So Much Training Available, Even During COVID-19, from the NFFF

By Chief Paul C. Melfi

Wow, has the coronavirus challenged us beyond belief. Soon after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, even the fire service shut down all but emergency response operations across the nation. The training we are accustomed to pretty much came to a halt and we stayed in our fire stations, unless we were needed to respond, as we would during any emergency. This challenge is one that most of us have never faced in our lifetime.

We are now in the midst of another wave of COVID cases. Experts have stated this could be another serious wave. The recent news of a vaccine has allowed us some future hope in quelling this pandemic and putting COVID-19 to rest. In the meantime, we still have a need for training our teams and entire fire departments.

I am going to share some of the training available to all members of your department provided by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF), the Everyone Goes Home Program, and the NFFF’s many affiliate organizations. Much of the training can be completed by individual firefighters, fire officers, and chief officers during downtime. More important to the administration and other folks in charge of finance, this is all provided at no cost!

The following is an outline of these programs, including short descriptions and links to the websites where you can access these FREE resources.

I begin with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) website. Under “Fire Service Programs,” you will find a number of resources, including links to “IC-to-IC Discussion” webinars where incident commanders share their experiences commanding fires that involved firefighter fatalities. Important lessons can be learned from these commanders who share their experiences in the hope of ensuring that others never have to deal with such a tragedy. On this page, you will also find links to COVID-19 resources from the First Responder Center for Excellence (FRCE), a NFFF partner organization, which I will discuss in more detail below. Lastly, scroll down to the bottom of this page and look for “Training Opportunities,” where you will find more details on program availability.

The Fire Hero Learning Network is the NFFF’s online learning portal, which is available to all. There are currently 14 online courses: “After Action Review,” “Automatic Fire Sprinkler and Alarm Systems,” “Communication & Mentoring for Company Officers,” “Company Officer’s Health & Safety Responsibilities,” “Courage to Be Safe®,” “Creating Change in the Fire Service,” “Curbside Manner: Stress First Aid for the Street,” “Leadership, Accountability, Culture and Knowledge (LACK),” “Peer Support Programs for the Fire Service,” “Responding to Violent Incidents,” “Saving Lives: Inspiring Stories in Community Risk Reduction,” “Stress First Aid for Fire and EMS Personnel,” “Taking Care of Our Own®,” and “When an LODD Occurs: Incident Commanders Speak.” Jump on that site, read each of the descriptions, and take courses that fit your particular interest and/or position in the department. After completion, you can download the certificate and hand it in to the training officer. Again, all FREE!

Next is the Everyone Goes Home® website, which includes the many courses NFFF offers across New York state when traditional training is in full swing. Here, you will find tools to enhance your in-house training, whether it be training on your own or training as small groups among your companies. On this site, you’ll see the dropdown menus “16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives,” “News,” “Training,” "Resources," and “Seatbelt Pledge.” The “Training” menu identifies the programs available during normal, non-COVID times. In New York, some of this training may still be occurring provided by New York state fire instructors who are certified to provide it (following CDC and New York state guidelines during COVID). Under “Resources,” there are downloadable resources, videos, podcasts, and even wildland firefighter tools, along with the Vulnerability Assessment Program, which I will address separately. Of note, “After the Fire” is a newly launched podcast series created with the goal of reducing the number of firefighter fatalities by learning from the unintended outcomes of fireground line of duty deaths. There are enough courses and tools available on the Everyone Goes Home® site to provide for years of training. I would also encourage every department to sign up for the “Seatbelt Pledge” and receive a departmental certification that declares, “We are all wearing our seatbelts!”

The VAP Program, which is of special importance, can be accessed here. The NFFF, in coordination with the United States Fire Administration (USFA), has developed an online “Vulnerability Assessment Tool” that provides fire departments with a systematic process to evaluate risk and ultimately reduce the threat of firefighter injuries and deaths. Honeywell has chosen to financially support the Vulnerability Assessment Project, and to supply leadership throughout its development. At the end of the process, users have a customized report identifying areas of vulnerability linked to firefighter injuries and deaths. Each report contains suggestions for “risk reduction alternatives” specific to identified vulnerabilities and provides pertinent industry standards and guidelines to address the identified concerns. Fire departments can then use this analysis to develop operational and strategic plans to implement the risk reduction recommendations necessary to minimize or eliminate predictable causes of line of duty injuries and deaths. Key features – the tool is online and interactive, secure, customizable, easy to use, and FREE.

Lastly, the First Responder Center for Excellence is a NFFF affiliate organization created in 2016. Its mission is to promote quality educational awareness and research to reduce physical and psychological health and wellness issues for first responders. Once on that website, you will find tools and resources related to behavioral health, cancer, cardiac issues, health and wellness, and physicals. These tools are now more important than ever, considering the challenges of this occupation, along with the added stressors we are experiencing as a result of COVID-19.

Please visit each of these websites to increase your knowledge and awareness so that EVERYONE GOES HOME to their families and friends for a long time to come.

About the Author:
Paul Melfi, EFO, is the Hands-On Training coordinator for NYSAFC. He retired as a deputy fire chief, chief of operations for the City of Olean Fire Department after 26 years of service. Melfi also served as an instructor for the FDIC H.O.T. program and Firehouse Expo. He graduated from the National Fire Academy as an executive fire officer and has a bachelor’s degree in fire administration and health and human services. Melfi is the regional volunteer advocate for FEMA, Region 2, in charge of guiding other advocates representing the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Everyone Goes Home/Courage to Be Safe® Program.