Will We Ever Get Qualified Instructors??

[rmoore]

Received a message from a New Jersey rescuer who is frustrated with what he sees as a lack of professionalism among vehicle rescue instructors...

Ron,

Is there any type of standard or requirements on who/what is required to be an Extrication Instructor? I am from NJ, and as far as I can tell, all you need to teach extrication is a pulse. I have been teaching it to my Squad and some other local Squads for about 15 years now. I am a State certified Fire Instructor. I have run across many people teaching classes in Extrication that learned it from the "older members" and unfortunately, don't know what they are doing. I have seen people teaching obvious things, like to "disregard air bags because they really aren't a concern at accidents". Is there any kind of National standard or something?

My Reply:

There would be a 'standard' for an extrication instructor to adhere to if there were something within a state's fire training program requiring it and the class that the instructor were teaching was state-certified and entitled the participant to a certificate. Several states have done this; PA, Illinois, Maryland, Colorado, for example. They have state-certified extrication classes with educational and training requirements for the instructors. Also, the instructors teach from a standardized curriculum and are kept up to date through refresher training programs sponsored by the state training academy, State university of college system, etc.

What you and I see the most is the guy I refer to as the local "junkyard junkie". Never been out of their local area and have gained all their experience cutting cars in the junkyard. Someone should tell them that those vehicles are probably 20 years old or more and don't truly represent what is out there on the street today.

You can make a difference in this unfortunate trend. You can adopt a requirement within your department that your trainers have certification in courses like Educational Methodology or Methods of Teaching before they can present material to your members. This is a real good idea anyway because if something ever were to go to court later, the better your trainers are certified to teach, the better for the department. You can then adopt a standard curriculum for training materials like IFSTA materials or what is being done in neighboring Pennsylvania. They have a state vehicle rescue curriculum. You can also look at the Instructor Resource Guide offered with my new vehicle rescue book. Make a standard teaching curriculum into your department's rescue training standard. Colorado and Illinois adopted my lesson plans and book state-wide.

Actions like this would standardize your training, keep it up-to-date, and mark your training as a cut above the rest when it comes to new info, current techinques, and accurate material.

In addition, work closely with the TERC USA organization. <www.terc.org> This is a bunch of highly motivated vehicle rescue professionals across the US that you would be wise to associate with.

There's no national standard for vehicle rescue instructors but that doesn't mean you have to sit back and do nothing about it. Be a "change-agent" and make a difference!

Ron Moore, Batt Chief/Training Officer
McKinney(TX) Fire Department
214-578-3405

[NB87JW]

Ron,
Do you have any good contacts in those states you mentioned that have already gone though the process?

If you do, either post the ones you can here, or email me the contact information if you would not mind.

I am working on yet another project for our state so we can get proper standardized training in Extrication.

Is anyone using your textbook (2nd Edition) that you are aware of for "basic" classes?


respondez' sil vous plait' (RSVP)

respectfully, JT

[rmoore]

In response to the question about using my Vehicle Rescue & Extrication book for basic firefighter training in vehicle rescue, the answer is yes. In the State of Colorado, AIMS Community College has adopted the 2nd edition along with the Instructor Resource materials as the heart of their basic, intermediate and advanced curriculums. They are currently presenting extrication classes that meet NFPA 1670 Awareness level based on the book. The next step, Operations level, is also available through the college and is again based upon the 2nd edition. It is a longer duration course because it is more involved than the awareness level competencies.

For their Technician-level program, the book is used as well as other sources. This is because Tech skills include machinery, trucks, bus vehicles, etc that are not specifically addressed in the 2nd edition.

The contact at AIMS is Eric Dumonteil. He is available at [edumonteil@aims.edu].

The state of Pennsylvania worked in concert with their PA Dept of Health to develop their own statewide vehicle rescue curriculum. It is all updated and new material that they put together themselves.

The contact at the PA Fire Academy is Rita Wessel, avilable at [rwessel@state.pa.us].

Illinois was the first state to use all aspects of my 2nd edition for development of their newly released statewide vehicle rescue program. There are requirements for instructor qualifications to teach these courses.

Contact person for Illinois is;
Mitzi Woodson
Division of Personnel Standards and Education
Office of the State Fire Marshal
10335 Stevenson Drive
Springfield, IL 62703
[Mitzi.Woodson@sfm.state.il.us]

[rescue61]

Thanks Ron, for mentioning TERC USA and TERC Canada as sources for information on instructors. Both organizations have close ties to the vehicle manufacturers and rescue tool manufacturers.

I am looking forward to seeing you again in Dallas.

Mike McNamara
TERC Canada Chair

[lutan1]

Over here we don't have a formal qualification to teach extrication which I beleive to be a HUGE issue, with no doubt, the exact same problems you guys are coming across....

The other big issue here in Oz, is the lack of specialised courses, seminars, etc such as the ones Firehouse put on, or bily and his BRR, etc.

[MetalMedic]

Standardization of instructor qualifications??? Heck, we can't even get the States to all agree on what color emergency lighting we should have on our vehicles!

[lutan1]

Standardization of instructor qualifications??? Heck, we can't even get the States to all agree on what color emergency lighting we should have on our vehicles!

He's got a point, you know....

I remember some time ago I asked who has formal qualifications just to perform Road Rescue on these forums and was amazed at the lack of standardization even to perform the rescue, let alone teach it!

[jducharme]

I totally agree. I teach but have never been asked to prove what I know and I don't believe anybody has ever checked my course content.
Its funny how you have to have about 20 hours of training in Hazmat just to respond to a incident but need 0 hours of training to respond to an extrication. I think that mindset carries through to the schooling end of this. In FF1 & FF2 it is only briefly covered, you must attend a state fire school to get more training. There is no set course material its up to the instructor to present what they think is appopriate. Also many departments I vist only spend 2 or 3 hours a year on training on extrication, with mandated training chewing up alot of otherwise available training time. I still see some reluctance to adopt receiprocating saws. Sorry venting but there is alot of room for improvement.