Tactical And Command Training (TAC Training)

Overview

Success on the fireground cannot be left to chance. The importance of a trained, competent incident commander cannot be overstressed. When an IC falters, it puts the department and community at great risk and can impact lives, property and budgets.

Operational success requires a mixture of experience and training. For most fire agencies, both are typically lacking. Firefighters and fire officers lack experience because there are fewer fires. They lack training for a myriad of reasons, including money and time commitments from competing priorities.

These elements (commands) must flow from the mouth of the officer as if they were rehearsed lines from a Shakespearian Play. Experience alone won't give complete competence...

Designed by experienced fireground commanders and delivered by one of Ergometrics' professional instructors, the Tactical And Command Training (TAC Training) program will provide as much realism as possible, while remaining focused on your community and department needs. Following the class, students will have increased confidence, skill and efficiency, leading to an improvement of fireground operations.

The Class

Are your company officers and battalion commanders prepared for their most challenging incident? Passing the baton between these two critical positions and finishing the race unscathed requires officers to be at their operational best, no matter the time or circumstances.

TAC Training is designed to put the potential fireground incident commander through their most challenging roles utilizing digital video simulation. When it comes to learning how to best manage a fire, simulation will propel an officer from hesitation and trepidation to competence and confidence.

A successful conclusion to a fire operation typically begins with a well defined plan of operation. However, this plan didn't just appear in the moment, but instead was rehearsed and refined by all who will, at some point, assume the role of incident commander. The plan may have been implemented by the first arriving company officer and carried to conclusion by another, but it makes no difference who is in charge if mistakes are made and the lessons learned become front page articles.

TAC Training addresses the challenge of implementing a systems approach by focusing on four components of fire operations: Initial Operations, Strategy and Tactics, Communications and Span of Control. Each component is briefly discussed in class prior to the introduction of scenario-based training, in which all attendees participate.

Initial Operations: The first arriving officer, likely in an engine or truck, has much to accomplish as IC, until perhaps or perhaps not, resuming the role of company officer. Missing any of the key elements of organizing the fireground can put the successful outcome of an incident in jeopardy. These elements include at least the following: establishing command, incident assessment, water supply, resource requests, announcing crew actions, tactical assignments, situational updates, recon, addressing imminent rescues, task level operations and tracking personnel.

These elements must flow from the mouth of the officer as if they were rehearsed lines from a Shakespearian Play. Experience alone won't give complete competence in this regard because alarms are too infrequent to depend on such a flawless performance. TAC Training will help bridge the gap between the lack of experience and the need for complete competence on the very next alarm.

Strategy and Tactics: In post-fire discussions, operational and management decisions may at times create disagreement amongst officers. However, few decisions on the fireground should be left to simple guesswork, especially those made during high emotional stress. Typically, the very best way to achieve the goals of Life Safety, Incident Stabilization and Property Conservation are only seen after the fact, maybe during the post incident analysis. No one wants a significant loss or the injury or death of a firefighter to be a part of these post incident discussions. Adequate rehearsal becomes the key to reducing stress and improving performance, up to and including the potential operation after a call of "Mayday." For strategy and tactics, the time for discussion and learning is well before a situationally overwhelming alarm.

TAC Training facilitates this discussion, giving time to consider the course of action, even when acting under the pressure of rapidly expanding fire during simulation. After all, realism at the fire scene includes stress and requires a quick mind. Short of arranging for multiple (and impractical) practice burns, the only way to create this stress before the incident is to embrace it during adequate fire simulation.

Communications: The gold standard in incident communications is sometimes referred to as the National Fire Academy (NFA) Model. The mandatory use of a reliable communications model brings discipline and helps reduce misunderstandings at emergency incidents. The seemingly smallest misunderstanding can result in lost time, lost property and maybe even the loss of a life. Firefighters and officers often admit that communications discipline is important, but continue in their old way of communicating, because, after all, it's always worked in the past.

TAC Training reinforces the necessary discipline by using the entire NFA communications model. This includes gaining the listener's attention, transmitting the message, listening for accuracy and affirming the order (called "the handshake"). This last step, excused by many because of the feeling of time constraints, becomes the most important step of all! It helps the IC ensure mutual understanding, control the flow of incident communications and stay engaged until everyone is on the same operational page.

Span of Control: Among many other things, the incident command system gives the fire service the tools to create a safer, more effective operation by implementing sections, branches, divisions and groups. However it really doesn't teach us how to consistently and effectively implement this tool. There is no question that an operation having multiple resources requires the creative use of the ICS organization. TAC Training encourages and teaches the participants how to do so, using a logical system and standardizing the methods so that there is no hesitation when the time comes for implementation.

The organization of an emergency incident often progresses right up to the accepted limits of the span of control, but less frequently beyond this point. This creates a comfort level which reinforces not fully using this management tool. At most incidents, there is a quick knock down and a de-escalating event, not requiring the implementation of groups or divisions, let alone branches and sections. Later, when an overwhelming event confronts an officer, there is a hesitation that puts the IC behind the power curve, instead of in control of the incident.

TAC Training puts participants into multiple positions of having to create and manage groups, divisions and branches. Opting not to do so will become an obvious challenge to the participant and force the need to stretch. The time to discover this potential weakness and find a solution is during a simulation, not when trying to manage a large fire operation.

The Details

TAC Training can be delivered in your station or community and can be done in 8 hours. However, the more your firefighters and officers practice in class, the better they will be on the fireground, so a 16 hour class is recommended. A minimum class size of 10 and a maximum of 30 is also recommended but we can develop a class to match the number of attendees you expect.

The Ergometrics instructor will bring a computer and projector to deliver the scenarios using the Digital Combustion software program. In the class, the instructor will simulate the dispatch and response of your department's units utilizing your standard operating procedures. Your radios and communications channels can be used to add more realism to the test. Participants will be given the opportunity to practice what they learn by functioning as an incident commander. They will be coached and critiqued on all four components of fire operations at simulated fire events.

In addition to tactical training, Ergometrics also offers tactical testing. Contact Ergometrics to discuss your tactical training and testing needs. We take the necessity for professional, competent emergency response as seriously as you do, and can provide customized tactical training at a reasonable cost.

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