Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department. Gregory W. Barton. Beverly Hills Fire Department

Transcription

1 Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department Gregory W. Barton Beverly Hills Fire Department Beverly Hills, California

2 Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department 2 Certification Statement I hereby certify that this paper constitutes my own product, that where the language of others is set forth, quotation marks so indicate, and that appropriate credit is given where I have used the language, ideas, expressions, or writings of another. Signed: s/s Gregory W. Barton

3 Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department 3 Abstract The problem is the Beverly Hills Fire Department has current company officers who prepared for the promotional exam, but once in the position do not maintain or continue to develop knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for the position of company officer. This reduces the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to reduce the loss of lives and property damage to the City of Beverly Hills and Beverly Hills Firefighters. The purpose of this applied research project is to develop recommendations for a continuing education program for company officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department. Descriptive research was used to study what other fire departments have done to develop continuing education programs for company officers. The research included literature review and questionnaires sent to members of the Beverly Hills Fire Department, neighboring fire departments, and private companies to answer the following questions: (a) What are the national, state, and local standards for company officers?, (b) What do other fire departments use for continuing education for company officers?, (c) What is the continuing education standard in the private industry for supervisors?, (d) What topics do the current chief officers and company officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department think should be in the continuing education program?, (e) How should the continuing education for company officers be reflective in the annual performance rating? The result based on the research is the City of Beverly Hills Fire Department must develop a formal continuing education program for company officers, in order to provide the highest level of protection to the community. The recommendation is to develop a continuing education program for company officers based on national, state, and local

4 standards. Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department 4

5 Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department 5 Table of Contents Abstract 3 Table of Contents.5 Introduction..6 Background and Significance...7 Literature Review.13 Procedures 22 Results..25 Discussion 30 Recommendations 32 References 33 Appendix A..35 Appendix B..37 Appendix C..38

6 Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department 6 Introduction In every profession, supervisors need to maintain a basic level of knowledge, skills, and abilities to provide their customers with the highest level of service. When someone aspires to obtain a supervisors position, they study and work hard to gain the knowledge, skills, and abilities to pass the test to gain the position. The test could be anything from a job interview, to a full promotional exam including a written exam, oral interview, and a tactical exercise. The bottom line is people will prepare to pass the exam, but once in the position, they do continue with the same level of desire to increase their education. The problem is the Beverly Hills Fire Department has current company officers who prepared for the promotional exam, but once in the position do not maintain or continue to develop knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for the position of company officer. This reduces the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to reduce the loss of lives and property damage to the City of Beverly Hills and Beverly Hills Firefighters. The purpose of this applied research project is to develop recommendations for a continuing education program for company officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department. Descriptive research was used to study what other fire departments have done to develop continuing education programs for company officers. The research included literature review and questionnaires sent to members of the Beverly Hills Fire Department, neighboring fire departments, and private companies to answer the following questions: (a) What are the national, state, and local standards for company officers?, (b) What do other fire departments use for continuing education for company officers?, (c) What is the continuing education standard in the private industry for

7 Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department 7 supervisors?, (d) What topics do the current chief officers and company officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department think should be in the continuing education program?, (e) How should the continuing education for company officers be reflective in the annual performance rating? Background and Significance The City of Beverly Hills is located in Southern California just outside of the City of Los Angeles and borders the City of West Hollywood. The City of Los Angeles borders the City of Beverly Hills on three sides and the City of West Hollywood borders the other side of Beverly Hills. The City of Beverly Hills is approximately 5.6 square miles with a residential population of 36,000 and a daytime population of over 250,000. The City of Beverly Hills has 36 high rise buildings, numerous large residential homes over 10,000 square feet, a wild land urban interface area valued at over 3 billion dollars, high profile events such as the Golden Globes, and one of the most recognized shopping areas in the world, Rodeo Drive. Part of the City of Beverly Hills is located within and adjacent to hillsides and mountainous areas. These hillsides and mountainous areas in southern California, known as the wildland urban interface (WUI) are part of our ecosystem that is warm and dry most of the year, rainfall is sporadic and typically only occurs in the winter months. The vegetation is primarily chaparral which is dense and drought tolerant, yet it contains resin and oils that are particularly flammable. The hillside terrain in Beverly Hills that is mainly susceptible to a large and destructive WUI fire includes the area north of Sunset

8 Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department 8 Boulevard, extending north to the city limits. The Beverly Hills Fire Department was established on July 1, 1925 with a Fire Chief, two firefighters, and one fire engine. There was only one fire station at that time. At one point since that time the Beverly Hills Fire Department had grown to 91 full time employees, with services from three fire stations. Due to current budget cuts, the staffing level of the Fire Department has dropped to 87 full time employees providing service out of three fire stations. The positions eliminated were the Deputy Chief of Operations, Training Officer/Battalion Chief, Administrative Captain, and the CPR Coordinator. The Beverly Hills Fire Department is broken into five divisions: administration, fire prevention, calls for service, emergency medical and public education. There are three operational shifts and each shift is headed by a battalion chief. Each operational shift has a constant staffing level of 25 including a shift battalion chief. The A-shift is in charge of emergency medical services and building maintenance. The B-shift is in charge of protective clothing. The C-shift is in charge of apparatus maintenance. The Fire Prevention Bureau is headed by the Fire Marshal. The Fire Marshal is a Battalion Chief rank and is assisted by the Deputy Fire Marshal which is a civilian position equal to a Fire Captain. The remaining members of the Fire Prevention Bureau are a plan check inspector, two fire inspectors, and a clerk. The Deputy Fire Marshal oversees the fire cadet program which has a maximum of 4 cadets at any one time. Currently, the suppression staff of the Beverly Hills Fire Department is broken down as follows: 1 Fire Chief, 1 Deputy Fire Chief, 4 Battalion Chiefs, 15 Fire Captains, 18 Fire Engineers, 24 Firefighter/Paramedics, and 15 Firefighters.

9 Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department 9 The Beverly Hills Fire Department responds to over 6,000 calls for service annually and conducts over 6,000 fire prevention inspections annually. The Beverly Hills Fire Department has an automatic aid agreement with Los Angeles County Fire Department. This agreement provides for 1 Los Angeles County Fire Department Engine Company on all first alarm structure fire calls and 1 Los Angeles County Fire Department Battalion Chief and truck company on all second alarms. In return, the Beverly Hills Fire Department provides one paramedic assessment engine company on all first alarms and a BHFD Battalion Chief and truck company on all second alarms. The City of Beverly Hills also has a mutual aid agreement with the Los Angeles City Fire Department to provide 1 Battalion Chief, 3 fire engine companies, and 2 truck companies to assist with major emergencies. There are two neighboring fire department for the City of Beverly Hills. The City of Los Angeles has its own Fire Department (Los Angeles Fire Department) and the City of West Hollywood contracts fire service through the County of Los Angeles Fire Department. Along with the two neighboring department, the Beverly Hills Fire Department has the ability to get more mutual aid resources during a disaster, but the arrival of the resources could take hours. One of the threats facing the City of Beverly Hills is a wildland urban interface fire. Over the years, wildland fires have occurred throughout Southern California communities. The community of Beverly Hills is just as vulnerable as other communities that have been impacted by a WUI fire. There has not yet been a wildland fire of any significance in Beverly Hills, and the last large wildland fire adjacent to the city occurred in Franklin Canyon over 50 years ago (City of Beverly Hills Hazard Mitigation Action

10 Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department 10 Plan, 2010, p. 116). According to the City of Beverly Hills Hazard Mitigation Plan This is a densely populated area with homes embedded in natural and landscaped vegetation. A total of 1640 parcels fall within this area for a total valuation of 2.99 billion dollars (City of Beverly Hills Hazard Mitigation Action Plan, 2010, p.120). However, a small WUI fire in the City of Los Angeles had a direct effect on the resources in Beverly Hills. In April of 2007, the City experienced the Beverly Fire. The event was an 11 acre fire in Los Angeles and destroyed one home and damaged two homes in the Beverly Hills. The event lasted several hours and over 400 people were evacuated from their homes (City of Beverly Hills Hazard Mitigation Action Plan, 2010, p. 118). The 11 acre fire provided insight into the vulnerabilities within the City of Beverly Hills. The 25 on-duty suppression personnel were immediately overwhelmed by this fire. During this 11 acre fire, over 200 personnel from numerous surrounding fire departments responded to assist the Beverly Hills Fire Department on this wildland incident. The City of Beverly Hills Fire Department does not have the ability to control large wildland urban interface fires with the number of on-duty personnel. During the initial response to the wildland urban interface fire, the on duty battalion chief assumed the role of Incident Commander and the company officers were assigned the role of division or group supervisors. These company officers were not only responsible for their own apparatus and crew, but that of other agencies. These company officers during the incident were responsible for the safety and tactics of approximately 25 personnel. This is the same number as the daily on-duty personnel for the City of Beverly Hills. Some of the company officers were not prepared to handle the

11 Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department 11 management of the large numbers of personnel and equipment. This is just one example of the responsibilities demanded of company officers in the fire service. There are a total of 15 fire captains (company officers) positions in the BHFD filling 56-hour suppression positions. Each company officer is assigned to either an engine or truck company. In these positions, the company officer supervises three to four personnel at the rank of engineer, paramedic, and firefighter. The company officer is responsible for managing the shift duties of their company to ensure the highest level of service to the community. The company officer is one of the most important positions in the fire service. In this position, the company officer is the immediate supervisor on all emergency medical service calls and all calls for service. The company officer can make the difference in the outcome of an incident based on the education and training they have received as a company officer. The company officer is also responsible for dealing with the day to day supervision of personnel in the fire station and the community. When a number of people are living together in the fire station personnel issues inevitably arise. The company officer is the first to deal with the different issues as they arise. This includes everything from recognizing that a problem is occurring all the way to documentation if necessary. Currently, the Beverly Hills Fire Department requires a limited amount of training for the company officer. This training is limited to continuing education requirements set by the California State EMS Agency and the Los Angeles County EMS agency to maintain emergency medical technician certification. It is important to determine how to improve the service provided by the company

12 Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department 12 officer of the Beverly Hills Fire Department to both the community of Beverly Hills and the members of the fire department. Currently, a member of the fire department will work hard and study to promote to the position of company officer, but there is not a standard that the company officer must meet to continue to grow in the position. This applied research project is related to the following United States Fire Administration (USFA) strategic goal to improve the fire and emergency services capability for response to and recovery from all hazards (United States Department of Homeland Security, 2010, p.ii-2). Company officers could be placed in a command position with very little experience or training on how to handle the incident. The decisions made by the company officer in these positions will have a major impact on the ability of the community to respond and recover from the hazard. If the company officer has the training and experience, then the results will be positive. On the other hand, if the company officer is lacking training and experience, then the result will not be as effective. This research project is also related to the United States Fire Administration strategic goal to improve the fire and emergency services professional status (United States Department of Homeland Security, 2010, p. II-2). The fire service is constantly changing and in order to keep up with other supervisor position in both the public and private sector, company officers need to continue to learn. In line with the purpose of the Executive Leadership course, this applied research project is striving to meet one of the objectives to explain the benefits of experimentation for continuous learning (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2011, p.13-1).

13 Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department 13 By applying this research from the City of Beverly Hills Fire Department, it will not only assist the Beverly Hills Fire Department, but any other fire department that currently does not have a continuing education for company officers program. Literature Review To evaluate the necessity of a continuing education program for company officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department, a literature review was conducted. This research was completed by reviewing books, magazines, newspapers, and internet sources. In the fire service, the company officer is the first level supervisor who oversees a firefighter, a paramedic, and an engineer. In turn, they are managed by the chief officers of the fire department. The International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA) defines a company officer as The first-level supervisor in this hierarchy is the company officer who is responsible for the operation of a single unit and the personnel assigned (International Fire Service Training Association, 2007, p. 2). Due to the fact that company officers are responsible for firefighter and equipment safety, personnel and liability issues, this is a critical position in the day to day operations of the fire department. National Fire Protection Agency defines a company as the basic fire-fighting organizational unit staffed by various grades of fire fighters under the supervision of an officer and assigned to one or more specific pieces of apparatus (National Fire Protection Agency 1410, 2005, p ). The minimum requirements to promote to the company officer position in the Beverly Hills Fire Department are as follows: minimum of 5 years as a firefighter in the Beverly Hills Fire Department, certified on all fire department apparatus, 18 college

14 Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department 14 units, and a certified fire officer with the California State Fire Marshal s Office. In order to obtain a fire officer certification, the applicant needs to complete the required 10 classes. According to the California State Fire Training the class required to obtain the fire officer certification are Fire Command 1A, 1B, 1C, Management 1, Fire Prevention 1A, 1B, Instructor 1A, 1B, Fire Investigation 1A, and Incident Command System 300 (California State Fire Training, n.d.). The applicant also needs to be a certified firefighter II and have two years as a firefighter in a California fire department. Personnel striving to promote to the position of company officer in the Beverly Hills Fire Department are putting in long hours of study and attempting to get as much experience as possible to earn the promotion. However, once a person earns the promotion to company officer, there is not a course of study to maintain and improve their knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the position. The company officer has to have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to take command of an emergency incident before the arrival of the on-duty chief officer. The company officer needs to size-up the incident, develop strategies and tactics, and have the ability to look into the future of the incident and the need for more resources. The officer must determine the best form of command to assume and the most effective operational mode to implement. These actions are based on the company officer applying the knowledge gained from experience, study, and training along with strong leadership skills (International Fire Service Training Association, 2007, p. 476). International Fire Service Training Association also sees the need of the company officer to take command. With the priorities established and a decision-making model ready for use the company officer must be ready to take command of the situation

15 Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department 15 (International Fire Service Training Association, 2007, p.477). International Fire Service Training Association acknowledges that company officers duties are more than just responding to emergency calls for service. Company officers must be knowledgeable in the following areas: Concepts of management, leadership, ethics, and human relations Basic administrative duties Community risk, awareness, and demographics Emergency response duties Teaching of skills and knowledge to company personnel (International Fire Service Training Association, 2007, p. 7). Steve Marsar described the responsibilities that company officers have to the personnel they supervise in an article in Fire Rescue Magazine. However you did it, you got promoted to the rank of company officer, so you must be ready to take responsibility for the safety and success of your crew, make tough decisions in a matter of seconds and deal with all the other miscellaneous issues that are going to get dropped in your lap (Marsar, 2012, p. 85). John Salka Jr. described the responsibilities that company officer have by stating Of course, the people I m talking about are firefighters and although just about anybody can set the tone, it is the company officer who should be most involved (Salka, 2012, p. 110). The mandatory training deemed necessary by the federal government and California fire departments are also required by state and local governments. Currently there are three basic federal regulations that all firefighters are subject to. These

16 Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department 16 regulations address hazardous materials, respiratory protection, and blood borne pathogens (Barr & Eversole, 2006, p.285). Company officers are firefighters and therefore, they are required to complete firefighter refresher training. Schoonover and Dowdle (2006) completed a study and developed a table of required refresher training for all California firefighters. Training mandates are a collection of laws, regulations, and their interpretations that define what training a fire department is legally required to deliver to its personnel (Schoonover and Dowdle, 2006, p.3). Not all of the training listed in the following table is required of all firefighters. Refresher Training Required Annually or Semi-Annually (some by Function only) Training Reference Sexual Harassment (Supervisor) (Every 2 years) Govt. Code EMT Continuing Education (24 hours/ 2 years) 22 CCR Paramedic Continuing Education (48 hours/ 2 years) 8 CCR CPR (every 2 years) Health & Safety (Local EMS Agency Requirements) Optional EMS skills Health & Safety Blood borne Pathogens (Annual Refresher) 8 CCR 5193(g) (2) Haz Mat FRO (Annual Refresher) 8 CCR 5192 (q) (8) Haz Mat Tech and Spec (Annual Refresher) 8 CCR 5192 (q) (8) Haz Mat Incident Commander (Annual Refresher) 8 CCR 5192 (q) (8) Respiratory Protection (Annual Refresher) 8 CCR 5144 (k)

17 Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department 17 Hearing (Annual Refresher) 8 CCR Firearms (Annual Qualification) for Peace Officers Penal Code 832 Confined Space (Annual Drill Required) 8 CCR 5157 ARFF (Annual Live Fire Training Required) 14 CFR AED (Retraining Required Minimum of Every 3 years) 8 CCR AED (Requires Regular Competency Exams) 8 CCR Fork Lift (Required every 3 years) 8 CCR 3668 Note: CCR is California Code of Regulations. CFR is Code of Federal Regulations (Schoonover and Dowdle, 2006, p. 17). Continuing education is not only required by Federal and State regulations, but also to maintain the highest level of service to the community that we service and also to the personnel that we supervise. As with anything of value, your training and education plan will need to be maintained. You must continuously evaluate it and improve based upon changes in the business, technology, methodology, and customer response (Barr & Eversole, 2006, p. 281). States have the ability to develop their own standards on training and the fire industry can develop standards that improve the safety of firefighters. The state may develop its own set of standards and criteria or the state may adopt any or all of the nationally recognized standards as published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) or the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) (Barr & Eversole, 2006, p. 288). One of the national standards for company officers is National Fire Protection Association NFPA 1021 is the standard that prepares a firefighter for taking a

18 Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department 18 leadership position within the service (Barr & Eversole, 2006, p. 290). This standard addresses all aspects of the company officer from emergency incidents to the community. As officers move through the fire officer series, they will be expected to augment fire training with knowledge of other disciplines including psychology, public administration, local, state, and national government, the law, as well as demonstrate an ability to communicate within and out the service (Barr & Eversole, 2006, p. 290). The Insurance Services Office (ISO) also examines fire department training when scoring a fire department for the insurance industries. The Insurance Services Office, Inc., is a nationwide for-profit service organization that provides services to the property and casualty insurance industries (Barr & Eversole, 2006, p. 180). The overall score earned by the fire department can assist property owners with reduce insurance rates and it is also a source of pride for the department. The training category contains everything from training facilities to training aids. The points credited for facilities and aids are then prorated for use with credit being given for the following: (a) Eight half-day company drills (3 hours) per year; (b) Four half-day multi-company drills (3 hours) per year;(c) Two night drills (3 hours) per year (Barr & Eversole, 2006, p. 196). This is just some of the training examined by the Insurance Services Office. Position specific training is scored by ISO. The following additional training also is examined and credited: Up to 20 hours per member per month of company training at the station Up to two days per year for all officers Up to four half-day sessions for driver/operators Up to a 40-hour class for all new driver/operators

19 Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department 19 One-half day per member per year on radioactivity (hazardous materials training could replace the need for separate training on radioactivity) Up to 240 hours per new recruit In addition, pre-fire planning inspections, including updated notes and sketches of all commercial, industrial, institutional, and similar buildings should be made twice a year (Barr & Eversole, 2006, p. 196). California is known n for its wildfire problem. Local fire departments routinely respond to assist other fire departments to deal with wildfires. However, most local departments are not able to meet the minimum standards required to fight wildfires. A 2002 study by the USFA and the NFPA found that an estimated 41 percent of all fire department personnel (more than 230,000 fire fighters) whose fire departments respond to wildland fires lack the formal training needed to safely respond to those fires (Buckman, 2006, p. 371). California fire departments saw the problem and developed a solution. The State of California addressed the problem by requiring a higher level of training for firefighters is the California Incident Command Certification System (CICCS). CICCS was develop to ensure that all firefighters, no matter what rank they held, attended specific training courses and had experience in wildland firefighting. This system certified and qualified personnel assigned to wildfires had the education and experience to provide the community and the personnel they supervised a high level of service. CICCS requires that an individual must first complete specific training for the position and then the individual is issued a task book. The individual has five years to

20 Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department 20 complete all of the competencies for the positions. These competencies need to be completed at an acceptable level before they are allowed to function in the position. In order for company officers to take their personnel on a wildland fire they need to be qualified at the position of Engine Boss. The required training for the position consists of (a) Engine Boss(Single Resource)(S-230), (b) Crew Boss(Single Resource)(S-231), (c) Intermediate Wildland Fire Behavior(S-290), and (d) Annual Fireline Safety Refresher (RT-130) ( California Incident Command Certification System. (n.d.). Once a company officer is qualified as an Engine Boss, the company officer must function in the position at least once in every five years. Company officers and the personnel that they supervise need refresher training. Refresher training-all training that reviews, and competencies as developed in the initial training, as well as any updates, changes to processes, policies, or performances that were a part of the initial training (Barr & Eversole, 2006, p. 295). Company officers need to realize how important it is to keep up with the current trends and information on the fire service. But over the past 20 years, what we have traditionally meant by the terms firefighter and fire department has changed drastically. And that means those of you who entered the service with the goal of reaching the upper ranks may not be prepared to do so, because the education we gave you in recruit school is no longer current (Harmes, 2008, p. 80). Continuing education is critical to all operations of the fire department. However, it covers all aspect of supervision. Well-developed company operations are critical to the effectiveness and safety of any fire department. Sometimes a misconception exists

21 Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department 21 that the term company operations refers to such issues as apparatus and equipment, types, response scenarios, suppression tactics, tools, or new technologies (Barr & Eversole, 2006, p. 543). It is important for the company officers to understand that the position is more than just handling emergency incidents. The company officer not only provides supervision at the scene but also holds responsibility for various equipment and station inspections, certain company training tasks, and company administrative and reporting tasks as needed (Barr & Eversole, 2006, p. 550). In smaller fire departments, the company officers could be managing parts of the budget and be called upon to present parts of the budget to the city council. You should consider that as a chief officer, you will be required to do budgets, personnel evaluations and related paperwork, purchases, planning and speeches to the public, to name just a few (Harmes, 2008, p. 82). They are also responsible for training and continual training on the most up to date information regarding the fire service. Training in all aspects of fire department operations is essential. This includes both individual skills and knowledge as well as company operations. All companies should participate in regularly scheduled company and multiple company drills (Barr & Eversole, 2006, p. 549). Formal education should also play a role in the continuing education program. The fire service is looking for leaders with formal education and company officers are the next leaders. They are also the role models for the members that they supervise. The fire service has finally begun the process of picking leaders who understand the complexity of the organization, who their employer is and how that relates to the fire

22 Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department 22 chief s position (Harmes, 2008, p. 80). Higher education is very important to company officers and as part of a continuing education program will improve the level of service to the community. But a higher education degree will also make you better at your current job, because it makes you a better leader in your department. To achieve your degree, you had to conduct research online, find your way around an academic library and most importantly, collect your thoughts and put them down on paper so that they make sense to the reader (Harmes, 2008, p. 83). Procedures This Applied Research Project is a descriptive research project investigating and gathering data regarding continuing education for company officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department. The research included a literature review, and questionnaire sent to members of surrounding fire agencies, private companies, chief and company officers of the Beverly Hills Fire Department. The first step in the research project was to conduct a literature review. This review began at the Learning Resource Center (LRC) at the National Fire Academy in Emittsburg, Maryland in October, The search was started by utilizing all of the resources available at the Learning Resource Center. The search was conducted using key words such as company officer, continuing education, chief officer requirements, fire officers, training programs, fire service education, adult education, curriculum development, officer development, evaluation, and private section training. A list of sources developed from these searches was created and the literature was

23 Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department 23 reviewed to determine the applicability for use in this Applied Research Project titled Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department. After leaving the National Fire Academy in early November, 2011 through the month of February, 2011, the literature search continued using the same key words on the internet. Each piece of literature that was located was reviewed to determine the applicability for use in this Applied Research Project. The information that was going to be used was downloaded onto a computer and used later in the research. Research was also conducted at the Beverly Hills Public Library located in Beverly Hills. The same key words were used in the Beverly Hills Library as in the Learning Resource Center. Once the literature material was located during the search, the material was either checked out or requested through interlibrary loan. The items were checked out to review over a period of time due to the amount of some of the literature. The next step was to develop three different questionnaires to gather more information regarding the project. The purpose of the questionnaire was to have a better understanding of what other fire departments in the area were doing to provide continuing education for their company officers and if completing continuing education was reflected in the annual performance rating. The questions on the questionnaire were developed by looking at the general problem and then narrowing down the problem to specific questions directly related to the applied research project. The questions were developed based on information gathered during the literature review process. The first questionnaire was developed and sent to current company officers and

24 Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department 24 chief officers of the Beverly Hills Fire Department. The questionnaire was limited to this group of personnel because they are currently performing the duties of a company officer or have performed in the position before promotion to the rank of chief officer. They have an understanding of the day to day expectation of a company officer and what continuing education is needed to maintain a high standard of performance. This questionnaire was focused on topics that should be part of a continuing education program for company officers. It included the questions: a) should formal education be counted as continuing education?, and b) should the annual performance rating include participation in continuing education? The second questionnaire was developed and sent to company officers and chief officer of surrounding fire agencies. This questionnaire was limited to this group of personnel because they are currently performing the duties of a company officer or have performed in the position before promotion to the rank of chief officer. The questionnaire was focused on: a) what type of continuing education program does your agency offer to your company officers?, and b) what topics are covered in the training? The last questionnaire was developed and sent to private businesses in the surrounding area to determine what the standard and outcome of continuing education is for supervisors in private industry. The questionnaire asked a) what topics do private companies require supervisors to attend?, and b) what role does continuing education play on a supervisor s annual evaluation? Each questionnaire was sent through the internet. The first questionnaire was sent to 15 company officer and 5 chief officers of the Beverly Hills Fire Department. The second questionnaires were sent out to one hundred company officers and chief officers

25 Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department 25 in surrounding fire agencies. The third questionnaire was sent out to 10 large private companies in the City of Beverly Hills The limitations of the questionnaire are that due to shift work and extended vacations some recipients were not able to return the questionnaire on time. The questionnaire was sent to some fire department professionals that had a basic understanding of their department s continuing education program however, did not have a thorough understanding of the program. Once the questionnaires were returned, the author tallied the responses and compared the information from the literature review and questionnaires. Results Based on the literature review and the questionnaires given to the sample population the following inference can be made. The first research question, what are the national, state, and local standards for company officers? To answer this question the author relied on the literature review to investigate what the standards are at all levels of government. The results demonstrated that there are a few federal laws that require annual refreshers. Those laws are directly related to three areas. These regulations address hazardous materials, respiratory protection, and blood borne pathogens (Barr & Eversole, 2006, p. 285). There are also federal requirements and state requirements that are specific to positions. For example, a company officer qualified to conduct confined space entry must make one entry every year to maintain currency. An example at the state level is a company officer who is an Emergency Medical Technician. A company officer must have a minimum of 24 hours

26 Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department 26 every two years to maintain the certification. The research also showed that there are requirements at the state level. The State of California has created required annual refresher training for anyone responding on a wildland fire. Also, company officers who respond to wildland fires need to maintain their qualification as an engine boss every 5 years. Many fire departments also refer to the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) for standards in different positions. NFPA 1021 is the standard for fire officer professional qualifications that discusses the minimum qualification for a fire officer. The second research question, what do other fire departments use for continuing education for company officers? This question was answered by both the literature review and a questionnaire sent to numerous fire officers and chief officers in fire departments surrounding the Beverly Hills Fire Department. One hundred questionnaires were sent out and seventy-five were returned. The table below shows the breakdown of the responses to the questionnaire. #1 Does your Fire Department have a continuing education program for company officers? #2 If your fire department has a continuing education program for company officers, how many hours a year are spent on the program? Yes- 50 No hours hours hours hours plus - 0 # 4 Is participation in the continuing education program part of the annual performance rating? Yes 50 No 0

27 Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department 27 Question number 3 asked, what are the top 5 topics taught in the continuing education program? The top five responses to the question are as follows: 1. EMT and paramedic training 2. Hazardous materials training 3. Brush training 4. Pre-fire planning 5. Confined space training The third research question was, what is the continuing education standard in the private industry for supervisors? This was a very interesting response. Of the 10 questionnaires sent out only 2 were returned. #1 Does your company have a continuing education program for your supervisors? #2 How many hours a year are spent on your continuing education program? Yes- 2 No hours hours hours hours plus - 0 # 4 Is participation in the continuing education program reflected on your supervisor s annual performance rating? Yes 2 No 0 Question number three asked what are the top 5 topics taught in your continuing education program for your supervisors. The top 5 answers were 1. Sexual harassment

28 Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department Ergonomics 3. Injury prevention program 4. Company policies 5. Workplace violence On this questionnaire, both companies responded to number 5. The question asked was, is there anything else that you would like to add? One answer was we only require our supervisors to complete the training required by law and the other answer was other specific positions have required training. Our supervisors who use a forklift are required to pass an annual forklift refresher class. The fourth research question was, what topics do the current chief officers and company officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department think should be in the continuing education program? Questionnaires were sent out to five chief officers and 15 company officers of the BHFD. All twenty of the questionnaires were returned. #1 Current position. Chief Officer 5 Company Officer 15 #2 How long have you been a company officer and chief officer? 0-2 years years years plus years - 5 #3 Do you think the Beverly Hills Fire Department needs a continuing education Yes 20 No 0

29 Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department 29 program for company officers? #5 Which method of instructional delivery would be the best for the program? Hands-on - 14 Discussion - 0 Lecture 0 Outside Instructors -3 Department Instructors 3 #6 Should formal education be a part of the continuing education program? #7 What is the minimum level of formal education for company officers? Yes 14 No 6 High School 2 A.A./A.S. 10 B.A./B.S 6 Masters degree 2 #8 Should participation in a continuing education program for company officers be Yes 20 No 0 a part of annual performance rating? Question number 4 asked to list the top 5 topics that should be covered every year in a continuing education program for company officers. The top ten answers were: strategy and tactics, truck operations, leadership, high rise operations, wildland firefighting, personnel issues, firefighter s bill of rights, mass casualty, hazardous materials training, and emergency medical technician and paramedic training. Question number nine got 3 responses. The three responses were this is needed, now is the time to develop a formal program, and this will develop a

30 Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department 30 standard training program for the entire department. It can also help to train other personnel who want to become company officers. The fifth research question was how should the continuing education for company officer be reflective in the annual performance rating? This question was answered by the literature review and the questionnaires. All three of the questionnaires that were returned had 100% agreement that participation in the continuing education program should be reflected on the annual performance rating for the employee. One of the unexpected results of this research was the lack of response from the private industry. Only twenty percent of the private companies returned the questionnaire. This limited the data from the private sector to compared to the fire departments. Another unexpected result is how the fire department needs to track current training to get the proper credit from the Insurance Services Office to maintain a class one rating. Discussion The literature review and the questionnaire both support the research findings that the Beverly Hills Fire Department needs a continuing education program for company officers. The research also indicated that there is a large amount of topics to be covered in the continuing education program for company officers. Since this applied research paper is directed toward the Beverly Hills Fire Department, it is important to get buy in from the current company officers and the chief officers of the department. The results of the question (do you think the Beverly Hills Fire Department needs a continuing education?) is encouraging because all 20 responses were in favor for continuing education. These study results concur with the research in the literature

31 Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department 31 review that continuing education is needed in the fire service. As with anything of value, your training and education plan will need to be maintained. You must continuously evaluate it and improve based upon changes in the business, technology, methodology, and customer response (Barr & Eversole, 2006, p. 281). Based on the questionnaires returned from the chief officers and company officers of the Beverly Hills Fire Department and the author s interpretation of the results, a continuing education program for company officers is needed in the Beverly Hills Fire Department. A continuing education program would increase the knowledge, skills and abilities of company officers to better serve the community of Beverly Hills. The implications of developing a continuing education program for company officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department are not only better trained company officers, but also better trained chief officers in the future. Another implication of developing this program is better trained future company officers. These actions are based on the company officer applying the knowledge gained from experience, study, and training along with strong leadership skills (International Fire Service Training Association, 2007, p. 476). As firefighters and engineers continue to develop, the current company officers will be able to develop the people they supervise by including them in the continuing education program for company officers.

32 Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department 32 Recommendations The purpose of this applied research project was to develop recommendations for a continuing education program for company officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department. The following recommendations are based on the research completed through a literature review and results from questionnaires sent to company officers and chief officers of the Beverly Hills Fire Department, company officers and chief officers of surrounding fire agencies, and private companies located in the City of Beverly Hills. The Beverly Hills Fire Department needs to develop a continuing education program for company officers. In order to develop this very important program, the Beverly Hills Fire Department needs to first develop a committee to investigate what knowledge, skills, and abilities the current company officers are weak in. Once the topics are decided for the year, the committee needs to examine if there are any federal, state, or local regulations that give the number of hours required to teach the subject. Since the fire service and laws are always changing, the committee will always be looking forward to new concepts. The committee should also involve surrounding agencies and regional partners to ensure completeness of the continuing education. This program should start out as a pilot program for the first year to ensure that all of the company officers and chief officers understand the program and if there are any changes that need to be made to the basic program. This is a needed program in every fire department to ensure that the level of service to the community and the personnel supervised by company officers is the highest level of service.

33 Continuing Education for Company Officers in the Beverly Hills Fire Department 33 Reference Barr, R., & Eversole, J. (Eds.). (2006). The Fire Chief s Handbook (6 th ed.). Tulsa, OK: Pennwell. Buckman, John M. (2006). Chief Fire Officer s Desk Reference. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett. California Incident Command Certification System. (n.d.) 2010 Qualification Guide Position Guide. Retrieved November 20, 2011 from California State Fire Training (n.d.) Certification Tracks. Retrieved December 1, 2011 from City of Beverly Hills Hazard Mitigation Action Plan. (2010). Creating and maintaining a safer, more sustainable community. Harmes, Jim. (2008, February). A higher Calling. Why every fire officer should have an advanced degree. FireRescue Magazine, Vol.34, p International Fire Service Training Association. (2007). Fire and Emergency Services Company Officer. Stillwater, OK: Fire Protection Publications.