By Michael E. Cox, Jr.

Training a large number of career recruit firefighters can be a daunting task for any department; however, when a department is faced with a skyrocketing number of vacancies due to attrition, increased overtime costs, a year-long delay in the hiring process, plus one of the worst economic downturns since the Great Depression, the difficulty level of such an undertaking grows exponentially.

In November 2008, Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold authorized Fire Chief John Robert Ray to hire 121 recruit firefighters out of the fiscal year 2009 budget. These recruits were used to fill all the existing and projected vacancies within the AAFD.

Faced with a looming national fiscal crisis, Chief Ray then directed the department’s Training and Research Division to conduct an analysis of their recruit training program and streamline the process, with the goal of producing as many firefighters as possible in the shortest amount of time at a reduced cost to the county taxpayer—and without sacrificing quality.

Training Program Analysis
Recruit training is conducted at the AAFD’s Fire Training Academy. As a full-service facility with all of the latest amenities, it’s used by numerous departments and agencies throughout the region and can accommodate up to 60 personnel. Past recruit academy classes have varied in length from 24–28 weeks, depending on the curriculum.

Training and Research Division’s staff conducted an analysis of different scheduling options for training the new recruits, including a back-to-back 23 ½-week academy of 60 people each; simultaneous 23 ½-week daytime/nighttime academies of 60 people each; 23 ½-week staggered academies of 60 people each at 5 weeks apart, 10 weeks apart and 15 weeks apart; and one 23 ½-week single academy class consisting of 121 personnel. Each of these academies presented unique challenges and involved varying costs, staff requirements, and the reduction of the AAFD’s overtime liability for field vacancies.

The results of the program analysis revealed that the 23 ½-week, 121-person recruit class schedule would be the most beneficial since it met all the goals that had been established by the AAFD’s administration. This schedule also utilized a smaller cadre of instructors/recruit training officers (RTOs) per student, and could help eliminate the AAFD’s overtime liability the fastest by graduating and placing more firefighters in the field in just a 23 ½-week period.

The other options that were considered, although viable, either had an increased cost and/or increased training time of almost 1 year before all candidates could be ready for field service.

Issues & Obstacles
Although practical, the 121-person recruit class had a significant number of obstacles that had to be overcome before it could be implemented. One such obstacle was planning for the program. A schedule had to be developed to ensure that the program could rotate classes of recruits on a regular basis. The program also had to be organized in an orderly fashion to ensure an ease of administration.

The National Incident Management System’s Incident Command Model was chosen as an organizational model for the program, as it is departmentally mandated for all large-scale activities and events. The added benefit of using this well-known model was that the new recruits were exposed to it from the first day of class. The program was arranged in the following manner:

The class was separated into three branches: A fire branch, an EMS branch and a rescue branch, as depicted in the organizational structure chart. This arrangement allowed for simultaneous and continuous training for all branches in three different locations.

Scheduling was also challenging, but after some thought, we worked out the following rotation. The fire branch consisted of 60 recruits in an 11-week segment in which the recruits completed Firefighter I and II training, as well as numerous other programs based on local content. The EMS branch consisted of 30 recruits organized in a 5 ½-week training segment whereby all candidates received certification as a Maryland State EMT-B. The rescue branch also consisted of 30 recruits in a 5 ½-week training program. The candidates in this branch completed Rescue Technician, Emergency Vehicle Operator, Hazardous Materials, and other local content training.

In effect, this type of scheduling was very similar to a “round robin” type of rotation, as the person who completed EMS training would move to rescue training while those who completed rescue training would move to EMS training.

When both groups completed their rescue and EMS training, they would form a 60- person group and rotate to the fire training branch. This group would then be split into two 30- person groups and rotate to the EMS and rescue training branches. In addition, this rotation was designed to allow those already certified as State EMT-Bs and paramedics to begin their field service 4 weeks earlier than the remainder of the class. A timeline for the rotation is provided below.

Other issues that had to be overcome: acquiring enough state-certified emergency services instructors to teach both the classroom and practical portions of the program, and providing for outside independent evaluators during all practical testing.

The instructors were detailed from within the department to the training academy for the duration of the class, but all instructors were required to complete an instructor skills program prior to the start of the program, to ensure that the same techniques and information would be conveyed to the new recruits.

When all instructors were acquired, the 60-person group in the fire branch was further divided into smaller groups that focused on various disciplines, such as SCBA, hose, ladders, etc. Additionally, neighboring departments within the region provided instructors for all live-burn evolutions, practical testing and instructor evaluations. In all, more than 10 state-certified emergency services instructors and numerous other support personnel ensured compliance with all national and state regulations/standards.

One unique obstacle that had to be overcome was the facility challenges. Since the AAFD’s fire branch could accept a maximum of 60 personnel, the academy staff had to locate and secure additional sites to conduct the EMS and rescue training portions of the program. After a short search, the academy staff was able to acquire space at the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services’ (HCoDFRS) new training facility. HCoDFRS is located in a neighboring county, but the AAFD enjoys an excellent working relationship with them. In addition, a training hall at the Orchard Beach Volunteer Fire Department located within Anne Arundel County was also secured.

At this point, all the pieces of the puzzle had come together and the department was ready to embark on a historical journey. Previously, the largest graduating recruit class consisted of 68 personnel.

Lessons Learned/Lessons Reinforced
The program resulted in numerous benefits for the AAFD, the first of which was the significant cost savings experienced by all participating departments in the following ways:
• The pooling of resources and assistance from other departments during this process decreased academy staff overtime liability over the entire 23 ½-week program;
• We reduced our field overtime liabilities by graduating 114 of the 121 recruits;
• We trained new instructors without a significant financial impact; and
• Participating departments received student contact hours for their staff instructors at no additional cost to them since these personnel were detailed during their normal work hours.

The second major benefit was the collaborative work effort that was experienced by all involved. The academy staff and members of the other assisting agencies/departments performed flawlessly during this program and formed a cohesive group that functioned for more than 23 ½ weeks. This experience also strengthened the already great working relationships that we’ve experienced in our region and improved the ability of our newest members to work with members of our surrounding departments. Lastly, this experience has helped enhance training opportunities within all departments in the region so that now, specialty training, training topics and instructor trainers are more readily shared between departments.

The third major benefit: an improved safety record. Safety during this program was paramount and the No. 1 goal of all instructors. In the past, some academy classes experienced an unusually high number of recruit injuries; however, the academy staff and instructors who were involved in this initiative ensured that every precaution was taken during all phases of the program—there’s simply no reason that a student should be seriously injured or killed in a training environment. The use of extra state-certified instructors during all practical evolutions and compliance with all national and state standards helped accomplish this goal. In fact, there were very few (five) injuries overall, all of which were minor.

A fourth benefit of the project was the enhanced use of the Incident Command System (ICS), a tremendous organizational tool that’s used day in and day out at emergency scenes all over the country by fire service personnel. But the ICS is also very beneficial as an organizational model in the non-emergency setting. In our program, the ICS was utilized to organize academy operations and staff positions as well as the framework for the entire program.

The use of this system ensured effective management of all resources, assigned accountability and responsibility to particular personnel and ensured effective communications throughout the structure.

The fifth and final benefit realized during this initiative came about through the IAFC/IAFF Candidate Physical Ability Testing Program (CPAT). Although this is a very controversial program within some departments, we’ve found the program to be very beneficial to the success of this initiative. Every recruit involved in this training program had successfully completed the CPAT process prior to the start of class. As a result, the department was able to begin class with personnel who were physically fit. We believe that their level of fitness directly contributed to the overall reduction of injuries, the minor nature of the injuries that were sustained and the overall success rate of the candidates in the program.

Conclusion
As you can see, this initiative was a significant undertaking by the AAFD. The program required a considerable amount of planning and commitment by all the staff involved in the project. More importantly, this initiative reminded us that innovation combined with local and/or regional partnerships can be used to accomplish the unthinkable.

Although successful, this program would not have been possible without the assistance, commitment and support of the following agencies/departments: the AAFD Training Academy Staff; the Annapolis Fire Department; the Baltimore County Fire Department; the BWI Airport Fire/Rescue Department; the Fort Meade Fire and EMS Department; the Howard County Department of Fire/Rescue Services; the University of Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute; the Naval District Washington Fire Department; and the Naval District Annapolis Fire Department.

Michael E. Cox Jr., a 22-year veteran of the Anne Arundel County Fire Department (AAFD), currently serves as the division chief and as the AAFD’s public information officer/executive officer to the fire chief. Chief Cox was division chief of the Training and Research Division where he oversaw this initiative. He holds an associate’s degree from Anne Arundel Community College in EMS, a bachelor’s degree in fire science from the University of Maryland and a master’s degree in executive leadership from Grand Canyon University. He is a nationally registered EMT-P, a state-certified emergency services instructor and a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program. Chief Cox can be reached at fdcox20@aacounty.org.



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