COLT Westchester a Success!

More than 70 students attended Company Officers Leadership Training (COLT) this December in Rye Brook, Westchester County. For those who missed the event, there's another chance to attend COLT in the spring. A second COLT program is being held April 6-7, 2012, at the Embassy Suites in Buffalo.

Registration is $150 per person for NYSAFC members (Individual or Department Member) and $175 for non-nembers (hotel not included). On-site registration will be available, but pre-registration is encouraged.

The COLT program begins Friday with a lecture from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. entitled, "This House Rocks!" presented by Captain Michael Dugan, FDNY, and Captain Mike Gagliano, Seattle (WA) Fire Department. COLT will conclude with a lecture on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon entitled, "Fireground Leadership (Keeping Badges Off the Wall)" by Deputy District Chief Steve Chikerotis, Chicago (IL) Fire Department.

Dugan and Gagliano will address what they believe are five key areas that make a fire house a thriving and fulfilling professional experience. This high-energy program offers a no-nonsense look at how one can build and enjoy the type of fire house they’ve always wanted. Chikerotis will offer a program filled with fire case studies and lessons learned from his 32 years with the Chicago Fire Department. Stories will be told through powerful pictures, video and audio. Topics include coordinated fire attack, rescue, risk management, reading smoke, construction and collapse, flashover, communications and accountability. At the end of this training, professionals on all levels will have the tools they need to increase fireground safety and efficiency through the use of coordinated tactics.

Dugan is a 26-year veteran of the FDNY, serving as captain of Ladder Co. 123 in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. As a lieutenant, he served with Ladder Co. 42 in the South Bronx. While assigned as a firefighter with Ladder Co. 43 in Spanish Harlem, Dugan received the James Gordon Bennett medal in 1992 and the Harry M. Archer Medal in 1993, the FDNY’s highest award for bravery. A former volunteer firefighter with the Halesite Fire Department, Dugan has been involved with fire service for 37 years. He was an instructor at the inception of the FDNY’s Annual Education Day and has developed programs currently taught to all FDNY members during that program. Dugan is a national hands-on training instructor, contributing editor for Firehouse magazine, lectures across the country, and maintains the website NYFireTraining.com.

Gagliano has 25 years of fire/crash/rescue experience with the Seattle Fire Department and the U.S. Air Force. He currently serves as the captain of Ladder 5 and is a member of the Seattle Fire Department Critical Decision Making Team. Gagliano teaches across the country on air management, firefighter safety, and fireground strategy and tactics. He is a member of the FDIC advisory/editorial board and, along with the other "Seattle Guys," is co-author of the book Air Management for the Fire Service, which is available through the NYSAFC Book Store. Gagliano is also on the board of directors for the Cyanide Poisoning Treatment Coalition.

Chikerotis is a 32-year member of the Chicago Fire Department currently serving as a deputy district chief. He has been a chief officer for the last 14 years, in which time he also held the positions of battalion chief, director of training and chief of fire academy operations. Chikerotis worked his way through the ranks serving on some of the city's busiest engines, trucks and heavy rescue squads. A fire service instructor for 25 years, he has taught classes all over the nation. He is an on-staff instructor at the Chicago Fire Academy, Illinois Fire Service Institute, RICO Fire Training and Harold Washington College. Chikerotis is the author of the book Firefighters From The Heart, available from the NYSAFC Book Store, as well as several articles. Chikerotis also does work in the television and motion picture industry as a technical advisor, safety officer, and screenwriter, having worked on over 50 major motion pictures, including "Backdraft."

"COLT is not your typical training experience," said NYSAFC President Frank "Skip" Sylvester. "It's an energizing learning experience and one that your officers will be grateful to have been a part of."

For complete information and a pre-registration form, click here.