FireFusion 2025: FDNY's Remote Tactical Training Brings Training to Firehouses

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, fire academies and in-person training opportunities were shut down. It left fire departments in a tough spot and delayed those firefighter recruits from being able to take that next step. However, the FDNY was able to find light in a dire situation by pursuing video training, live and recorded, which they continue to use today.

During FireFusion 2025, Josh Raeban and Tom Bendick, both lieutenants from FDNY, led a classroom session to show attendees how to go about remote tactical training. They spoke about their experiences, the equipment required to do remote training, planning and where the finished content should go.

Why remote tactical training?

Remote tactical training is a strategy to create engaging training content, supplemental videos and address the shift in learning dynamics from the younger generations. It’s not a replacement for hands-on training, but an alternative training option to augment existing training. Ultimately, pushing out training videos to people’s phones helps get the most exposure.

“Inevitably, there's going to be something that comes up again where training is going to have to shut down," said Raeban. "Knowing the process and planning that out, we can easily switch gears and develop more stuff immediately and put it out there. There might be an instance where there is a flu outbreak in the class. Now we could pivot, if we needed to.”

It also helps bridge the gap between the new learners and the old ways and minimizes embarrassment. This way someone can go off on their own and watch the training video, as opposed to needing to cover a basic skill in a classroom setting.

“They want to know it, but they don't want to tell someone they don't know it,” said Raeban.

It starts with knowing your needs and finding the gaps you have. There can be options of live training or pre-recorded training. Both options have advantages and disadvantages to them.

Live training allows for a news style and gives the viewer a feeling of truly being a part of the training, but it is easier for things to go wrong in a live setting. Pre-recorded training gives the options of having multiple takes, angles and ensures 100 percent accuracy, but that process can take longer.

“The first one's always going to be the hardest. If you've never done it, it's always going to be hard the first time. Once you do it a couple times, you start getting into a groove, and if you keep a format, the rest of them flew by,” said Bendick.

Equipment and technology needs

Before Raeban and Bendick jumped into what a department needs to carry out remote tactical training, they made it known that there is scalability to this endeavor. While they recognized that FDNY has resources that most departments don’t, this still can work for any department.

Look inside your department for potential experience and on-camera talent. For example, Bendick had experience in television production and set-up, while Raeban had years of experience in the information technology sector. The knowledge you need could be sitting right around you.

“I think that the most challenging thing is we often don't look inside our departments or organizations for the talent that we have,” said Raeban.

There is also the opportunity for external partnerships with local colleges and internships. If outsourcing is possible, it gives the intern or college student practical experience, lifts the weight off the department’s shoulders and creates that relationship.

With the actual equipment, Raeban and Bendick recommend starting small, using what you have access to, potentially borrowing equipment and just taking that leap. It’s not going to be perfect, but the process needs to be started.

The necessary equipment to start on the right foot includes:

• Camera: Phone, mirrorless/DSLR camera, video camera or action/360 camera
  • Make sure lenses are clean
• Microphone: Wireless, headphones, transmitters
  • There is a clear difference in the quality between your phone microphone and an external microphone.
• Camera stabilizers: Gimble or tripod option
  • This allows for stable recording and prevents any shakiness. FDNY started out on a small and cheap gimble.
• Lighting: Natural lighting is the cheapest
  • Making sure your lighting is right and there are no shadows in frame. While you can buy external lights, using the sun can be a great and free option.
• Recording Software: Built-in phone applications
  • There is plenty of free recording software available to download on your phone. This creates a one-stop shop to monitor audio levels and allows for easy transfers to an editing software interface.
• Editing software: More built-in phone applications
  • Much like recording software, there are plenty of free options for the editing side of things. If you want the extra perks of a paid version, there could be contracts through the city or county that give a discount. You can learn how to edit videos on YouTube or just trial and error it.
• Finished Content: Sharing solutions
  • There needs to be a place for all the videos to go. Learning managing systems, content management systems and alternatives like file sharing and USBs are all options to store your videos.

While there may be a lot of playing parts in remote tactical training, most of these options are free. Everyone has a phone and headphones and there is countless software that can be downloaded for free on your phone. Buying a nicer microphone and a camera stabilizer would be the only two immediate expenses starting this process.

How do you get started?

Getting the equipment is the first step, but how do you actually go about filming and producing content? There are a lot of steps before you even hit record that are crucial to the success of producing quality training content.

“You want to spend almost the most amount of time on the scripting, storyboarding and planning. The more time you spend on this, the easier the actual video shoot and production will go, and the more successful you'll be in the long term,” said Raeban.

Getting a work group together is a pivotal first step, because you want people to look at what you are trying to do and accomplish from different perspectives. There are a few questions you need to ask yourself before beginning this process.

• What are the learning objectives of this video?
  • This is what the viewer will learn by the end of the module.
• Is it going to be a series of videos?
  • The video could be stand alone or a part of a greater piece of content.
• What is the lesson plan?
  • The overarching blueprint and structure of the video.
• What equipment am I going to need?
  • Camera, stabilizers, tripods, audio, lighting and fire/EMS tools.

Now, you want to develop the idea. Pick a subject for the video and consider that this could be someone who talks well in front of the camera. Just because one person knows everything about a given topic, doesn’t mean they should be the one on camera. You want to understand the required result and make sure you reach that in an effective time length.

Raeban and Bendick suggest making training videos no longer than 10 to 15 minutes, because people will start to tune out if the video goes beyond that time length. This is also where artifical intelligence (AI) can play a role. If you get stuck, refer to AI to help generate ideas. The one thing with AI is that you can trust it, but you need to verify it.

“You'd be surprised at what AI can come up with. You can throw in the dumbest things, and it'll give you a starting point to build off,” said Bendick.

Then, it’s time to develop a script. The script gives written text for the training video and allows your on-camera talent to know what they are going to say word-for-word.

When it comes to filming, you must know your location. Keep in mind visual considerations for your video like B-roll and do this with diagrams and drawings. You should visit your filming site prior to filming, check the weather and know your angles of the sun.

This all gets put into your production outline that provides organization. If the videos are similar, this becomes a plug and play situation, which reduces wasted time and mistakes.

The day of shooting you need to test audio and video playback before doing a take. Raeban and Bendick emphasize doing multiple takes, because you could get a better shot the second time or your audio might not have been working in the first one.

The bottom line

• This will be trial and error process the first few times around.
• Planning is key. Spend time to make time.
• Don’t surprise your staff that you are making videos. Make it known.
• Everything must be squared away. This is a training video, so equipment and uniform checks are a must.
• Use verifiable sources

After the first few videos get released, you can analyze that data. What are things your trainees like and don’t like? This helps identify the gaps. Data drives the training.

All in all, this might seem like a lot, but devoting a little bit of time can change the way your department operates. There may be a lot of moving parts, but Raeban and Bendick showed that it can be done in simple ways.

“I know some people may not get to the super futuristic arena, but everyone has a cell phone in their pocket,” said Bendick.