Fire Communications

The Do’s and Don’ts of Fire Communications
For both novice and advanced Fire Communicators

American Emergency Preparedness, utilizing the talent and experience of veteran fire communications dispatchers, has developed this class to address the ever-changing role of the fire service dispatcher. Dispatchers will find a wealth of great knowledge in this workshop and will find that this class is a great chance to enhance their knowledge and skills, whether they are experienced veterans of the fire board or new to the fire service. We have taken the most popular modules of our previous Fire Communications Course and combined them here in this informative one-day workshop.

We'll sift through the jargon so dispatchers will know what resources are being requested, and what those resources provide to an incident. A detailed review of fire service resources will include air tankers, water tenders, quints, air/light units and more! 

The workshop will also cover fire service terminology that a fire communications dispatcher will likely come across. For instance, there are new policies and procedures dispatchers need to know when a '2 In - 2 Out' system is implemented on-scene, or what to do if the Incident Commander makes a call for a Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) during an incident. What is a “PAR” (Personal Accountability Report) and why is it used? Also, the workshop will examine requirements by outside agencies that will inevitably be involved in any large-scale incident, such as the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Topics include:

  • Fire Communications procedures and tactics

  • What are the "best" questions to ask in a fire emergency?

  • Relaying Information: when to talk on the radio

  • How dispatchers can save time and provide useful information to Incident Commanders

  • Balancing a quick response with your best customer service skills

  • Responder safety and knowledge of equipment

  • What the firefighters on scene are doing with the information that you provide them

  • Hazardous materials: More and more, hazardous materials are handled each day in your jurisdiction, and dispatchers need to be aware of both chemicals contained in structures and transported on our roadways, air, rails, and pipelines. We will provide a list of questions to determine what hazardous materials may be involved in an incident, and what information dispatchers may be able to provide to fire-ground commanders. Bring your CHEMTREC book!!

  • Communications’ role in personnel accountability reports, lost firefighters, and operational retreat

  • Incident Command System (ICS): A review of ICS with emphasis on the role of the Fire Service Dispatcher.

  • Mutual aid requests for additional resources during a large-scale incident; also terminology, providing location and directions, managing outside resources and "turf" problems.

The workshop concludes with a hands-on exercise that will provide students with a scenario to practice Incident Command System (ICS) policies and procedures on a simulated incident. This workshop can be combined with other workshops to build a multi-day training experience to satisfy all your training needs.

Workshop Length:

16 Hours (2 Days)

All AEP workshops meet the criteria for Public Safety Continued Education hours.

To host this workshop, or if you have any questions, e-mail booking@ameri-prep.com or call (401) 344-0054 between 8am-4:30pm Eastern time.

information on ‘2-in, 2-out’ and RIT involvement collected from OSHA.