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Archive for May, 2012

Always Stay Connected with TargetSolutions

TargetSolutions is making it easier for everyone to stay informed about company news, support help, special offers and other interesting items with its growing social media presence. The company currently manages active accounts for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube and is always looking for new outlets for connecting with existing clients and prospects.

“Through social media were able to connect with our market and share ideas,” said Director of Marketing Mike Butler. “We’re looking to keep clients in our network informed about what we’re doing. Social media is an important means for connecting and communicating. We are always looking to generate interest in our platform, which we know can save public entities time and money. We think we can increase awareness about how were helping organizations and also make it a valuable experience for those who are connected.”

Individuals linked with TargetSolutions’ community will enjoy the following benefits:

> Platform support information
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> Videos, testimonials, images, support links, etc.
> Valuable articles by industry experts
> Networking with other organizations through our community

Please click on one of the icons below to connect with TargetSolutions through these social media channels:

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About TargetSolutions
Founded in 1999, TargetSolutions is the leader in online training and records management for public entities. More than 2,000 organizations across the country use our technology to solve their training needs. We work hard every day to understand our clients’ challenges and deliver powerful tools that save time and money.

Wauconda Fire District Solves Its Compliance Issues with TargetSolutions

Al Schlick has served as the Wauconda Fire Districts director of training for more than eight years now. Schlick admits the first half-dozen were not always an easy ride. The main reason for sleepless nights was that no matter how hard he tried, it was impossible to achieve 100 percent compliance for his entire staff.

There were some things that everybody had to do, like CPR, but it would take three months and I had to chase people around, Schlick says. Its not that these guys are deadbeats or anything. These are great guys. But we are just so busy. Its just the nature of everything we need to get done in the amount of time we have.

Facing undeniable difficulties achieving compliance, Schlick was looking for answers. The District needed a new training platform with a robust offering capable of reaching his entire staff. After hearing rave reviews from a colleague, Schlick discovered TargetSolutions. He quickly realized the web-based platform was exactly what his District needed to achieve total compliance.

“The biggest benefit for us is being able to provide consistent training on compliance topics for all our employees,” Schlick says. “Emergency response, sick days, holidays and regular days off consistently made total coverage a nightmare. With TargetSolutions, that problem is now a thing of the past. On things like sexual harassment, it was difficult. Wed bring in an expert and they would do a wonderful job, but how do you recapture that for everyone not there?”

Schlick loves the fact TargetSolutions constantly monitors his staffs upcoming renewals, making his life much easier. I dont have to do that anymore, Schlick said. TargetSolutions sends them an e-mail that says, Hey, youre up. If they dont do it, it tells them when theyre overdue and Im alerted. Its brilliant.

Schlick is not only thrilled with the comprehensive training and alert notifications, but the platforms powerful and innovative training applications.

“We use (Activities Builder) like a rented mule,” Schlick said. “We can now build an SOP, put it in TargetSolutions and record when it has been completed. We now have 100 percent certainty that everyone who works here has read something and that theyve got it. To me, thats brilliant and something I wouldnt be able to do unless I were here 24 hours a day.”

“To do the things we are now doing was not possible before TargetSolutions. The flexibility and access our employees have now would not be possible unless I sat in my office 24/7. TargetSolutions brings compliance training to every employee with little or no effort.”

About Wauconda Fire District
Since its formation in 1889, the Wauconda Fire District has been focused on consistently meeting the shifting needs of the communities it serves in Northeastern Illinois. With three departments providing 24-hour coverage for more than 40,000 residents, it’s not an easy chore. More than 3,600 emergency calls come in annually and the District takes pride in its high-quality service and commitment to protecting life and property. In addition to emergency response, the Districts staff also performs a wide range of non-emergency duties, including fire safety education, First Aid and CPR classes.

About TargetSolutions
Founded in 1999, TargetSolutions is the leader in online training and records management for public entities. More than 2,000 organizations across the country use our technology to solve their training needs. We work hard every day to understand our clients challenges and deliver powerful tools that save time and money.

Fundamentals Will Always Be Vital During Fireground Operations

Blog by Ed Hadfield
www.firetowntrainingspecialist.com

Its a simple word, fundamentals, and an even simpler idea. As we continue to perfect our methodology in the science of firefighting, we are moving further away from the fundamentals associated with the craft of firefighting.

Bold as that statement might be, we find the reliance on technology — or maybe I should say the crutch of using technology — in a vain attempt to make up for our lack of basic strategies during fireground operations.

This has created a theoretical approach to tactical considerations on the fireground; and in my opinion, the demise of an educational approach to the craft of fireground operations.

Take a look at the basic understanding (or misunderstandings) of fire behavior and the dangers associated with fireground operations. First, we recognize todays occupancies are larger than those built in the 1970s when the western United States experienced exponential growth. The average residential housing unit has increased 75 percent in overall square footage since the boom of the 70s and the thermal insulation values have tripled. This might not seem important, but when you calculate the required fire-flow ratio, based on average square footage, we see required fire-flow factor increases beyond what was previously used by firefighters.

Fire, as we know it and through scientific study, burns at an increased rate creating hostile events, while extreme interior fire behavior and rapid fire progression is being witnessed on what used to be ordinary structure fires.

This change in fire behavior and the increase in rapid fire progression within the enclosure of the occupancy is a direct result of three key factors:

>> Fuel loading within occupancies has doubled since the 1980s.

>> Fuel modeling of these elements has dramatically changed. Fire gases are producing highly volatile, explosive fuels carrying a high density of unburned fuel particles that are suspended within the atmosphere of the enclosure.

>> Going green and the need for higher thermal insulation values in today’s occupancies create a tighter enclosure. This lends itself to the likelihood of rapid fire progression within the enclosure.

Take this all into account and we quickly recognize the need to understand the importance of knowing the basic fundamentals of building profiling, rescue profiling and a comprehensive analysis of fireground operations based upon mission of purpose.

Mission of purpose is a simple concept, but some in the fire service have lost sight of the mission of purpose and have used the we’re killing firefighters card to push an agenda. While it is fact firefighters lose their lives and are injured while performing interior fire operations, many of those deaths are not attributed to a single event. More so, they are a result of a series of events that go unrecognized and unmitigated on the fireground.

These series of breakdowns include a chain of events, often based solely upon human error and failed tactical functions. Simply stated, in some cases its not the big event that killed or injured a firefighter; it was a series of mistakes that lead to the subsequent catastrophic ending.

So with that said, how do we fundamentally address the need to change and create a more efficient working platform so we can carry out our mission of purpose. First, we need to look at a few key items.

Building profile is a fireground concept used by all responding personnel. The concept establishes fireground operations keyed off building profiles by the incident commander. Most occupancies are broken into five categories (Type 1 through Type 5). This is a common understanding in the fire service, but what does it mean to the fireground commander?

Well, it clearly identifies potential fireground setbacks and primary needs of the first alarm resources. Take for instance a Type 1 structure, the obvious hazard is the potential for rapid fire progression within the enclosure due to the limited ability to rapidly ventilate the structure during a coordinated fire attack.

On the flip side, the limited likelihood of the fire transitioning from a compartment or content driven fire to a structural fire and creating a hazardous environment as a result of structural collapse is limited due to the construction features and building components of the occupancy.

The next aspect is vital to understanding the primary functions of fireground decision making. Fireground decision making must be based upon the mission of purpose. The mission of purpose is the basis of your strategic process, which includes Life Safety, Incident Stabilization, and Property Conservation.

Ask any citizen why fire departments exist and the most common answer will be, to save my family from a burning building. This will quickly be followed by, and to keep my home or business from burning down.

This is our mission.

Sure we are all risk agencies, and EMS encompasses a large function of our service to the community. But nothing speaks of mission of purpose like saving lives at the scene of structure fires.

The reason this is so important is simple, it’s because nobody else can do it. When you look at all other activities we are involved with, one could find another entity to function in that capacity should the need arrive. But firefighters hold sole ownership for firefighting and the task of saving lives, homes and businesses.

As previously mentioned, rescue profiling is based upon a few defining factors. First, look at the residential structure. The obsolete concept of assuming no one is home during daytime hours of a residential structure fire, or even worse, assuming no one is inside a burning structure unless there is a person telling you otherwise, is theory that should be struck from fire service text.

All residential structures must be considered occupied until someone clearly confirms the occupancy is non-occupied. This comes in the form of a resident informing the first arriving officer or the primary search group issuing and all clear to the incident commander. Until then, we must operate under the assumption the residential structure is occupied.

While doing so a constant evaluation of changing conditions must be considered by the I/C. A complete Dynamic Risk Assessment is critical within the first five minutes of arrival. The information gathered is critical to the success of the mission.

Items to identify include the following:

Height, Width and Depth of the Structure: Gauging length, width, height or setback will determine line length.

Size and Volume of Structure: Determine the overall size and volume of structure, then the amount of fire involvement. Calculate the area of involvement based upon the time first water will be applied. Remember, 100 square feet of involvement typically requires 30 to 50 GPM of flow. Also note, the average track home in Southern California is 2,200 square feet.

Ventilation Profile: If occupancy is pressurized at the door upon entry, with dense/dark smoke at or below mid-door level, consider vertical ventilation prior to any positive pressure ventilation use. Never utilize positive pressure ventilation prior to the initial attack line and before you have identified the area of involvement.

Softening the Structure: Softening techniques include identification of any fireground setbacks, including bars on windows, gates, metal security screen doors, etc.

When we consider the basic fundamentals of what has been discussed, we can clearly identify the foundation or the bed rock of a successful operation on the fireground. Obviously there are many, many more key ingredients to the success of any operation, but starting with a strong foundation and fundamental approach is just the beginning.

Until next time, stay safe.

About the Author
Ed Hadfield has more than 26 years of fire service experience, rising through the ranks from firefighter to division chief. He is a frequent speaker on leadership, sharing his experiences within the fire service and also with corporate and civic leaders throughout the United States. For more on Hadfield, please check online at www.firetowntrainingspecialist.com.

Global Risk Innovations Brings TargetSolutions’ Powerful Platform to Canadian Departments

TargetSolutions is committed to delivering the most powerful online training and records management system possible so its clients can easily achieve compliance, increase operational efficiency and reduce costs. The more emergency responders the company can help achieve those goals, the better.

That’s why it made perfect sense six years ago to team up with Global Risk Innovations.

“We feel strongly about our mission of providing innovative technology solutions to public safety officials everywhere,” said TargetSolutions’ CEO Jon Handy. “By partnering with GRI, we have the opportunity to expand our reach with a company that truly shares our beliefs about operating with integrity and serving the markets we care so much about.”

GRI is a multi-national organization based out of Guelph, Ontario, which is about 30 miles southwest of Toronto. The company provides the TargetSolutions technology platform to fire departments across Canada while also delivering Blue Card Command services. GRIs stated vision is a safer, healthier global working environment through innovation and risk mitigation, which marries perfectly with TargetSolutions goals and its platforms capabilities.

“Our mission as an organization is to make sure we represent products that are beneficial to the fire world, making them safer and healthier,” said GRIs Vice President Judy Smith. “Nothing better suits our vision than TargetSolutions. Its in harmony with our beliefs as an organization.”

TargetSolutions and GRI officially joined forces in 2006, but Handy and the Canadian companys President Nelson Lawrence originally met at a conference in 2000. Their first meeting was just a year into TargetSolutions existence.

I saw the first edition of the platform and I really saw the vision in it, Lawrence said. Jon and I continued to stay in touch and we eventually developed a business relationship.

Lawrence always knew the platform could become a powerhouse, but he admitted hes impressed by just how much the system has developed over the last 12 years, he said.

“I’ve seen the platform change from a content-focused program, which some departments thought was important for them, to more of an RMS (records management system) with the ability to share training resources, so it delivers more of a value equation now than just training content,” Lawrence said. “There’s a need for better documentation because of the enforcement of regulatory agencies. Many fire departments are realizing they need better documentation and having that available in a hosted browser-based format is the ultimate solution.”

“The platform is catching on in the territories GRI serves”, Lawrence said. “The company now has large metro departments throughout Canada on the TargetSolutions platform.”

In 2009, GRI and TargetSolutions offered a $1 million grant program together in which the two companies gave away six months of the service to volunteer departments in Canada. Hundreds of firefighters tried the program through the promotion and received the benefit of online training and recordkeeping.

That was an example of us working together to serve a noble goal in educating the volunteer departments about the platform, Lawrence said.

While emergency responders in Canada have different requirements for continuing education than here in the United States, GRI has worked to receive accreditation by the varying agencies that regulate the respective provinces. The company Canadianized TargetSolutions NFPA content and is able to meet regulatory requirements if departments are asked to produce its training records.

TargetSolutions really helps departments cross their Ts and dot there Is, Smith said. The departments we talk to think the platform is amazing. Whether you are focused on training to ensure safety compliance, or just working to improve your organizations overall risk status, you will benefit from TargetSolutions impressive, easy-to-navigate technology.

About TargetSolutions
TargetSolutions is the leading provider of web-based technology solutions for public entities, with a focus on fire and EMS departments. These solutions enable departments to maintain compliance, reduce losses, deliver curriculum, and track all station-level tasks, certifications and training activities. More than 2,000 organizations across the country use our technology to solve their training needs. We work hard every day to understand our clients challenges and deliver powerful tools that save time and money.

About Global Risk Innovations
Global Risk Innovations (GRI) is a multi-national privately held organization committed to providing innovative online training & risk management solutions.Hundreds of clients across the globe make use of GRI products and services to mitigate risk and improve operational efficiency.

How to Tell Someone “I Think You Are Messing Up” with the Five Step Assertive Statement Process

Blog by Dr. Richard B. Gasaway
Web Master for Situational Awareness Matters (SAmatters.com)

It’s not something any of us want to hear. But it’s something that may need to be said to an incident commander at an emergency scene when things are not going well. But how do you tell someone with power and authority they may be making decisions that are putting responders in harm’s way? It can be a very touchy situation.

In fact, some responders see too much risk to even speak up. As a result, no one tells the commander that things are going bad. This makes a terrible assumption that the commander can see the things going bad and knows what he or she is doing. The fact is the commander may not be able to comprehend what is happening. There are more than 100 barriers to situational awareness and commanders are as susceptible to them as any of us. Being experienced helps, but it does not create complete immunity.

Some responders will speak up, but they do so in such a confrontational and abrasive way that it may cause the commander to go on the defensive. This happens because instead of feeling the advice is helpful, the commander feels under attack.

The solution comes with having an established procedure or protocol for how a commander is to be addressed when bearing a concern. Fortunately for us such a process exists in aviation. It’s called the Five Step Assertive Statement Process. Here are the steps:

Step 1: Acknowledge the person in authority with reverence.

Step 2: Use a trigger phrase to alert them. In aviation, its I have a concern.

Step 3: State the concern or issue.

Step 4: Offer a resolution to the problem.

Step 5: See their concurrence to the resolution.

Before you use this process it is very important that all responders are trained on what it is, how it works and how to use it. Otherwise, if a firefighter approaches a command officer and says I have a concern, the response may not be what the firefighter is hoping for. But if the department adopts I have a concern as a trigger phrase, much like mayday, that single statement can put an entire process into motion that requires the commander to reassess the situation.

If you’d like to learn more about the Five Step Assertive Statement Process or more about the barriers to situational awareness for first responders, please consider visiting Situational Awareness Matters! (www.SAMatters.com).

About the Author
Dr. Richard Gasaway is widely considered to be one of the nation’s leading authorities on situational awareness and decision making processes used by first responders. In addition to his 30-plus year career in the fire service, including 22 years as a fire chief, Dr. Gasaway has a second passion: Uncovering and applying research in cognitive neuroscience for the benefit of the first responder community. To learn more about Dr. Gasaway or situational awareness, please check his website at www.SAmatters.com.

Read the Tea Leaves Situational Awareness at the Leadership Level

Blog by Todd LeDuc
Deputy Chief, Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue (Fla.)

Numerous tragic line-of-duty deaths and close calls have taught us that firefighter safety and survival are linked to situational awareness of current and changing conditions on the fireground and the emergency operations scene. But what about situational awareness at the leadership level in the office?

As firefighters progress through the ranks and become chief officers, we sometimes lose focus on the skills and instincts we relied upon as firefighters. Chief Officers must navigate complex interactions with a wide array of stakeholders (e.g., elected officials, labor unions, employees, city or county administrators and taxpayers) who often hold competing interests. In such interactions, our situational awareness at the leadership level is even more important.

Good Advice
Chief Fire officers are responsible for communicating to their members the expectations of a culture of firefighter safety and survival. To do this, fire service officers at all ranks must know best how to reach their members. In these days of texting, Facebook, Twitter and related electronic “stuff,” that isn’t always easy.

Many departments today are going through an interesting generational turnover as Baby Boomers retire. New recruits learn and adapt in vastly different mediums than their mentors. As a chief officer, you can’t just issue hierarchical policy directives and establish written policy, sit back and assume everything’s good because odds are, it ain’t!

You have a responsibility to protect your members, and that includes actually making an effort to embrace them and their culture. That requires you to exercise your situational awareness skills and monitor your environment — what we like to call “reading the tea leaves” — to ensure the message is heard. Unfortunately, in what has been described as the “ostrich syndrome” or “ivory tower leadership,” leaders often surround themselves with people who isolate them from reality, telling them what they want to hear: Yes, boss, everyone is following your directive without exception to come to a full and complete stop at intersections and wear seatbelts.” When you hear that, pay attention!

Successful chief officers, on the other hand, monitor their environment by surrounding themselves with proven, trustworthy advisors who are secure enough to give open, candid and often differing guidance, as uncomfortable as that can be sometimes. It’s been written that a wise man seeks wise counsel, when more so honest and candid counsel! Successful chief officers also genuinely solicit input. And it’s important that if you ask for it, you’re able to “take it.”

How do you identify the people who will give you straightforward advice? It often falls back on gut feeling and history. After all, the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. Another method is to choose members within your ranks who represent certain stake-holder groups and are looked upon as informal leaders. These people usually become infectious, gung-ho champions of change if they understand the change if they understand the change and buy into it, which will make your job a lot easier.

The informal leaders may also carry the message to your rank and file, making the culture of firefighter safety and survival come from within rather than top down. Look, the goal is for no one to get hurt unnecessarily. Although the job is risky and sometimes we have no choice but to take a risk in which we may ultimately get hurt — in those rare situations where we must put our lives on the line or our troops in harm’s way to potentially save a life — we can take steps to eliminate unnecessary risks.

An Eye on the Dashboard
In addition to monitoring systems that provide information about you as a leader, you must also establish systems to monitor the progress of your department, the office-based equivalent of monitoring fireground progress. Typically, this includes community risk analysis and system performance analysis — whether your system and its members provide timely and adequate resources to achieve department objectives safely and efficiently.

Department monitoring can often be accomplished by a master or strategic planning process that analyzes genuine, objective and measurable performance relevant to current and future system demands and community risk and workload. If your department hasn’t done this, it’s well worth your time to start such a process for the good of your members and your community. It’s also unacceptable for needless tragedy to strike because your department isn’t planning ahead and isn’t monitoring the department’s and the community’s “instrument panel” when it comes to risk. In other words, reading the tea leaves can be a tool in predicting the predictable.

A Challenge
Fire service leaders at the chief or company officer level must be tea leaf readers who monitor their environment regularly for signs of danger, best practices and innovation to provide their members better tools and resources. As such, they must have multiple information monitoring and gathering systems in place to effectively listen to and learn from information around them. Do you scour LODD reports, remain vigilant of industry safety and performance improvement trends and follow trends outside the fire service that may be adapted to improve your members’ safety? If the answer is no, or “I have other people in my department do that,” we challenge you to rethink what being an effective fire officer means and what it takes to live up to that tremendous responsibility. Don’t count on someone else to read the close-call articles or near-miss reports, you must do it too. After all, as an officer or a chief, the buck stops with you when something goes wrong. And it will be a real tragedy if the incident was clearly predictable and therefore, preventable.

Reading the tea leaves means predicting what may go wrong. The easy path is to sit back in your chair, ignore the obvious and hope nothing goes wrong. And honestly in most cases, nothing does. That’s the easy way to handle it, chief. However, the right way to handle firefighter survival-related issues is to look into your department, determine the issues — fitness, apparatus driving, supervision, size-up, staging — that typically have been the most common contributors to firefighter injury and death, and do something about it. If you don’t have systems in place to minimize the risk, the tea leaves have spoken! Develop new policies to address the gaps, conduct hands-on or classroom training to ensure understanding at all ranks, and then enforce the policies, fairly, across the board, without exception.

Remember: The same ability you developed as a firefighter to monitor your environment, seek out necessary information and make critical decisions is just as important in your job as a chief officer. In fact, as chief, it’s even more important, because you’re not just protecting your own safety; you’re protecting the safety of all your members.

About the Author
Todd J. LeDuc is the deputy chief of department for Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue in Florida. With more than 25 years in the service, he lecturers and publishes frequently on fire service leadership, safety and wellness topics. He has worked extensively with fire departments in more than a dozen states with master and strategic plans, accreditation, department evaluations and consolidation studies. William Goldfeder contributed to this report.

Cal Fire San Diego Relies on TargetSolutions’ Powerful Tracking Capabilities

Cal Fire San Diego uses TargetSolutions to deliver EMS continuing education courses and track ISO training hours and other critical fire department compliance records.

The need to accurately track activities and produce comprehensive training reports on compliance is important for any fire organization. But when you’re a large-sized metro, it’s downright critical.

Good thing TargetSolutions is here to help. Just ask Cal Fire San Diego.

After signing up with TargetSolutions three years ago, the organization has experienced far greater efficiency tracking firefighter training than in previous years when the department relied on old fashioned methods like pen, paper and spreadsheets.

“Before TargetSolutions, we had no checks and balances; we had no alerts,” said Cal Fire San Diego Fire Captain Dan Collins. “With 347 employees, no one training officer has the ability to check EMT certifications, for example. There is just no better system for that without a tool like TargetSolutions.”

“You just have to trust that every employee keeps their own certifications. You have no way of knowing if a problem comes up unless an employee comes and tells you. No question, tracking certifications was our toughest challenge before TargetSolutions.”

But with TargetSolutions’ powerful records management system, Cal Fire San Diego has met those challenges head on. TargetSolutions has enabled the unit to record accurate data on employees’ credentials — whether its Fire or EMS related — and generate comprehensive reports that help the organization stay on top of compliance.

“With TargetSolutions we know who is expiring and we can plan more efficiently. We now know who is coming up and when their expiration dates are. The reporting functionality really helps us do our jobs better.”

Dan Collins, Fire Captain

TargetSolutions has also provided Cal Fire San Diego with valuable EMS continuing education courses, streamlined ISO tracking and the ability to ensure receipt of critical communications with e-signatures through the Activities Builder.

Cal Fire San Diego Training Captain Tony Hernandez agrees the platform has helped maximize his organizations training efforts and its bottom line.

“It’s a very good option for departments out there looking for a good way to track all of their employee certifications and credentialing,” Hernandez said of TargetSolutions.

“I would recommend it to any department. We feel this is an effective use of our budget. To be able to use this solution to capture our employees certificates and credentials, over the long haul for the amount of money we are investing in our employees, it’s turned out to be quite a positive investment for us.”

Tony Hernandez, Training Captain

About TargetSolutions
Founded in 1999, TargetSolutions is the leader in online training and records management for public entities. More than 2,000 organizations across the country use our technology to solve their training needs. We work hard every day to understand our clients’ challenges and deliver powerful tools that save time and money.

No Shortcuts When It Comes to Hose Loading

Blog by Jason Hoevelmann
Deputy Chief with Sullivan Fire Protection District

How many times have you heard the question: “Why do we need to load the hose this way?”

Granted, it might be a mundane task, but it’s a task that can make all the difference in the world. Just like putting on turn-out gear or personal protective equipment, hose loads need to be done right every single time to ensure we are protected from the environment we are about to operate in. Just as we risk being burned or not breathing clean air if we fail to button up properly, we are at risk without a properly loaded hose bed.

It’s often said that as the first line goes, so goes the fire. But it all starts with a properly loaded hose bed. The type of hose load should be dictated by how your organization and company operates. It may be different for each separate company and it may change as needs and resources change. The main point is to train and understand “why” the load is being used.

When loading your hose beds, they should be clean and neat. Don’t put moldy and musty hose back on the bed or the hose will deteriorate. It can also cause holes and weak points in the jacket. The truth is a poorly loaded hose bed is a good indication of how that company operates. In my mind, if the hose beds are sloppy, it is likely the rest of the equipment on that rig is in the same shape.

You may hear a senior guy ask why a hose load is done a certain way and a more junior guy will answer, “That is just how we do it.” This is a problem. We need to understand why we use the loads and we must pass that knowledge down. If we don’t understand the purpose of the load, we will not deploy it correctly, and that is the real concern.

Make sure we are training and explaining the purpose for our hose loads and that it is imperative to load and deploy them correctly. An incorrectly loaded hose will result in an incorrectly deployed hose line that will increase the time it takes to put water on the fire or protect crews operating inside.

Some might say it all starts and ends with a properly loaded hose bed. They would be right.

Train hard and stay safe.

About the Author
Jason Hoevelmann is a deputy chief/fire marshall with Sullivan Fire Protection District in Missouri. Hoevelmann is also a career firefighter/paramedic with the Florissant Valley Fire Protection District in North St. Louis County. Hoevelmann’s experience spans more than 20 years and he has been an instructor for more than 15 years. He is currently a state advocate for the “Everyone Goes Home” initiative, a board member of the Fire and Life Safety Section of the IAFC and on the technical committee for professional Fire Officer Qualifications for the NFPA.

The Fire Department ISO Training Tracker by TargetSolutions Came to Light in the Sunshine State

TargetSolutions’ ISO Training Tracker simplifies the tracking and reporting of ISO training hours.

TargetSolutions’ fire department ISO Training Tracker is helping fire departments all across the country prepare for their next ISO audit by the Insurance Services Office (ISO). But this powerful tool originated in Florida and many of the state’s departments are benefiting.

Tim Riley of the Dunedin Fire Department and the Pinellas County Training Group was instrumental in the creation of the application that helps simplify ISO reporting.

“We’re extremely grateful to Tim and the Pinellas County Training Group for giving us great insight and helping us create a robust application,” said TargetSolutions Director of Technology Alex Day. “Our platform wouldn’t be what it is today if not for feedback from clients like Tim Riley. Our ISO Training Tracker helps departments automatically accumulate the proper documentation for their next ISO audit. It makes the entire process easier.”

Riley was like most other training chiefs who have suffered multiple headaches preparing for a fire department ISO audit. The simple fact is that if records are not collected properly, departments will not receive Class 1 status from the ISO. But TargetSolutions offers a better way.

TargetSolutions provides access to customizable ISO tracking templates created with the help of Riley. After training officers have delivered these activities to employees, they can rest confidently knowing the industry’s leading records management system will automatically track completions and generate detailed reports, eliminating the hassle of searching through endless paper stacks and spreadsheets.

“This has really streamlined the process for ISO inspections,” Riley said. “In years past, you’d have to take all your records as best you could, pull everything out and pour through everything. But with the Training Tracker you can be proactive instead of reactive. You know the answers before ISO gets there. This keeps you from being blindsided by deficiencies in training records. It is an incredible tool. It really makes people’s jobs easier.”

Guy Keirn of the Pinellas Park Fire Department experienced similar results with TargetSolutions Training Tracker during his last audit in September of 2010.

“TargetSolutions has created a records system that clearly allowed our organization to comply (with its ISO audit),” Keirn said. “The process of completing the training section of the report for ISO was seamless. We were able to extract all required information and complete a comprehensive report for the ISO inspector.”

In addition to powerful tracking tools, TargetSolutions online fire training platform recently underwent a significant facelift. The interface is now more intuitive, according to Ken Treffinger of Sarasota County Fire Department.

“After seeing the new (TargetSolutions) platform, I was immediately impressed by the layout and the look that it presented,” Treffinger said. “Actually, I believe my first word after seeing it was wow! The new platform is sleek, professional and appears very user friendly.”

About TargetSolutions
TargetSolutions online training and records management system is the most effective way to enhance your departments training program. We are focused on helping organizations reduce costs, improve operational efficiency and maintain compliance. With cutting-edge technology and more than 700 courses in our library, we make training easy.