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FDIC Award: Robert Colameta Jr. Is ISFSI’s Instructor of the Year
Champion of the Courage to Be Safe Program Awarded the ISFSI's George D. Post Instructor of the Year Award
By Janelle Foskett
During Thursday’s general session at FDIC, Eddie Buchanan, president of the International Society of Fire Service Instructors (ISFSI), and Glenn Corbertt, technical editor for FireEngineering magazine, presented the ISFSI George D. Post Instructor of the Year Award to Robert J. Colameta Jr.
In his acceptance speech, Colameta, a firefighter with the Everett (Mass.) Fire Department, noted that he is humbled to receive such a prestigious award. He then emphasized that firefighter safety starts with each and every one of us, and asked everyone in the audience to ask themselves each day, “Am I doing everything I can to prevent needless LODDs?” People talk a lot about “culture,” adding that, “It’s more than a word; it’s an action.” On this note, he stressed that there’s no reason that firefighters shouldn’t mandate the use of seatbelts and embrace health and wellness issues. “We should love our families and live,” he emphasized.
Some of the reasons Colameta is such a deserving winner: He developed The Public Safety Education Network (www.publicsafetyedu.com), an online training network that provides municipal fire departments with custom training opportunities to meet their specific needs.
Additionally, he has been integrally involved in the Courage to Be Safe program. Specifically, in 2006, he became the national program manager of the Courage to Be Safe program and has developed the Courage to Be Safe Online Training Resource Network to interact, exchange stories and access a library of media add-on material to enhance the teaching experience. In addition, he developed and deployed more than 36 online learning media segments based on the 16 Life Safety Initiatives.
During his introduction of Colameta, Buchanan and Corbertt explained that Colameta works “tirelessly, days on end” in his mission to encourage training and reduce the number of firefighter LODDs. They specifically referenced Colameta’s drive to deliver the Courage to Be Safe campaign to every department in the country.
Brooks Martin, a Region 8 Advocate for the Everyone Goes Home program, nominated Colameta for the award.
"The support network that has been put in place is something most fire service programs could only hope to emulate. In general, most fire service training programs are developed, trainers trained and then handed off,” he said. “Firefighter Robert Colameta has developed a system that provides support using the most current technology available, but has not forgotten the importance of personally communicating with the CTBS instructors.”
He added: “Colameta is responsible for developing and applying new techniques that improve the quality of the CTBS program, but more importantly, increasing the motivation and performance of the approximately 500 CTBS instructors across the country. Constantly accepting suggestions from instructors for curriculum improvement, applying the appropriate changes and delivering consistent updates are daunting tasks for an instructor. In this case, the challenge of notifying instructors from Hawaii to Maine and doing it professionally, rapidly and functionally is critical for the support of not only the Everyone Goes Home program, but the individual instructors.”
Colameta concluded his acceptance speech by adding that, “I have never been more proud to be a part of the American fire service.”
Additionally, I spoke with Colameta after FDIC, and he offered this quote that drives his choice to build a lasting legacy in the American fire service.
“Without vision, we cannot change … without change, we cannot grow … without growth, we cannot succeed.”
“It is vision, dedication and education by all our trainers that is the tipping point between vision becoming reality.”
About the Award: The George D. Post Instructor of the Year Award, which incorporates the Training Achievement Award previously given by FireEngineering at FDIC, is named for George D. Post, who was a long-time member of the ISFSI, whose mission it is to reduce the number of LODDs through education and training. Post was a member of the FDNY, an illustrator of fire service publications, and a developer of instructional material. He is considered by many to be the father of visual training used to train fire service personnel around the world.
Janelle Foskett is the managing editor of FireRescue magazine.
By Janelle Foskett
During Thursday’s general session at FDIC, Eddie Buchanan, president of the International Society of Fire Service Instructors (ISFSI), and Glenn Corbertt, technical editor for FireEngineering magazine, presented the ISFSI George D. Post Instructor of the Year Award to Robert J. Colameta Jr.
In his acceptance speech, Colameta, a firefighter with the Everett (Mass.) Fire Department, noted that he is humbled to receive such a prestigious award. He then emphasized that firefighter safety starts with each and every one of us, and asked everyone in the audience to ask themselves each day, “Am I doing everything I can to prevent needless LODDs?” People talk a lot about “culture,” adding that, “It’s more than a word; it’s an action.” On this note, he stressed that there’s no reason that firefighters shouldn’t mandate the use of seatbelts and embrace health and wellness issues. “We should love our families and live,” he emphasized.
Some of the reasons Colameta is such a deserving winner: He developed The Public Safety Education Network (www.publicsafetyedu.com), an online training network that provides municipal fire departments with custom training opportunities to meet their specific needs.
Additionally, he has been integrally involved in the Courage to Be Safe program. Specifically, in 2006, he became the national program manager of the Courage to Be Safe program and has developed the Courage to Be Safe Online Training Resource Network to interact, exchange stories and access a library of media add-on material to enhance the teaching experience. In addition, he developed and deployed more than 36 online learning media segments based on the 16 Life Safety Initiatives.
During his introduction of Colameta, Buchanan and Corbertt explained that Colameta works “tirelessly, days on end” in his mission to encourage training and reduce the number of firefighter LODDs. They specifically referenced Colameta’s drive to deliver the Courage to Be Safe campaign to every department in the country.
Brooks Martin, a Region 8 Advocate for the Everyone Goes Home program, nominated Colameta for the award.
"The support network that has been put in place is something most fire service programs could only hope to emulate. In general, most fire service training programs are developed, trainers trained and then handed off,” he said. “Firefighter Robert Colameta has developed a system that provides support using the most current technology available, but has not forgotten the importance of personally communicating with the CTBS instructors.”
He added: “Colameta is responsible for developing and applying new techniques that improve the quality of the CTBS program, but more importantly, increasing the motivation and performance of the approximately 500 CTBS instructors across the country. Constantly accepting suggestions from instructors for curriculum improvement, applying the appropriate changes and delivering consistent updates are daunting tasks for an instructor. In this case, the challenge of notifying instructors from Hawaii to Maine and doing it professionally, rapidly and functionally is critical for the support of not only the Everyone Goes Home program, but the individual instructors.”
Colameta concluded his acceptance speech by adding that, “I have never been more proud to be a part of the American fire service.”
Additionally, I spoke with Colameta after FDIC, and he offered this quote that drives his choice to build a lasting legacy in the American fire service.
“Without vision, we cannot change … without change, we cannot grow … without growth, we cannot succeed.”
“It is vision, dedication and education by all our trainers that is the tipping point between vision becoming reality.”
About the Award: The George D. Post Instructor of the Year Award, which incorporates the Training Achievement Award previously given by FireEngineering at FDIC, is named for George D. Post, who was a long-time member of the ISFSI, whose mission it is to reduce the number of LODDs through education and training. Post was a member of the FDNY, an illustrator of fire service publications, and a developer of instructional material. He is considered by many to be the father of visual training used to train fire service personnel around the world.
Janelle Foskett is the managing editor of FireRescue magazine.
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Add a Comment
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Comment by FETC on April 23, 2010 at 11:03pm
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Bob has devoted himself to reducing LODD's and has given so much. Glad to hear you have been recognized, well deserved. Congrats!
Bill Greenwood
FETC Services
CTBS - New Hampshire
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