IFSJ Exclusive: Ready for anything with FIREWISE Training and Consulting

by AmericasAmericas - Breaking NewsBreaking News

Michael Cadotte, President at FIREWISE Training & Consulting, talks NFPA fire training

What is your professional background?

I spent 30 years as Senior Fire Officer in an urban area. I spent much of the latter part of my career as Incident Commander. I was also Programme Manager in local fire college for 15 years where I implemented fire training programmes through the NFPA at the local fire college.

What is Firewise?

We are a health and safety company that focuses on more advanced areas of fire training. We also have confined space rescue teams, high angle rescue teams, and emergency response teams that are contracted out to private companies all over the world.

NFPA training has been a focus for Firewise, especially internationally, because there was a gap in training standards. We’ve opened a branch in Abu Dhabi and our focus in that area is oil and gas, all based on NFPA training.

Firewise has expanded into all that sort of training all over the world, but NFPA training has been our focal point. We also have consulting services which can help fire brigades and fire services deal with internal structure. We do risk management consulting based on NFPA standards. There is always a standard that we can fall back on. We’ll do risk management, fire audits, and NFPA audits for companies.

We get to know clients who are happy to pick up the phone and give me a call. Advice is free- it’s easy to answer a question in five minutes that could take you days to find the answer to. That’s part of the package we deliver.

What benefits does training offer?

No two calls are the same. Because of the lack of frequency of emergency calls, without training, the skills are just not there. The requirement for muscle memory, especially in practical settings such as firefighting, is critical. Training is the only way that you’re going to achieve that. It’s not going to be training on the fly.

Training is critical across the board, particularly in a profession as hazardous as firefighting where any wrong move can cause injury or worse. In a firefighting environment where time is of the essence, if you haven’t trained for a situation multiple times you’re going to forget everything in the heat of the moment.

What types of training does Firewise offer?

Our focus is NFPA standards, but that covers basically everything. Every type of training is in there from NFPA 1006 confined space high angle rescue to industrial fire brigade training. My area of expertise is fire command training and instructor training.

Anything that falls under any of those categories, we can fall back on the NFPA standard, deliver certification and thus meet a known standard. That’s the way we deliver it: based on a set curriculum.

Are there any key training programmes you would like to highlight?

NFPA 1072 hazardous materials training – any incident involving fire becomes a hazardous material incident. In the Middle East, general plants are always looking to have rescue teams trained in confined space high angle rescue.

I always go back to basic firefighter training – sometimes we evolve into so many different areas that we forget the basics. Basic training is still critical. Finally, officer training: making sure you have competent people that are leading the group.

What recent developments have impacted the training sector?

The fire service has always been reactive rather than proactive, unfortunately. Since 9/11, the focus on hazardous materials in the NFPA standard added weapons of mass destruction. I know it’s 20 years ago, but even since that time, you see for more incidents that lend themselves to hazardous materials training, and that’s not just in the US – it’s international. Responders need to have that training background, they need to be prepared.

Another is around building construction. Depending on where you are, building construction is changing. If you look at the flammable cladding of the high-rise buildings, there has been so many instances in the US, Great Britain, Dubai. You’ve seen multiple different evolutions in construction methods that has made the fire service evolve. You need to deal with that change. 

Today you’re dealing with more evolved equipment and, hopefully, better trained firefighters. But ultimately, your approach to these fires as an incident commander is critical. The job of commander is to make sure everyone goes home at the end of the day. Understanding the buildings, understanding the types of fires, and understanding what’s going on as a commander has significantly changed in the last 30-40 years.

Why is training critical?

I don’t profess to be an expert in everything and nor should anyone. I have specialists in every field that we deliver training in. I deliver the more advanced ones, but when it comes to some of those practical components such as high angle rescue, I have other experts that will deliver that training.

Even like our confined space clinical rescue teams that we bring to sites – in some industry they think they can handle it all themselves, but ultimately, at the end of the day, no one is an expert in everything.

This exclusive article was originally published in the May 2023 issue of International Fire & Safety Journal. To read your FREE digital copy, click here.

Siemens supplies fire control panels to apprenticeship scheme

by Featured NewsTraining

Siemens, a global leader in technology solutions, has shown its dedication to developing the fire engineers of tomorrow by providing fire control panels to Banham Academy, the leading specialist training provider in the Level 3 Fire Emergency & Security Systems apprenticeship scheme in England.

Siemens engineers are among the current 135 apprentices enrolled from 53 employers undertaking the apprenticeship at Banham Academy, which offers a 15-week coursework and training programme at its educational training centres over a three-year period. Successful completion of the course sees apprentices awarded an Electrotechnical Certifications (ECS) ID card and the letters ENG Tech TMIET after their name, providing them with valuable credentials for their future careers. Employers also benefit from having their employees officially recognised and accredited by the IET as engineering technicians, giving them a competitive edge in the workforce.

Practical sessions using the technologies that engineers will encounter in their day-to-day work are central to the apprenticeship programme. Siemens has supplied two panels from its Cerberus FIT FC360 range of compact addressable fire control panels for use at Banham Academy’s two locations in London and Derby, with further panels to be supplied in the coming months to extend availability to the apprentices.

Kevin Faulkner, Operations Director and Safeguarding Lead at Banham Academy, said: “Training remains a vital component in ensuring that we have a sustainable future for our industry. Commitment from manufacturers is fundamental, as it allows us to train the apprentices on the equipment they will face, enabling them to gain real-life experience and become familiar with developments in technology and how it is applied in actual systems. Banham Academy is grateful to Siemens for their ongoing support in enabling the next generation of engineers to train on the most relevant and highest quality systems to further enhance their learning.”

Rob Yates, Siemens Head of Building Products Fire Safety in the UK and Ireland, said: “We recognise the importance of training, from the engineers installing the systems to the customers using them. Our work with Banham Academy is an illustration of our commitment to external training providers. Our Cerberus FIT FC360 systems are operating in a wide range of applications, and we offer guarantees against false alarms with our ASAtechnology™ detectors. This is only possible if our systems are installed by engineers who really understand the technologies and how important it is to recognise the environment that the system is protecting.”

IFSJ Comment

Siemens’ supply of fire control panels to Banham Academy demonstrates its commitment to helping develop the skills of the next generation of fire engineers, ensuring that they are trained on the most up-to-date and relevant systems available. The partnership between Siemens and Banham Academy is a shining example of how manufacturers and training providers can work together to build a sustainable future for the industry.

Training: Room for improvement with Apollo Fire

by Breaking NewsFire Detection

Jess Mann, Customer Journey Manager at Apollo Fire, talks competency, Responsible Persons and CPD training

Training is essential for ensuring competency in any industry, but it is especially crucial when it comes to life safety products. Jess Mann, Customer Journey Manager at Apollo Fire, understands the importance of training in achieving their company’s purpose of keeping people safe from fire every second of every day.

IFSJ Editor Iain Hoey sat down with Jess to discuss the challenges of competency in the industry and the various types of training that Apollo offers to raise competency levels and contribute to a safer built environment.

What does training mean to Apollo?

Our purpose is simple; to keep people safe from fire every second of every day. Training plays an integral role in achieving our purpose. We offer a range of training so our customers can specify, design, install, commission and maintain our products. We manufacture life safety products and we have a duty of care to ensure our products are used correctly.

Our team at Apollo is diverse. Included in the team is long serving, Senior Technical Support Engineer, Warren Moyle who has trained our customers worldwide for over 30 years. His wealth of knowledge and expertise on our product range is invaluable.

Our sales team are internally trained on our product range, they develop and deliver bespoke Continued Personal Development (CPD) courses and product training to our customers. It is important to us that all people with customer facing roles are able to maximise the benefits of our products by sharing their knowledge which in turn helps the end user.

We are aware that there are competency challenges in our industry. We aim to increase our training offering to contribute to a safer built environment.

Why is there a lack of competency in the industry?

There could be several reasons for the lack of competency within the industry – from client demand outweighing the skill set in the country, financial implications, unethical business practices, or the way legislation is set up.

British Standard BS 5839 Part 1 defines a ‘Competent Person’ as a ‘Person with the relevant current training and experience, and with access to requisite tools, equipment, and information, capable of carrying out a defined task’. However, there is no clear framework or assessment criteria for measuring an individual’s competency.

As a global manufacturer we are aware from our international customer base that clear legislation has been in place in certain territories for some time, which has naturally led to a high competency level.

Do you see this improving in the future?

There have been changes to the legislation post-Grenfell. In 2022, the Buildings Safety Act included requirements for the ‘Responsible person’. In a further update to the Building Safety Act there will be inclusion of a policy for duty holder. ‘Duty holders’ will carry far more responsibility. They must ensure that anyone appointing a ‘Principal Designer’, ‘Principal Contractor’, or other person who carries out building or design work, will take all reasonable steps to ensure the appointee meets competency requirements.

Appointees are under a duty to inform the client if they no longer satisfy a competency requirement. The accountability is on the appointee and the contractor and not elsewhere in the chain. This legislation intends to create accountability, and to encourage companies to seek adequate training for their teams, with the hope of building a safer future.

In 2020, the ‘Setting the Bar’ report, written by the Competence Steering Group, a collection of experienced industry volunteers post-Grenfell, detailed how competency could be proven.

243. Recommendation: The industry should adopt a framework for all the installer sectors working on in-scope buildings that can be applied to other project types. The framework will consist of:

  • Accredited third party certification of companies
  • Level 2 or 3 qualifications for individuals
  • A card scheme such as, but not limited to, the CSCS
  • CPD refresher training and the maintenance of individual skills
  • All installers have a core knowledge of fire safety in buildings – training to be standardised and made mandatory.

This report has already created a higher demand for different types of training since its release. And it’s likely that the new ‘duty holders’ policy will do the same.

Can you tell us more about these types of training?

A Level 3 Award in the fire alarm installation sector could be a Level 3 Award in the British fire alarm installation standards for non-domestic properties – BS 5839-1. This typically is a 4–5-day course with an exam which is equivalent to an A Level.

There are various training providers and manufacturers which offer a course like this. Some of our team recently visited ‘Zzeus Training’ in Lincoln, an EAL Level 3 OFQUAL approved qualification in the Requirements of Fire Detection and Fire Alarm Systems for Buildings BS 5839-1:2017. This training course exceeded our expectations. The attendees participated in designing, installing, and commissioning a fire system.

Our team managed to network with other attendees across two groups. It was a pleasure to see customers who have been installing systems for over 20 years still learning so much. It just goes to show how important this training really is.

CPD is another form of training. These courses are designed to help individuals’ learning and growth. Many CPD accredited courses are free from manufacturers and vary from an hour’s virtual session to a full day of product training.

These types of courses have been and will continue to raise the competency in our industry. However, getting the entire industry up to the expected standard will take many years. The costs for a Level 3 Award plus ‘time off the road’ for numerous engineers will be high and some will view it as being commercially cost prohibitive.

What kind of training does Apollo offer?

Apollo offer fortnightly virtual CPD training, face to face product training, on-demand webinars, and new product introduction training.

We have always loved face to face training, and we have a variety of free CPD accredited courses, all designed for different types of customers. Pre-COVID the methods of social interaction were different, Warren Moyle was hosting a training session almost every week, either in our office or at customer locations in the UK or worldwide.

Our most popular course is ‘Course A’ which is for anyone that’s new to the industry or requires a refresher around the fundamentals of fire detection installation. It includes detection principles and device selection. We often get experienced fire professionals who even come away having learned something new.

What is a training day like at Apollo?

When people come to us for a full day of training, we want to make it a memorable experience by going above and beyond. We include a tour of our factory and our different labs, including a live demonstration in our fire lab. We always receive good feedback from our customers’ experience – they get to see how the product is made and many are surprised that it is all still manufactured here in the UK, where we were founded over 40 years ago.

During lockdown, we adapted many of our courses to become virtual one-hour CPD sessions, continuing the growth of our attendees. We are pleased that our CPD sessions have reached customers in over 40 countries.

What CPD courses do Apollo offer?

Most of our CPD accredited virtual sessions are on industry topics such as: BS 5839-1, EN54-23, False Alarm Reduction and Hybrid-wireless fire detection. We aim to produce a few new courses each year, and we get our ideas from customer feedback forms.

The most frequent request that came out of the last few months was the desire for a CPD course that simply gives an overview of different fire systems and their uses. This has been made by our team and is pending certification. A special thanks to our partners, the FIA (Fire Industry Association) for third-party certifying our CPD’s as part of our membership.

We aim to understand the needs of our customers. After feedback, we found that some customers are not able to attend live CPD sessions so we created a host of bitesize product webinars on our website, which are available to watch on-demand. If they want to learn anything about features, benefits, applications for our different ranges, they can access these at any time, just visit our website.

We believe we offer a variety of training for our customers, but we are aware there’s always room to improve. We want to be a fundamental part of helping our customers showcase their competency going forwards. Training is critical to our vision of becoming the partner of choice for our customers.

This exclusive article was originally published in the May 2023 issue of International Fire & Safety Journal. To read your FREE digital copy, click here.

IFSJ Exclusive: Chronic Command Insomnia with Paul Calderwood

by Breaking NewsTraining

Paul E Calderwood, President of Calderwood Consulting International, talks about what is keeping commander officers awake at night

A command officer is always wondering if his soldiers are ready for battle. Are they well trained? Is their turnout gear going to protect them? Are their tools and equipment maintained and operational? Are all the vehicles in good condition and not going to fail during battle? I worry if my captains and lieutenants are requiring all members to be wearing their seat belts while riding in any vehicle and if my battalion and deputy chief is making sure that they are all dressed for battle – are SCBA’s properly secured, gloves on their hands, and hoods on their heads?

I worry if he and his department are well informed as to what is being stored in the buildings in their jurisdiction and what is passing through in trucks and trains. I worry whether my department can handle the ‘big one’ when it happens. Do we have the trained members to safely run the operation like technical rescue, hazardous material and mass casualty incidents?

When a firefighter gets serious hurt or killed there will be several agencies coming in to put the department under a microscope to find all the things that you did wrong: what training you did not do or document, what equipment you did not replace or upgrade and so on.

In the United States there is a program under OSHA called NIOSH and they have a specialised team that respond to incidents where a firefighter has been killed. They carry out a full investigation, at the end of which there is a published report of findings and I truly believe that every fire department should require every member to read these reports when they come out. If we do not change our future, we will only repeat our history.

Frequent issues

When you look at the NIOSH reports you will see several findings that keep repeating. Communication is one of the most frequent findings, where the command and control of the incident are not listening to radio for important messages, radio frequency are clogged with too many and sometimes unnecessary radio traffic or the radio system is old and not working the way it should.

Next is the command-and-control system used by the incident commanders, the lack of well trained and disciplined officers at all levels to give and follow commands. Company officers need to follow instructions and when completed they should report to command that they assignment is completed and get a new assignment.

I am still troubled when I read a report where a firefighter is seriously injured or killed in a vehicle accident because they were not wearing a seat belt. A fire truck is no different than any other vehicle on the road, everyone wears a seat belt. It is a life safety device and every chief should be sure every company officer is making their crew wear them. The driver should not move the truck until the word is given that everyone is belted in and ready to go. If this does not happen, the officer, the driver and the member not belting in should be punished.

The training challenge

Training has to be the biggest nightmare that a chief must face. I still find it unclear what all the mandated training requirements are by topic and hours of all fire fighters and officers. We are supposed to do emergency medical training, hazardous materials, Incident Command System, self-contained breath apparatus and others.

There are several basic trainings that are also needed to be done but are not mandated such as stretching hoses, throwing ladders – but what does a fire fighter needed to be trained in each year, how many hours need to be assigned to that training, and who is checking to ensure that it is being done and done correctly? Some of the hours of required training make it difficult for volunteer fire departments to retain members because you cannot get all the training done during a short meeting on Wednesday night at the fire station or at a live burn on a Saturday.

The numbers just do not add up. A fulltime firefighter working 40-48 hours in one week will have only 12 – 16 hours available for training – that’s before we have to figure in time lost due to incidents, holidays, sick days and vacations. Someone needs to be in charge of training for the entire department and ensuring that it is being completed. Departments should also be looking at remote and online training so members can review training programs when they do have down time.

Command and control in the fire service is designed as a para-military style operation. Officers are placed in charge of several stations, apparatus, and firefighters. The officers are usually “friends” of these people and thus we find that all the rules may not be enforced or let slide. The lack of command in the fire station carries over to the fire ground. I have had firefighters tell me that I was holding them back and being too safe – that is my job. When the alarm sounds in a fire station, the crew have to respond, they do not have to return; it is the commander’s job to see that they return.

Financial strains

Money is the next nightmare that keeps chiefs awake at night. Most budgets have two parts, administrative and the other capital. The capital budget is where your large ticket purchases are going to come from like new apparatus, new or renovations for fire stations and tools and equipment. A chief has to have the mindset that everything has an expiration date like SCBA bottles, apparatus, hose, medical supplies and people.

Payroll is going to eat up the lion share of the budget and the remainder of the budget has to keep the operation going for a whole year. A chief has to closely monitor the spending from each of the accounts.

Firefighter health

Healthy firefighters are the key to any operation. The fire service has been dealing with many different forms of health issues over the years like heart disease, cancer, drug and alcohol addiction and suicide. The mental health of a firefighter is so hard to handle because they are the only person that can tell when they are not able to cope with the sights and sounds of the horrific incident they have to deal with.

Oftentimes, we do not recognise the signs that a firefighter is mentally doing well until it is too late. Firefighter also have to take the job serious enough to realise that they are asking their bodies to perform at an athletes level while fighting a fire and if they are overweight, dehydrated and not eating right then their body is going to turn against them.

Are they doing a good job of decontaminating themselves and their gear after each incident where they have come in contact with biohazards from a medical aid call or cancer-causing products from a fire? Are taking the time to properly washing their turnout gear? Has the department purchased turnout gear extractors to wash and dry the gear?

These are the things that keep commanders awake at night. Each of the items I talked about in this article could a stand-alone paper, each of them has so much research, standards, and budgetary concern to look at.

No matter what size department you work for, all of these things affect you and yes size does matter. The large departments with the big budgets have an advantage but that also means they will be facing bigger challenges from their community. No fire department can do it alone. We all have to pull together and work as a unified team to get the job done.

About the author

Chief Paul Calderwood is a 40 year veteran of the fire service and is now the president of an international consulting company that has worked with national governments including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, South Africa and others.

Cygnus training academy launches

by Breaking NewsTraining

Developer and manufacturer of fully compliant and wireless fire detection and alarm systems Cygnus has officially opened the new Cygnus Academy – an in-person, high specification training hub for installers seeking to learn about the company’s new SmartNet wireless fire detection and alarm system.

Located at the company’s headquarters in Hereford, the Cygnus Academy provides a modern, fully equipped and comfortable environment where installers can complete the SmartNet one-day training course to become a Cygnus Certified Partner.

The SmartNet course, combining both theoretical and practical training, provides detailed insights into the ground-breaking SmartNet technology and the skills required to carry out a successful installation. Areas covered in the first part of the course include an overview of SmartNet wireless technology, site and system configuration and SmartNet installation.

The second part focusses on setting up the mobile app as well as diagnostics and fault finding. It will give installers an in-depth overview of Cygnus and SmartNet and allow them to design and fit a system correctly whilst offering the best services to their clients.

‘Huge growth opportunity’

Cygnus brings a strong heritage with over 10 years developing wireless technology, beginning with the launch of the original Cygnus radio evacuation systems for constructions sites, which became renowned for its range and reliability.

Training dates include 4, 11, 18, and 25 April and 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30 May and can be booked via: help@cygnus-academy.com

Austen Wells, Sales Manager at Cygnus said: “Reliable, robust and easy to install wireless fire detection and alarm systems are a huge growth opportunity for installers. The Cygnus SmartNet system transforms that opportunity into a business reality, with a system that is quick and simple to install and can be scaled effectively from small to large installations. SmartNet is also supported by expert in-depth training through the Cygnus Academy and ongoing first-class technical support from Cygnus.”

About Cygnus SmartNet

The Cygnus SmartNet system comprises a comprehensive range of EN54 compliant and Construction Products Regulation (CPR 305/2011) certified fire detection and alarm devices suitable for permanent installation across all types of building environment.

These include a choice of Radio Bases, with and without Sounders and Visual Indicators; Optical Smoke, Type B Heat Detectors, PIR Detectors and a Combi detector, which has a smoke and A1R sensor, together with Ceiling and Wall-Mounted Visual Alarm Devices, Call Points and Interface.

National Fire Chiefs Council to launch Direct Entry Scheme

by Featured News

National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) has announced plans to launch a Direct Entry scheme in April. The scheme will enable those with proven leadership skills, from a variety of sectors, to apply for Station Manager roles without needing to have fire service experience or without needing to have taken the traditional firefighter promotional route. 

The recruitment campaign will commence on Monday 3 April 2023 through the appointed recruitment experts at Reed Specialist Recruitment Ltd.

Candidates recruited to the roles will be able to acquire, develop, and demonstrate skills and expertise in management and command functions, as set out for their role in the nationally agreed applicable role maps. The development will be enhanced through a nationally designed, coordinated, and quality-assured process.

A different route

The primary aim of the scheme is to provide a different route to entry into the role of Station Manager, alongside the more traditional firefighter route, that can play a valuable part in diversifying senior management in fire and rescue services.

There are a number of fire and rescue services from across the UK who have signed up to join the pioneering pilot to self-fund a direct entrant. These are all services that put public service and inclusivity at the forefront of their thinking; seeing the two as being inextricably linked.

Direct Entry Project Executive Rob Barber said: “We hope that the scheme will draw new perspectives and experiences from the brightest and best who might not ordinarily have seen a career in the fire and rescue service as being open or attractive to them.

“It is to be both additional and complementary to existing progression routes to ensure we continue to nurture and develop internal fire sector staff.

“Being a Fire Officer is a tough job at times, but it is a hugely rewarding one. I am excited to see who puts themselves forward for this fantastic opportunity.

“Direct entry isn’t new to fire and rescue services but launching the scheme in a way that creates a supportive cohort right across the country is. The response from services wishing to be “early adopters” has been positive and I am confident we will be able to offer a compelling proposition to candidates from across the whole of the UK.”

CFO Dawn Whittaker Direct Entry Project Executive said: “Many of the leadership skills required to run a modern FRS are not dissimilar to those required in other sectors, with people, financial, partnership and commercial skills at the fore.

“By diversifying those in our more senior roles we can invest in the future of our sector, and those already involved in the scheme are doing just that.”

Buiding operation competence

The NFCC said that services will benefit immediately from the skills and experience of proven leaders from other sectors as they build their operational competence.

The scheme is designed to be both additional and complementary to existing progression routes within the sector, complying with all existing terms and conditions, but doing it in a new and innovative way. 

The project was launched to address some of the recommendations made in the HMICFRS State of Fire Report, which stated: “To provide the best possible response to the public, services need to be able to choose from the widest talent pool possible. That pool is currently restricted, with many people feeling excluded.”

The recent Government White Paper endorsed the work of the project: “The NFCC Leadership hub is leading a project on direct entry schemes at the Station Manager level, as well as developing a coaching and talent-focused culture. This is a welcome development and should be supported by all services.”

Since its inception in 2020, the project team has engaged widely with stakeholders and has carried out a stakeholder consultation in 2021 to understand any barriers to success. There should be an assurance that the Direct Entry Project Board has a credible, quality-assured product for the fire sector, developed in conjunction with fire and rescue services.

Direct Entry is just one of a number of projects being delivered by NFCC’s Leadership Programme, supporting FRS staff to move through their careers at a pace that suits them. This includes the Coaching and Mentoring Portal, Talent Management Toolkit, Supervisory Leadership Development Programme, and the Middle Leadership Programme due to launch in April 2024.

NASFM launches online training to prepare for civil unrest

by Featured NewsTraining

The National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM) has launched an awareness and prevention training course focused on helping fire prevention agencies to prevent intentional fires in times of civil unrest.

The course offering was made possible through the FEMA Assistance to Firefighters grant program—grants aimed to support projects that enhance the safety of the public and firefighters from fire and related hazards. The primary goal of the funding is to reduce injury and prevent death among high-risk populations.

Phil Oakes, NASFM Chief of Operations and Training, commented: “In recent years, we’ve seen an increase in injuries and deaths of firefighters and others responding to public events that have turned violent.

“First responders, including firefighters, are trained to expect the unexpected when responding to emergency calls. This new online training gives them additional awareness and strategies to help them better protect themselves and others while dealing with incidents of civil unrest.”

NASFM partnered with AliveTek, Inc., to design and build this training. AliveTek Chief Creative Officer Marc Hugentobler said: “Our new course, Bridging the Gap: Preparing Your Jurisdiction for Civil Unrest is next-level. It reflects an extremely collaborative and interactive design by NASFM and our creative team. The scenarios within the course engage learners and give them a new perspective and the tools they need to plan for safer communities.”

This course is freely available at the NASFM eLearning portal at no charge to fire prevention agencies across the United States. For more information, visit:https://nasfm-training.org.

Amthal delivers dedicated CPD seminar on fire technology

by Featured NewsTraining

Amthal has delivered its first dedicated CPD seminar “Comply, Stay Alive!” on fire technology, to a leading integrated property consultancy.

In partnership with Honeywell Gent and Motorola Avigilon, the CPD was followed by the successful delivery of the Marlborough Science Academy Full Site Wide Fire Alarm Upgrade using GENT’s latest technology including Connected Life Safety Service.

Marlborough Science Academy is one of Amthal’s flagship CCTV installations, presenting a fully integrated 50 camera end-to-end Avigilon system deployed to protect pupils and staff and help maintain a friendly safe environment.

Paul Rosenthal, Sales Director Amthal Fire & Security commented: “We’re thrilled to have delivered our first CPD seminar. As a highly interactive and eye-opening event, its aim was to introduce a real life application of dedicated fire technology and how it has made a real difference. 

“With over 30 consultants in attendance, we were able to explore all the different components that made this such a successful installation, including an overview of technology advancements in high end CCTV Surveillance and Analytics from Motorola Avigilon.”

Amthal is able to offer a complete portfolio of CPD courses with leaders in fire safety and security including Honeywell Gent and ASSA ABLOY covering all aspects of the fire detection and security industry, including legislation, building regulations and standards, each seminar aims to provide a better understanding of the key considerations surrounding a particular subject area.

Paul Rosenthal added: “All professionals need to adapt to rapidly changing environments by acquiring new knowledge and improved skills. By working in partnership, we can maximise the opportunity to commit to an educational role and to use our expertise to provide a full CPD programme for the fire safety and security industry.”

SFPE opens registration for Practice of Engineering Fire Protection Exam

by Featured NewsTraining

 The Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) has opened registration for its first 2023 Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) Fire Protection Exam Review Course.  

Taught by 12 expert instructors with backgrounds across all areas of fire protection engineering, the SFPE PE Exam Review Course and leverages the deep knowledge from SFPE’s member community to prepare candidates for the PE Exam in Fire Protection Engineering. 

All courses are live, online, and conveniently offered twice weekly beginning in June 2023, with recorded sessions available on-demand afterward. Additional review sessions, online discussions, practice problems, and office hours with the instructors are included – providing the comprehensive preparation needed to head into the exam with confidence. 

An additional SFPE PE Exam Review Course will be scheduled in late 2023 to prepare engineers for the new spring exam schedule commencing in 2024.

Stephen Dale, Chair, SFPE PE Exam Review Subcommittee commented: “The SFPE PE Exam Review Course focuses on the fundamentals of each topic area of fire protection engineering while preparing attendees to think critically, adapt to the exam, and be successful Professional Engineers.”

Nicole Boston, CAE, Chief Executive Officer, Society of Fire Protection Engineers added: “Past participants of the SFPE PE Exam Review Course report a 90% pass rate on the exam – notably higher than the NCEES reported first-timer pass rate of 74%. Our instructors are some of the most recognized and well-known engineers practicing today, and they ensure that course participants are well-equipped with the knowledge to pass the exam.”

IAFC selects participants for the 2023 Fire Service Executive Development Institute

by Featured NewsTraining

The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) has announced the names of the individuals who have been accepted into the 2023 Fire Service Executive Development Institute (FSEDI), funded for the eleventh year by a grant from the Motorola Solutions Foundation.

The Fire Service Executive Development Institute is a year-long leadership-development program developed by the IAFC to provide new and aspiring chiefs with the tools they need to have successful and productive tenures. The members of the cohort will meet three times during the year.

They also will be attending the Fire-Rescue International conference in Kansas City, Missouri, as part of the program. The group will communicate, share information between sessions, and continue their learning process using an on-line community on the IAFC website.

Their on-site sessions are scheduled at the National Conference Center in Leesburg, Virginia, with the first meeting scheduled for the week of March 11 – 17, 2023.

The FSEDI program is a premier training program designed to prepare individuals to be successful chiefs and develop the next generation of national/international fire service leaders. Those accepted into the 2023 program are:

  • Acting Asst. Chief Monty Armstrong, Dist. of North Vancouver F&RS (British Columbia)
  • Chief Earl Borden, St. Bernard Parish FD (Louisiana)
  • Interim Chief Todd Carson, Olympia FD (Washington)
  • Deputy Chief Kristin Eckmann, South Metro Fire & Rescue (Colorado)
  • Assistant Chief David Griffin, Charleston FD (South Carolina)
  • Assistant Chief Amy Hanifan , McMinnville FD (Oregon)
  • Deputy Chief Matthew Henss, Indianapolis FD (Indiana)
  • Battalion Chief Adam Hopkins, Hagerstown FD (Maryland)
  • Chief Michael Hussey, Jackson Co. FD #3 (Oregon)
  • Chief Robert Jennison, Livonia FR (Michigan)
  • Assistant Chief Carol Key, Greensboro FD (North Carolina)
  • Deputy Chief Zachary Lardy, Bernalillo Co. FR (New Mexico)
  • Chief Rich Llewellyn, Lawrence-Douglas Co. FR (Kansas)
  • Deputy Chief Jermaine McFarlane, Miramar FR (Florida)
  • Deputy Chief Doug McGlynn, Palm Beach FR (Florida)
  • Deputy Chief T.J. McGovern, Orange Co. Fire Authority (California)
  • Deputy Chief Jeremy Metz, West Metro FR (Colorado)
  • Assistant Chief Felicity Morgan, Wayne Twp. FR (Indiana)
  • Assistant Chief Holly Mulholland, Rochester FD (Minnesota)
  • Assistant Chief Christopher Nash, Horry Co, FR (South Carolina)
  • District Chief Cedric Patterson, U.S. Navy RM-A FES (Military)
  • Deputy Chief Phillips, St. Louis FD (Missouri)
  • Assistant Chief Travis Preau, Loudoun Co. FR (Virginia)
  • Deputy Chief Tiffanye Wesley, Arlington Co. FD (Virginia)