2023 Duluth Fire Officer & Training Officer School
March 17-19, 2023 | DECC | 350 Harbor Drive, Duluth, MN 55802

Class Information

Attendees can register for one (1) 12-hour class, which is held on Saturday and Sunday OR one (1) 8-hour class, held only on Saturday, along with one (1) 4-hour class, held only on Sunday. Please click here to view class descriptions.

 


 12-Hour Classes

 Decision-Making for Initial Company Operations (NFA)
Lane Heins
*Please note this was originally listed as a 16 hour class, the times have now changed.

This course is designed to develop the decision-making skills needed by Company Officers (COs) to accomplish assigned tactics at structure fires. All activities and scenarios used in this course are based on structure fires. With the real possibility of being the first to arrive at an incident, the CO’s initial decisions will have an impact throughout the entire incident. It is vital that COs be able to make good management decisions that have a favorable impact on the eventual outcome.

In addition to a possible role as the initial Incident Commander, the CO may well be assigned a subordinate position within the Incident Command System (ICS) organization. COs need to have a clear understanding of the system, the position that they are assigned to, and their role in the organization if they are to function effectively and help make the system work.

This course is an excellent review for experienced COs.

Critical Thinking for Fire Ground Operations
Lance Ross, MN-1 AHIMT
Trevor Hamdorf, Deputy Director - Public Safety, New Brighton 

Each and everyday Emergency Services respond to numerous calls that require different approaches to best control the situation. Often, the decisions of controlling that situation happen within seconds. Some of these situations end up going longer than the “normal” call.

This critical thinking session is designed to provide you a background and enhance your decision making on a scene both initially and long term incidents. Learn from case studies and lessons learned on the ICS City a 5 ft. x 32 ft. training city that you will be utilizing during the session. The session scenarios will start at a baseline level and grow in intensity and complexity. The ICS City allows for students to utilize the concepts learned during class and their “real world” experience and apply to the exercise that is unfolding in front of them “in the city”.

The session will have training components and many “hands on” opportunities with the ICS City.

Good to Great Leadership
BJ Jungmann, Fire Chief, Burnsville Fire Dept.

Why are some teams good and some great? What sets great teams apart? Leading their team is one of the most important things a manager needs to get right. But great teams don’t happen by accident. In this class you will learn the best practices of leading teams from good to great. Define what makes a team function well, discover how to avoid the behaviors that detract from a team’s success, and identify the actions and tools you can use to take your leadership to the next level.

Fire Ground Management - First Arriving Officer
Curt Mackey, Fire Chief, Excelsior Fire District 
Nate Basinger, Battalion Chief, Excelsior Fire District 

*This class is full. Please email [email protected] to be added to a waitlist.

Participants will learn the importance of conducting a thorough size up before committing limited resources. This course will develop company officers’ incident scene supervisory and management capabilities in structural fire operations. Key content includes discussion and scenario based practice on controlling and implementing the activities that need to be done to successfully deal with personnel performing the following operations; rescue and ventilation, confinement and extinguishment, water supply, exposures, offensive and defensive operations, salvage, overhaul and support. This course takes a practical, common sense approach to fighting fires in single-family homes, multi-family apartment buildings, light industrial and commercial structures. It takes into account the realities of today's fire service – that is, most fire departments in this country are, understaffed, less experienced and involved in more EMS than ever before. If your incidents seem to run themselves and you’re not in control then this course is for you.

10 Minutes and Beyond
David Brosnahan, Fire Chief, Roseville Fire Dept. 

The overall goal of the course “10 Minutes and Beyond” is to build on the training obtained in the previous MSFCA Fire Officers School class: “The First 5 Minutes”. The purpose of this training will emphasize the behaviors necessary to ensure safe incident ground operations through lecture, demonstrations, individual, and group activities.

The course will attempt to provide the first arriving firefighters/fire officers an opportunity to further develop the skills necessary to make the right decisions and operate effectively as an initial Incident Commander and to provide the skills to start the fire attack plan (IAP-incident action plan) not only for your own unit but for the other responding units as well.

The course is anticipated to provide the following:

  • To define and explain fire-ground expectations for the first arriving FF/FO.
  • To explain the responsibilities of identifying the what, where, when, who and how of incident management (functions of command).
  • To provide a good knowledge base for all personnel who find themselves in charge (however briefly).
  • To influence changes in strategy and tactics due to changes in the current fire environment

The course will be scenario driven and will attempt to focus on fire-ground operations, crash incidents, search incidents, and natural disasters.
Class participants must have already attended the class “The First 5 Minutes”.

The Accountability of Leadership - From the Scene to the Station
Greg Hayes, F.I.R.E., Inc. & TaskForce Strategies

Leaders throughout the Public Safety profession don’t fully understand the responsibility that they take on when leading others. Specifically, they fail to recognize the accountability food chain when giving directions either on the scene or at the station as the textbooks don’t cover the true responsibility and sacrifice of a leader. Through real-world examples, you will identify the areas where the accountability for people in operations and administration can make you a better leader when serving others. 


8-Hour Classes

State Fire Marshal: So You Want To Be a Fire Chief?
Jared Rozeboom and Tate Mills, Fire Service Specialists – MN State Fire Marshal Division
Dan Buchholz, Training and Code Development Specialist – MN State Fire Marshal Division

Are you interested in someday becoming the fire chief of your fire department? Are you the chief of your fire department, but have never been informed and/or didn’t realize all the responsibilities of a chief? This class is for you! State Fire Marshal Division staff will help you understand the responsibilities and requirements of a fire chief and the resources you have available to help you and your fire department.

Some of the topics and questions covered in this session:

  • So now I’m the chief, who do I report to?
  • Mutual aid agreements and authority.
  • What is the FSAC and fire safety account – why is this important to me?
  • What does the MBFTE have to offer?
  • Who is responsible for training my firefighters?
  • What is fire and life safety education and what resources do I have for fire prevention and risk management?
  • Fire Code and Fire Investigation Resources.
  • State Emergency Response Teams.
  • What is Fire Chief Boot Camp?

These topics and questions along with many more will be discussed in this session. There will also be an open discussion forum for attendees to “dive” deeper into any of the topics covered.

EMS Attack Crew: Managing the Medical Call as a First-In Fire Crew
Scott Spinks, Captain, Long Lake Fire Dept. & Critical Care Paramedic, North Memorial Ambulance

EMS Attack Crew is a collection of modern and innovative techniques for fire department personnel to use when responding to an emergency medical call. The 8-hour course looks at a variety of medical calls, breaks them down to their core components and shows fire crews how they can better manage every medical call they respond to. The course is well-balanced with hands-on training, classroom discussions and videos, making it a perfect course for firefighters and officers of all experience levels. EMS Attack Crew prepares first responders to think and act quickly as a team, ultimately leading to the best possible outcome for the patient. 


4-Hour Classes

Roundtable
More information coming soon

MnFIRE
Gary Hendrickson, Fire Chief, Dayton
Sleep: While firefighters face a myriad of health and wellness stressors, one that particularly impacts overall health is sleep. No matter the work schedule, career or non-career, poor sleep habits can impact job performance, mental health, and your body’s ability to fight off illness. This session will cover the impacts of sleep deprivation and give tips on healthier sleep hygiene that can lead to better overall health.

Cancer: According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), firefighters have a 9% higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer and a 14% higher risk of dying from cancer than the general U.S. population. This tragic reality underscores the critical need for more Minnesota firefighters to be aware of their higher risks for cancer – and what they can do to help prevent it. In our cancer deep-dive class, we’ll educate firefighters on activities that put them at higher risk for developing cancer, proper PPE strategies for mitigating cancer risks, and what types of screenings can be done to catch cancer early.