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    Press Releases

    March 8, 2012

    TargetSolutions Helps Neighboring Departments Collaborate, Standardize Training

    Industry:

    FirePublic Safety

    Solution:

    FirePerformance Optimization
    In San Diego’s North County, the cities are close in proximity, but the fire departments are even closer. Check out this video to learn how they work together to train more efficiently.
    • This blog was updated on Wednesday, July 6, 2016

    There are 15 departments in San Diego’s North County that have formed together to create the North Zone Training Group. The collaboration is an effort to meet each agency’s training needs through cooperative planning and preparation.

    To achieve this mission with greater efficiency, the North Zone uses TargetSolutions, the industry’s leading computer-based training management system. The goal is to organize the mutual aid partners on an Enterprise site so they can synchronize training activities, share vital resources, and communicate effectively with each other and TargetSolutions.

    “TargetSolutions is a common tool we all use and that has great value for us,” said Stuart Sprung of the Oceanside Fire Department. “We have common procedures and guidelines and TargetSolutions provides us with the platform to speak the same language. Each city is like its own network; having a place to come together and share resources just makes sense for all of us.”

    North Zone Agencies
    Camp Pendleton Fire Department | Carlsbad Fire Department | Deer Springs Fire Protection District | Encinitas Fire Department | Elfin Forest/Harmony Grove Fire Department | Escondido Fire Department | De Luz Volunteer Fire Department | Del Mar Fire Department | North County Fire Protection District | Oceanside Fire Department | San Marcos Fire Department | San Onofre Fire Department | Solana Beach Fire Department | Rancho Santa Fe Fire

    The North Zone originally came together more than 20 years ago. A key factor being so many firefighters were coming through a local community college, creating a need to consolidate training techniques so new recruits had similar skills when performing mandatory job functions.

    “When the Palomar College Fire Academy started back in 1990 and students were learning hose lays and other basic firefighting skills, we wanted them to come back to our agencies doing things the same way,” said Brett Van Wey, who serves as the chief for the San Marcos Fire Department.

    The need to have firefighters working cohesively is what initially inspired the group to collaborate and that same need brought them together through TargetSolutions two decades later. TargetSolutions is a highly customizable system, so the departments worked together to utilize the platform and understand certain techniques for creating, delivering, tracking, reporting and sharing activities and resources.

    “The training officers were looking to get all of our resources under one site,” said Van Wey. “We wanted to create an enterprise site under a joint deal. We’ve been collaborating together for quite awhile, and with all of us having moved to TargetSolutions, this opportunity to share resources and other policy-driven stuff in one centralized site was significant.

    “Now, if we have a new policy or a new training manual section, we can put it on one website and everyone will have the ability to assign it out. This helps everybody in the North Zone get the same information without redundancy. We can build things one time and it will be there for all of us.”

    About TargetSolutions
    TargetSolutions online training and records management system is the most effective way to enhance your department’s training program. We are focused on helping organizations reduce costs, improve operational efficiency and maintain compliance. With cutting-edge technology and more than 1,000 courses in our library, we simplify training management.