FPT 150 PP Session 03

Slide 1:FPT 150 � Fundamentals of Fire and Emergency Services Session 3 � Fire and Emergency Services Career Opportunities This is session 3 and we will discuss the various careers that exist within the Fire Service. When we think of the Fire department quickly vision a firefighter coming to our rescue, however there are other jobs in the fire service that we will discuss. NS

Slide 2:FPT 150 - Fire and Emergency Services Careers and Opportunities 2 Class Objectives Identify fire protection jobs in the public and private fire service. List duties and requirements for positions of firefighter trainee and firefighter. List duties and requirements for the firefighter/paramedic. Give examples of fire service jobs other than firefighter. 8/2012 The objectives of this session are: Identify fire protection jobs in the public and private fire service. List duties and requirements for positions of firefighter trainee and firefighter. List duties and requirements for the firefighter/paramedic. Give examples of fire service jobs other than firefighter. NS

Slide 3:FPT 150 - Fire and Emergency Services Careers and Opportunities 3 Class Objectives (cont.) List duties and requirements of search and rescue teams. List duties and requirements of wildland firefighters. 8/2012 List duties and requirements of search and rescue teams. List duties and requirements of wildland firefighters. Most citizens think of careers in the fire service only relates to firefighters. You found in the reading that there are many more careers opportunities. Most will start in the suppression division of a fire department and then branch out. The text suggests that the job growth in the fire service should exceed the average for all occupations. That might have been accurate when the text was written, however the economic picture has changed and we here in Southeastern Michigan has seen firefighter, as well as other public safety employees, being laid off. Cities have to supply some sort of the fire protection, so at least we will see replacements hired for retiring firefighters. NS

Slide 4:FPT 150 - Fire and Emergency Services Careers and Opportunities 4 Firefighting Careers Fire Cadet Firefighter Federal Firefighter Firefighter/Paramedic 8/2012 A fire cadet is an entry-level training position. This could be a person that has been hired by a fire department and will be attending an academy. Larger departments will follow this path. It could be a person that wants to be come a firefighter who will receive their training at a college, such as WCCCD. The training will be normally the same, but the big difference is who is paying for the training and are you getting paid for attending the training. WCCCD produces approximately 70 trained firefighters each year. Getting hired as a firefighter can be a long and hard process. Typically, the process will start will an application being submitted. In Southeastern Michigan, most communities require that the candidate already have a Fire Fighter II certificate and a paramedic license. There will be a written and physical agility test. Normally only the higher scoring candidates will progress to the next level of the process. Those continuing will participate in an oral interview. Those that might be considered for one of the opening will under go a back ground check. This could include such items as Facebook accounts. The final step will be a medical examination. Once the candidate is hired he or she will serve a probationary period which is normally a year. During this time they will work closely with an officer or seasoned firefighter. They�ll start with learning the department�s Standard Operating Procedures. They will respond to emergencies with the other members of his/her crew. Upon successfully completed the probation period, the probationary firefighter will be promoted to firefighter. The text introduced you to Federal Firefighters. There are numerous government complexes, other than military bases, that are protected by this type of firefighter. Even some of the military bases may be protected by non-military firefighters. All branches of the military attend the Louis F. Garland Department of Defense Fire Academy at Goodfellow Air Force Base in Texas. Many of the municipal fire departments will provide EMS services in addition to fire services. Firefighter/Paramedics can provide the highest level of pre-hospital care to our citizens. They provide this treatment under standing orders or the direction of a supervising physician. As have been mentioned before, EMS has grown to be approximately 70% to 75% of a department�s business. NS

Slide 5:FPT 150 - Fire and Emergency Services Careers and Opportunities 5 Firefighting Careers (cont.) Wildland Firefighter Aircraft Rescue Firefighter Fire Apparatus Engineer 8/2012 Each summer we hear about the devastating wildland fires that plague the west. Wildland firefighters are called into to combat these fires. Fighting wildland fires is quit different than a structure fire. Besides the actual firefighters you have Forest Rangers that patrol the areas ensuring that visitors conform to fire regulations. Forest inspectors watch for signs of fires from watchtowers and will report their sightings to headquarters. They will study Fire Ecology which is the interrelationship of wildland fires and living and nonliving things in the environment. How will the animals is the area adapt after the fire? What effect will the fire have on the ground? Will it be susceptible to erosion from rain? The job is physically demanding, sometimes working shifts of 16 hours or longer. They are out in the wilderness, cut off from civilization. We talked about conflagration in the last chapter and this was the modern day example that was used. Wildland firefighters will create fire lines by cutting down trees and removing grass and other vegetation. Since available water sources are not available, water is not a primary means of fighting the fire. Unlike municipal fire department, wildland firefighter don�t always have roads that they can drive up to the fire. They may have to hike into area with crews called Hot Shots. Smoke jumpers will parachute into the wilderness from airplanes. Others will rappel out of helicopters call Helitack. These helitacks can carry enormous buckets or belly tanks of water to drop on the fire. We�ve all see news reports showing airplanes dropping either water or fire suppressing chemicals on to forest fires. The National Incident Management System was created in the wildland forest fires. A means to managing such large amount of resources was needed. Another specialized type of firefighters are the Aircraft Rescue Firefighter, or ARFF. These firefighters protect out larger airports providing the normal array of services provided by a fire department plus crash rescue work. Using a specialize truck, that we saw last session, they will respond to extinguish any fires and then go about providing search and rescue and medical disaster assistance to the passengers. If they work for a military airport, then they have to be trained in handling the weapons n the aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) sets minimum requirements for each airport based on an index created by the size of the aircraft it handles and the number of departures it has per day. The FAA also sets the training requirements for ARFF firefighters. Initially they must be trained in airport and aircraft familiarization, emergency aircraft evacuations procedures, and airport emergency communications systems. They are required to take a 24-hour ARFF refresher course with a live flammable-liquid burn each year to maintain their certification. Remember, they still have buildings, very large buildings, and thousands of people that they must provide fire and EMS services to on a daily basis. Fire apparatus engineers is another specialized function. It is much more that just driving the fire truck to the scene. The engineer must be familiar with traffic laws while they are responding. He/she must know the department�s SOPs and how to pump water to the attack hose lines. They must be familiar with their response district. They need to know the streets and roads and what is the quickest way to respond to the call. A department can�t fight a fire or treat a patience if they don�t arrive. In Michigan, red lights and sirens only ask to permission to proceed through red lights when it is safe. NS

Slide 6:FPT 150 - Fire and Emergency Services Careers and Opportunities 6 Firefighting Careers (cont.) Search and Rescue Teams Industrial Firefighters Arson Units 8/2012 The text discussed some specialized teams within the Fire Service. Unless you are a very large metropolitan department, these teams will probable to made up of members of different departments within an area. A search and rescue team is responsible for a variety of functions that is common to the area. They could respond to such emergencies as: Aircraft accidents or incidents. What happens if the aircraft lands outside the airport grounds? Swift-water and open-water rescue. How many lakes and rivers do you have in your area? Dive rescue and recovery. Confined spaces rescue. We all have sewer systems that workers might get trapped in. Mine rescue High- and low-angle rescue, both mountain and structural. Avalanche rescue Search and rescue operations are done in a very systematic method that responds to the needs of the victims but is safe for the rescuers. We don�t need to add additional victims to the incident by an unsafe act by the rescue team. On December 30, 2010 the City of Wayne, Michigan was rocked with a building explosion and collapse. One victim was removed within minutes and the bodies of the other two were discovered hours later. I have attached a link to a utube video that shows the scene and the various rescue efforts. Please review it at the end of this PowerPoint presentation. On a personal note, I grew up just a block from this store. Industrial firefighters address the specialized needs of a given industrial complex. The text referenced the refining and petrochemical industries as source for industrial firefighters. Within Southeastern Michigan I know two steel companies, US Steel and Severstal (formerly the Rouge Steel Company in the Ford complex) that has an on-duty fire department. They spend much of their time preventing fires then actually fighting fires. Arson teams are charged with addressing arson and other fire-related crimes. Larger metropolitan departments may have their own team, while the smaller departments will form regional teams. Usually these teams are made up of fire personnel, law enforcement personnel, and members of the prosecutor�s office. I was a member of the Downriver Fire Investigative Team. I remember a fire a neighboring community had that resulted in two fatalities. Two sections of the team was activated and within three hours we had dug the area of origin, interviewed witnesses and developed a detail diagram of the fire building. Though these efforts the fire was determined to be accidental. NS

Slide 7:FPT 150 - Fire and Emergency Services Careers and Opportunities 7 Non-Firefighting Careers Dispatcher / Communications Officer Occupational Health and Safety Specialist Fire Equipment Salesperson Fire Extinguisher Service Technician 8/2012 There are a number of non-firefighterjobs that support the suppression personnel. They may not be out at the emergency, but they are just as vital. Good communications is key to a successful mitigation effort. It starts with the Dispatcher / Communications Officer or commonly known as the 911 operator. They are tasked with: Answer the 911 phone line. Obtaining essential incident information from an excited caller. Evaluating what type of emergency services needed. Determine the priority of the call. Then dispatching the appropriate units. In larger cities, this task might be broken out. The City of Detroit have call takers, then a separate fire and separate police dispatcher. In departments surrounding Detroit, the dispatcher does it all. This job can be a fast pace and highly stressful job. Occupational Health and Safety Specialist work more to improve the work place from a safety stand point. They analyze the work environment to identify conditions such as physical, chemical, biological, or ergonomic that may cause disease or injury. They will then prepare solutions and monitor them to ensure they solve the problem. Some firefighters like to work in the selling of fire equipment. Their flexible schedule makes it conducive to this line of work. What better salesperson than one that has actually used the equipment. This equipment can be from hand tools all the way up to a fire truck. Fire extinguisher service technician is similar to a fire equipment salesperson. The flexible work schedule is very accommodating to this line of business. They will inspect the fire extinguishers and perform any maintenance or repairs as needed. This includes disassembling and checking for defects, replacing defective parts, cleaning them, and refilling them. NS

Slide 8:FPT 150 - Fire and Emergency Services Careers and Opportunities 8 Non-Firefighting Careers (cont.) Fire Marshal Public Information Officer Fire Prevention Specialist Fire Department Training Specialist 8/2012 A fire marshal will typically head up the fire prevention division of a fire department. Like a fire inspector, he/she may perform fire inspections of facilities within the department�s jurisdiction. He/she might conduct fire cause investigations to determine if a fire was an accident or set intentionally. One major function that they might perform is to review and approve plans for new or major changes to buildings. Of course they are always available to promote fire prevention and education to the public. A public information officer�s job is to provide accurate information to the public or members of the department. You will learn that a Public Information Officer is a command function within the National Incident Management System. They provide the department�s official version of information relating to an emergency or topic. The text suggests certain skills and education person should have to hold this position. Needless to say, you need the right person for this job. A fire prevention specialist is a person that fights fire by promoting fire prevention training and education. The is part of my philosophy of the �Best way to fight a fire is to stop it from happening�. Fire prevention training and education is knowing what might happen while fire inspections is the second step in stopping it from happening. There are many tools to achieving their goal, but the text highlighted Sparky the Dog and Smokey the Bear. The upper picture on the right shows a talking Sparky the Dog in a fire truck. The operator can have a conversation with a child from a remote location. How impressed will the child be when he is talking directly to Sparky. A fire department training specialist or training officer is responsible for developing and coordinating trainings programs for the department. They will also participate in the development and maintenance of the department�s Standard Operating Procedures and to ensure that the SOPs are in compliance with state and federal fire and safety regulations. NS

Slide 9:FPT 150 - Fire and Emergency Services Careers and Opportunities 9 Non-Firefighting Careers (cont.) Insurance Adjuster Fire Inspector Fire Investigator 8/2012 Insurance companies frequently hire fire service personnel because of their experience and knowledge in fire protection engineering, fire risk management, fire prevention, and arson investigation. They are invaluable in determining if the fire was intentionally set or not. They also estimate the amount of loss, negotiate with policyholders and when necessary gathers evidence to support a contested claim. They may have to testify in court as to their findings. A fire inspector duties are similar to those of the Fire Marshal, with the exception of plan review. Their main goal is to: Raise the public�s awareness of fire safety considerations in their immediate surroundings; Identify fire hazards that must be eliminated for a safer environment; Record inspection information for inclusion in the public record; and Verify the proper functioning and maintenance of installed fire protection systems and other building fire protection equipment/features. Consider your community and how many businesses it contains. To inspect all the businesses within their community, some departments have started using fire companies to inspect the Mom and Pa type businesses. The advantage of this is that the fire department is visible out in the public, the fire companies becomes familiar with the building, and the inspection get done. If a problem is found, it is referred back to the fire inspector or fire marshal. Fire investigators basically are detectives that investigate fires to determine if they were intentionally set or not. These people would work closely with the Fire Marshal and probably law enforcement. Fire investigators will work the scene, in other words, the will shift through evidence, take pictures, prepare drawings, interview the property owner, occupants or any other witness. They must develop a plausible theory that is then tested. A fire investigator�s job could also be with a private company outside the fire service. NS

Slide 10:FPT 150 - Fire and Emergency Services Careers and Opportunities 10 Private Sector Careers Fire Protection Engineer Contract Firefighters Inventor 8/2012 The private sector offer various jobs; Fire protection engineers often come from the fire service. They design structures to optimize it�s fire resistance. They use mathematics and science to accomplish their task. Unless you are a large metropolitan department, this service will normally be contracted out to a private company. Contract firefighters are just as it sounds. These are firefighters that work for a private company that provides fire protection. The text sited Kellogg Brown and Root that provides fire protection to the Department of Defense. Most of these jobs will be overseas. Who better to invent new tools and procedures than the people that perform the work. The fire service uses many tools that were invented by firefighters. The text referenced the use of Global Positioning Systems or GPS to better respond. Geographic information Systems or GIS can provide street maps, water sources, hazardous materials storage sites, residences with disabled persons and municipal hydrants. In my time we were lucky to have a three-ring binders with hand drawn street maps and hydrants marked in red. The ability to have pictures of the way the scene was before the incident is a great help to the incident commander on the scene now. If you look back in our history, we went from buckets to hand pumps, to steam engines to the modern day fire engine. Each was done to improve the way we do our job. NS

Slide 11:FPT 150 - Fire and Emergency Services Careers and Opportunities 11 Volunteer Opportunities Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) 8/2012 Community Emergency Response Teams or CERT is a relatively new group that can provide valuable assistance during a major emergency. FEMA developed CERT as an outreach program to train citizens in elementary emergency response procedures. They will not take over the task of the fire and other emergency services, but supplement them. They are trained in basic response skills such as: Fire safety Light search and rescue Team organization Disaster Medical Response How do you think all the homes in New Orleans were searched after Hurricane Katrina? The New Orleans emergency services were already overloaded with more important calls for assistance. The pictures on the right show CERT training in using fire extinguishers and victim rescue and removal. NS

Slide 12:FPT 150 - Fire and Emergency Services Careers and Opportunities 12 The Future of Fire and Emergency Services Future jobs Department of Homeland Security 8/2012 As mentioned at the beginning of this session, the text was written before our national fell on economic hard times. I doubt that the growth rate in the fire service will be as the text suggested, however departments must replace people that retire. There will always be a need for new firefighters. The Department of Homeland Security has taken the lead role in confronting the nation�s issues. This area of emergency services will experience the greatest growth in the years to come. New jobs in the fire and emergency services have occurred from the development of the Department of Homeland Security. We, as a nation and as a profession, must be ready to confront these challenges. I feel the text stated it best �A reality check shows that firefighters are first in, last to know, and required to do most with the least, but it is their responsibility to anticipate the worst and plan the best possible response.� NS

Slide 13:FPT 150 - Fire and Emergency Services Careers and Opportunities 13 Summary Fire protection jobs in the public and private fire service. Duties and requirements for positions of firefighter trainee and firefighter. Duties and requirements for the firefighter/paramedic. Fire service jobs other than firefighter. 8/2012 To summarize this session: We discussed the various suppression jobs in the fire service: as firefighter, firefighter/paramedic, wildland firefighter, and an Aircraft Rescue Firefighter. We discussed the various requirements and duties of a trainee and a firefighter. A trainee has to absorbed mountains of new information while trying to perform his/her job and fit into a new family. We�ve explored the additional duties that a firefighter assumes when he/she becomes a paramedic. Remember, most departments today are emergency medical services that provide a little bit of firefighting. We�ve seen the additional jobs in the fire service other than being in the thick of the smoke. You need somebody to drive and operate those big red, ops any color, fire trucks. You have your specialized teams that supplement the front line firefighter. NS

Slide 14:FPT 150 - Fire and Emergency Services Careers and Opportunities 14 Summary Duties and requirements of search and rescue teams. Duties and requirements of wildland firefighters 8/2012 We�ve looked at search and rescue teams that we�ve seen frequently on the national news. We saw it first hand on December 30, 2011 in the City of Wayne. We know that fighting wildland fires is a whole different game. After learning this I�m glad that I fought structure fires. Sometimes, the biggest ally of a wildland firefighter is the snow that comes in the winter. NS

Slide 15:FPT 150 - Fire and Emergency Services Careers and Opportunities 15 Questions If you have any questions regarding the reading or the PowerPoint email them to me. I�ll respond via the discussion board so all can see them. 8/2012