If you have been in FF1 or 2 and pass do you think it is Important for others on your department to do the same?

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Absolutely. FF1 and FF2 establishes a general knowledge base that firefighters should have whether it be career or volunteer. I feel a lot more comfortable when the person beside me has knowledge and common sense. Its also great that someone understands how or why something works rather than "thats just how we do it".
Basically in our department it refers to the number of years of service and the training you have. It is an indicator for us that lets us know who can do search and rescue or support services on the fire ground. It dose not limit you in your ability but it is helpful to us the line officers when it comes to placing personnel in the right position to do the job they are trained to do. I hope this might help you in what you are looking for as an answer to this question.....Dewey
Absolutely, a MUST HAVE. In Kenton County Ky we have had a county wide fire academy for the past 4 years. All volunteer departments in the county send all new recruits through this and we(instructors) take them through the entire FF1 & FF2 program. We train two nights a week for 3 hours and at a minimum one Saturday a month for 8 hours in order to run 2 recruit classes through a year. So far we have gotten excellent feedback and it is overseen by the Kenton County Fire Chiefs Association.
Unfortunately the animal we know as fire has changed over the years and while our equipment has improved our safety margin...the fire has begun to consume the newer materials which are as hazerdous as ever. On those grounds alone it is about time that we all are trained to the same level nationwide.... well Firefighter 1 & 2 courses vary state to state but generally speaking they cover the same basic material. In a day and age of liability do you want to be ultimately found responsible if a firefighter is lost due to lack of training or improper instruction? From a liability standpoint Firefighter one is a no brainer. Firefighter two..I'll leave that out there..in my state there is no standardized course for Fire 2 so I say it's above and beyond what is needed...nice to have but not necessary. I think it is in every firefighters best interest to attend a course in the basic principles of firefighting taught by instructors that are trained in some form of education methodology. So I say 100 % take Firefighter 1 for sure and firefighter 2 depends totally on what the course covers. Hope it helps
Firefighter 1 and 2 are extremely important for all members to take. It helps to refresh on the basics, and also give you all the same level of training so everyone is on the same page inside the department. The old days of the backwoods training (trial by fire) are gone, and departments should be held accountable to provide professional training from instructors outside their own districts. Your members will tend to listen to outside instructors more than an inhouse instructor.
FFI and II is very important. It gives everyone the same basic working knowledge. In the department I run with you need FFI, before you can even go into a fire.
Absolutely, here in SC I teach in the firefighter classes and the first firefighter class a student takes is OSHA level FF, you don't get taught to vent, force entry, salvage, water supply, alarm systems and several other important items. But every time we give a class the first thing these students do is get out of class and think they are firefighters, and in some cases their Chief's put them in on the line with other newbie's when the only fire they have even seen is a little camp fire in the concrete burn building ( nothing like what real life is going to be, with the high heat and zero visability and things falling around you and getting hung up) and not allowed to put them in live smoke or fire till test day. These people need to go up thru the FF2 level and get all the classes that go along with them so that they understand what is happening and why when they are inside a fire and the **it has hit the fan, not only are they risking their own lives but the lives of the rest of their crew and the crews that have to come and save them. However I do feel there needs to be away so that a volunteer can get his or her training in, with all the hours required there has to be a better way of delivering the programs, I really like the way North Carolina does their's by testing out by each chapter it makes it much easier for you to go and take a class as you need it, and when you cover and pass all the chapters you get your 1 and 2 certs.
SC OSHA LEVEL IS 80 HRS FF1 IS ANOTHER 60 FF2 ANOTHER 40, PLUS CPR AND FIRST AID PLUS AUTO EXTRICATION 16 HRS HAZMAT OPS 24 HRS FLAMMABLE AND PRESSURIZED GAS FIREFIGHTING 8 HRS BEFORE YOU CAN GET FF2 CERTIFIED
New Jersey FF1 is now at 150 hours which includes the awareness levels for hazmat, confined space, Blood Borne Pathogens, and IMS/ICS100. The course also includes a certain number of prescribed live burns covering search, attack, rescue and venting. (burns are in propane facilities with limited Class A burn building use) All must pass a State given written and practical evaluation prior to FF1 certification. FF2 is made up, for lack of a better description, by each county academy to suit the advanced needs of the county. Generally FF2 is situations outside of structural firefighting and geared more for officers. Most academies have this course last 80 hours but some run as long as 120 hours
I believe both are very important. It standrdizes what training a firefighter gets. Unfortunately, there are many depts. that feel even FF! is above what is needed. In PA, the only state mandated training is Haz Mat Awareness. Note even Essentials is required. So alot of depts here feel that on the job & in house training is all that they need. Luckily, we are starting to get command officers that are based in the 21st century. They feel & deem that certainin training is important & necessary, including 166 hours for Esssentials. I chose to get my training on my own & it has paid off several times in my 18 years of service. I feel the firefighters should be trained up to NFPA standards for FF1 & they can then go on from there. Taking & passing FF2 should be worked into the first 5 yrs of service. We should never settle just for inhouse training. Fire changes all the time, so should our training. "This is how we did it in thr past" is no excuse anymore. The past is the past. We need to look at it & learn from the mistakes, not repeat them.
I agree totally thank you Joe!! All of you have been a breath of fresh air from my department that is set in there old ways, After FF1 I had a new insite on Fire fighting you all have helped me want to keep pushing and get it done right.

Thank you All!!
Yes it is very important for a volunteer to learn FF I and FF II otherwise they are not much help on the fire ground. Both classes help a volunteer understand the basic's.

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