Wellington County fire training officer Jonathan Karn was at Puslinch council on June 4.
As Karn outlined the major accomplishments of 2013 and projects underway this year, he noted that for many firefighters, instead of hitting the books now means going online to upgrade their skills.
In providing some of these courses for firefighters, “we’ve looked at a night school format”.
He said it can be difficult for part-time firefighters to take time off from their regular jobs or to get to the fire college.
“We really wanted to deliver those courses locally.”
This approach proved successful and he said there continues to be a high participation rate which has led to a number of officers and firefighters receiving “certification” in various areas.
Karn also noted that last year, the Ontario Fire Marshall, Ministry of Labour and NFPA standards recognized the need to appoint an “Incident Safety Officer” during emergency calls.
In February, Wellington County was the first area in Ontario to provide the opportunity for their officers and firefighters to participate in the exam. A total of 51 officers and firefighters received their “Incident Safety Officer” Designation.
As the county training officer I have responded to over 15 emergency calls through-out Wellington County to assist the Municipal Fire Departments in the roll of Incident Safety Officer.
Karn explained This daytime response has enabled the local fire chiefs to use their often limited on-scene resources more effectively and efficiently while meeting Ministry of Labour guidelines in respect to “firefighter safety”
Firefighters working on obtaining their Ontario Firefighter Certification has continued throughout the year.
This involves firefighters participating in regular station training sessions following the Ontario Firefighter Curriculum, demonstrating practical skills in training as well as during emergency calls and participating in a series of provincial exams.
By offering exams locally it has resulted in a number of firefighters working towards their certification.
While local firefighters follow the Ontario Firefighter Curriculum, a change will require transition to the new National Fire & Protection Association Standards (NFPA) for firefighters and company officers.
He noted Wellington County’s fire training website has provided a means to provide training material and resources online – without travelling to various communities on a daily basis.
Karn noted the need to deliver “Standardized” training for the Recruit Firefighters in Wellington County has been recognized.
As a result, 2014 marked the first “Wellington County Fire Recruit School” in which municipal fire departments send their firefighters recruit to this school.
Karn anticipated projected class sizes of over 30 new firefighters.
He said the recruit school involves a mix of on-line learning and practical training sessions delivered over a series of approximately 12 weeks.
Practical training would be delivered at various locations throughout Wellington County.
Upon graduation, recruits will have completed the necessary training to become successful firefighters at their respective municipal departments.
Councillor Susan Fielding said she felt the Wellington County Fire Training Officer position has assisted all of the local fire departments.
She asked about the on-line learning aspect and how receptive firefighters were to it.
Karn responded “the recruits have certainly embraced it. It’s what the younger generation have grown up with, and they are used to it.”
“I’m not naive enough to think all 335 firefighters in the county are going to embrace on-line learning.”
Karn said the online resource remains a big asset when it comes to in course where perhaps an entire weekend is spent on theory, followed by another weekend of practical training.
“We can eliminate some of those weekends by using online training.”
He added that firefighters know ahead of time how various courses are being offered.
Karn stressed “we never would want to eliminate the sessions where we get together … you can’t train firefighters strictly with online training. It’s more of a supplement and a way to make the best use of time.”
Councillor Wayne Stokley called the county fire training position “invaluable” and something which will benefit all the fire departments.
“The ultimate goal is to standardize the training for all the municipalities. I am very proud of our Puslinch fire department and I do believe our department exceeds those standards in many ways.”
Stokley then asked if sometime in the future Karns would be in Puslinch assisting with training to address specific needs of the department.
“We do have some very specific needs because of our proximity to Highway 401.”
Karn said a lot of that type of work is done already.
He said every municipal is still at a different overall level of training.
But he, added the needs of each municipal fire department is different as well.
“What we try is to provide across the board training and then offer specialized training as needed – whether it be for ice rescue, swift water or for combined space resources.”
Karn said Puslinch is very fortunate to have good firefighters and very good trainers.
“They’ve been very proactive.”
Councillor Ken Roth was pleased with the progress of the Wellington County fire training officer program.
“I was not against it originally, but I was not sure how it would help us because our department is very well trained.”
After some discussion at the fire committee level, he said he now understands the local benefit to the community.
Councillor Jerry Schmidt was impressed with the night school approach and online training which allows firefighters to better themselves.
