Fire Department course certification and NFPA

We are frequently asked whether there is a California State Fire Training-certified off-road EVOC or wildland driver training course for fire departments.

Currently, there is not. The California Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) has identified a Fire Apparatus Driver/Operator – Wildland course as a proposed offering, but there are currently no Wildland Driving Courses being offered or sanctioned through State Fire Training (SFT). Development of a statewide program has been discussed for several years, but creating the curriculum, instructor requirements, and suitable training locations presents significant challenges.

The Driving Company's Off-Road EVOC courses are reviewed, approved, and certified through the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST).

POST is primarily a law-enforcement standards and training organization, but the principles of safe off-road vehicle operation are equally applicable to fire apparatus and other emergency vehicles.

Fire-service personnel who successfully complete our POST-certified Off-Road EVOC training can be documented in the State system as having completed the certified course.

For a fire department, this provides something particularly important: independent documentation that the off-road driver training was delivered through a course reviewed and certified by a State of California training standards organization.

That documentation can become an important component of an agency's overall training and risk-management program.

The proposed OSFM course references the requirements contained in NFPA 1002 Driver/Operator standards for wildland fire apparatus. The applicable NFPA requirements cover considerably more than simply driving a fire engine. They also address the operation of firefighting systems and equipment carried on the apparatus, including areas such as pumps and other fire-specific systems.

The Driving Company specializes in the vehicle-operation and driving component.

Our training focuses on the skills necessary to safely operate fire apparatus in off-road environments, including terrain assessment, vehicle dynamics, weight transfer, traction management, braking, clearance, route selection, spotting, Mechanical Sympathy, and the operation of large apparatus on unimproved terrain. Our off-road driving curriculum is designed to meet or exceed the applicable NFPA recommendations related to vehicle operation.

For agencies sending personnel through our Off-Road EVOC Instructor Train-the-Trainer Course, graduates receive the instructional foundation and materials necessary to develop their own driver-training program. Agencies seeking to address the complete NFPA Driver/Operator framework would supplement the driving curriculum with instruction covering the operation of pumps, hydraulics, and other firefighting equipment applicable to their apparatus.

There is an important distinction between an NFPA standard and a certification.

NFPA establishes standards and recommended professional qualifications. NFPA itself does not certify individual instructors or training providers.

Organizations use those standards as a framework when developing their own training and qualification programs.

The challenge for agencies pursuing instructor certification through the OSFM State Fire Training system is the significant training commitment involved.

Under the applicable pathway, an instructor candidate may need to complete extensive instructor-development training in addition to the required Fire Apparatus Driver/Operator courses before becoming qualified within the SFT system to deliver specialized Driver/Operator training.

That represents a substantial commitment of personnel time and agency resources. Suitable and consistent off-road training venues can present an additional challenge for departments attempting to establish their own programs.

Regardless of the certification system used, an agency needs to be able to demonstrate that its personnel received appropriate training. That means more than producing a roster showing that employees attended a class. A professionally developed training program should document what was taught, how it was taught, the learning objectives, practical exercises, safety procedures, instructor qualifications, and successful completion of the training. This becomes particularly important if an agency is ever required to explain or defend its training following a collision, injury, equipment loss, administrative proceeding, or allegation of inadequate training.

The purpose of independent course certification is to provide evidence that a training program has been reviewed against established standards rather than relying solely on the course provider's own assertion that its training is adequate.

The Driving Company's Lead Instructor, Dave Storton, holds a Master's Degree in Adult Education and has developed detailed lesson plans and instructional materials for every TDC off-road training course. Our courses are built around documented learning objectives, practical exercises, instructor guidance, safety procedures, and professional instructional methodology. And our commitment to the agencies we train doesn't end when the course is over.

If an agency trained by The Driving Company is ever required to explain or defend the off-road training we provided in a formal proceeding, Dave Storton and Lloyd Ogan are willing to appear and explain the curriculum, instructional methodology, training documentation, and standards upon which the course was based, at no additional charge to the agency. This isn't theoretical. Both Dave and Lloyd have previously provided expert testimony in Federal Court involving an agency's driver training. 

That experience is one of the reasons we place such a strong emphasis on documented, professionally developed, and defensible training. We don't simply teach your personnel how to drive off road.