaluation of services, andwhose listing states that either theequipment, material, or service meetsidentified standards or has been testedand found suitable for a specifiedpurpose.

Member - A person involved in performingthe duties and responsibilities of a fire

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department under the auspices of theorganrzatron. A fire department mem-ber can be a full-time or parl-timeemployee or a paid or unpaid volunteer,can occupy any position or rank withinthe fire department, and can engage inemergency operations.

Promotion - The advancement of a memberfrom one rank to a higher rank by amethod such as election, appointment,merit, or examination.

Qualification. Having satisfactorily com-pleted the requirements of the objec-tives.

Shall - Indicates a mandatory requirement.

Should - Indicates a recommendation or thatwhich is advised but not required.

Supervisor - An individual responsible foroverseeing the performance or activityof other members.

Unit - An engine company, truck company,or other functional or administrativegroup.

Fire Officer I

2-I General.

For certification at Fire Officer Level Ithe candidate shall meet the require-ments of Fire Fighter II as defined inNFPA 1001, Standard on Fire FighterProfessional Qualifications, and the jobperformance requirements defined inSections 2-2 throus.h 2-7 of this stan-dard.

2-1. 1 General Prerequisite Knowledge.

The organizatronal structure of thedepartment; departmental operatingprocedures for administration, emer-gency operations, and safety; depart-mental budget process; informationmanagement and record keeping; thefire prevention and building safetycodes and ordinances applicable to thejurisdiction; incident management

system; socioeconomic and politicalfactors that impact the fire service;cultural diversity; methods used bysupervisors to obtain cooperationwithin a group of subordinates; therights of management and members;agreements in force between theorganization and members; policiesand procedures regarding the opera-tion of the department as they involvesupervisors and members.

2-L2 General Prerequisite Skills

The ability to communicate verballyand in writing, to write reports, and tooperate in the incident managementsystem.

Human Resource Management

This duty involves utilizing humanresources to accomplish assignmentsin a safe and efficient manner andsupervising personnel during emer-gency and non-emergency workperiods, according to the followingjob performance requirements.

2-2.rAssign tasks or responsibilitiesto unit members, given anassignment at an emergencyoperation, so that the instructionsare complete, clear, and concise;safety considerations are ad-dressed; and the desired out-comes are conveyed.

(a) Prerequisite Knowledge: Verbalcommunications during emer-gency situations, techniques usedto make assignments understressful situations, methods ofconfirming understanding.

(b) Prerequisite Skills: The ability rocondense instructions for fre-quently assigned unit tasks basedupon training and standardoperating procedures.

a a

)

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2-2.2

Assign tasks or responsibilities tounit members, given an assign-ment under non-emergency condi-tions at a station or other worklocation, so that the instructionsare complete, clear, and concise;safety considerations are ad-dressed; and the desired outcomesare conveyed.

(a) Prerequisite Knowledge: Verbalcommunications under non-emergency situations, techniquesused to make assignments underroutine situations, methods ofconfirming understanding.

(b) Prerequisite Skills: The ability toissue instructions for frequentlyassigned unit tasks based upondepartment policy.

2-2.3Direct unit members during atraining evolution, given a com-pany training evolution and train-ing policies and procedures, sothat the evolution is performedsafely, efficiently, and as directed.

(a) Prerequisite Knowledge: Verbalcommunication techniques tofacilitate learnins.

(b) Prerequisite Skills: The ability todistribute issue-guided directionsto unit members during trainingevolutions.

SUMMARYIn this month's edition we have presented thesecond in a series of Instruct-O-Grams de-signed to assist you in understanding the Na-tional Fire Protection Association's Standard onFire Officer Professional Qualifications. Wewould urge you to retain each of these IOGs inyour training files in order to allow for theorderly delivery of officer's training. We urgeyou to conduct a complete review of this Stan-dard prior to conducting any classroom sessions.We would also recommend that a copy of thestandard be made available for each student. Forvolume discounts, contact the National FireProtection Association at (617) 770-3000. Youmay also visit them on the Internet atwwwNFPA.org.

This Instruct-O-Gram was created by Dr. HarryR. Carter, MIFireE, a municipal fire protectionconsultant from Adelphia, New Jersey. Dr.Carter is a former President of ISFSI

I NSTRUCTOR/STUDENT REFERENCE

NFPA I02I - Standard on Fire Officer Profes-sional Qualifications ( 1997 Edition)

The Instruct-O-Gram is the monthly training outline of the International

Society of Fire Service Instructors (ISFSI). The monthly Instruct-O-

Gram is provided as one of the benefits of membership in ISFSI.

Call 1,800-435-0005 for informationon other benefits of membership.

' t6 THE VOICE July/August 2002