FIR 213 - Principles of Emergency Services

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to: 

• Describe fire science education and the firefighter selection process. 

• List career opportunities in fire protection and fire service. 

• Describe basic principles of public fire prevention. 

• Describe the chemistry and physics of fire. 

• Differentiate between public and private support organizations in the fire service, and how their services affect the fire department. 

• List resources available to a fire department. 

• Discuss fire service leadership and the role of fire administration. 

• Discuss the support functions that fire departments rely upon. 

• Describe an effective and relevant fire training program. 

• Understand the importance of an active fire prevention program in the fire department. 

• List and apply fire codes and ordinances related to fire protection. 

• Describe standard fire protection systems and fire equipment. 

• Operate within the Incident Command System and the National Incident Management System. 

• Describe effective fire department emergency scene operations. 

Student Learning Outcomes: 

• Explain the difference between training and education. 

• Describe the kinds of college fire science programs that are available. 

• Discuss the value of a background in public administration and other specialized studies. 

• Discuss how to assess your career potential. 

• Discuss the role of human resources and work ethic in the fire service. 

• Identify pre-service training programs. 

• Identify different types of personnel development programs. 

• List and describe the steps in the selection process. 

• Describe how to set and meet career goals.  

• Identify fire protection careers in the public fire service. 

• Identify civilian positions in the fire service. 

• Identify fire protection careers in the private fire service. 

• Describe the evolution of fire protection. 

• Describe the history of wildland fire in America. 

• Describe the evolution of modern firefighting equipment. 

• Identify and describe fire service symbols. 

• Describe the evolution of fire stations. 

• Describe how major fire losses have affected the modern fire service. 

• Identify statistics of the U.S. fire problem. 

• Discuss the purpose and scope of fire agencies. 

• Discuss the future of fire protection. 

• Discuss the difference between the fire triangle and the fire tetrahedron. 

• Discuss the chemistry of fire in terms of oxidizers and fuels. 

• Discuss the physics of fire in terms of the three states of matter. 

• Differentiate heat and temperature. 

• Identify and describe the four methods of heat transfer. 

• Discuss the fire classifications of fire. 

• Identify and describe the four stages of fire. 

• Identify and describe national and international support organizations. 

• Identify and describe federal support organizations. 

• Identify and describe state support organizations. 

• Identify and describe local support organizations. 

• Discuss the value of periodical publications. 

• List and describe facilities in modern fire departments. 

• List and describe common fire apparatus. 

• List and describe fire tools and appliances. 

• List and describe heavy equipment used in the fire service. 

• List and describe personal protective equipment used in the fire service. 

• Describe the types and uses of aircraft in firefighting. 

• Identify and describe the six principles of command. 

• Identify and describe the six components of the management cycle. 

• Identify different fire department types. 

• Identify the four methods of communication. 

• Discuss the role of dispatch 

• Discuss the transmission of alarms. 

• Identify the resources in the fire investigation unit. 

• Identify the resources in the hazardous materials control unit. 

• Discuss the role of an adjutant, or aide. 

• Identify technical support groups and discuss their roles. 

• Discuss resources available for information systems. 

• Discuss the role of personnel/human resources. 

• Discuss the role of a business manager. 

• Discuss the role of incident business management. 

• Discuss the role of warehouse/central stores. 

• Discuss the role of a repair garage. 

• Discuss the role of a radio shop. 

• Identify the personnel and positions that make up a training bureau. 

• Discuss the value of interagency training. 

• Describe training facilities used in the fire service. 

• Describe the purpose and importance of training in the fire service. 

• Explain the difference between technical and manipulative training. 

• Describe how an adequate level of training is determined. 

• Describe how performance standards are determined. 

• Explain how skills are developed. 

• Describe the role standard operating procedures play in training. 

• Discuss the importance of maintaining training records. 

• Describe the relationship of training to incident effectiveness. 

• List areas in which firefighters require training. 

• Discuss the importance of safety in training. 

• Describe the activities performed by a fire prevention bureau. 

• Identify fire prevention activities and how to implement them. 

• Identify methods of fire prevention. 

• Discuss the importance of fire information reporting. 

• Give an overview of the types of laws in the United States. 

• Discuss the court system 

• Describe how to handle personnel complaints. 

• Discuss the legal components of fire prevention activities. 

• Describe how codes are developed. 

• Discuss the legal considerations at emergency incidents. 

• Describe the purpose and components of public and private water companies. 

• Discuss the importance of a dependable water supply system. 

• Describe the components and importance of a fire department water supply system. 

• Describe fire detection systems and their components. 

• Describe the different types of extinguishing agents. 

• Describe different types of extinguishing systems and their components. 

• Discuss the management responsibility at an emergency incident. 

• Explain the need for a plan at every incident. 

• List and describe the five major components of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) 

• List and describe the components of the Incident Command System (ICS). 

• List the positions in the ICS and their function. 

• Identify the personnel who might be working at an emergency scene. 

• List the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives. 

• Identify important considerations when working at a structure fire. 

• Identify important considerations when working at an electrical distribution equipment fire. 

• Identify important considerations when working at a wildland fire. 

• Identify important considerations when working at a wildland-urban interface fire. 

• Identify important considerations when working at a petroleum fire. 

• Identify important considerations when working at hazardous materials incidents. 

• Identify important considerations when working at weapons of mass destruction incidents. 

• Identify important considerations when working with emergency medical services personnel. 

• Identify important considerations for highway incident safety. 

• Identify important considerations when working at vehicle accidents. 

• Identify important considerations when working at an aircraft fire. 

• Identify important considerations when working at a technical rescue incident. 

• Discuss the importance of decision-making skills and how they relate to incident safety.