Training
Training
Achieving proficiency and professionalism through training and education.
Your Sylvania Fire/EMS Department has highly trained professionals that conduct extensive, year-round training activities to maintain and improve their skills in a variety of disciplines.
These include, but are not limited to:
- Paramedic Level ALS Emergency Medical Care & Transportation
- Firefighting
- Fire Investigation
- Fire Prevention and Commercial Building Inspections
- Technical Rescue (Auto Extrication, Water/ Ice, Rope, Elevator, Confined Space)
- Hazardous-Materials Response
- Officer Development
- Tactical EMS in conjunction with Police
Learning within the Fire/EMS service is a career-long commitment. The Fire Training Bureau supports this by administering continuing education to enhance and adapt skills, as the role of the Firefighter/Paramedic continues to evolve.
The Captain is responsible for the Training Bureau & Safety. The Captain reports to the Chief and coordinates with the training cadre to continually assess individual and company proficiencies and abilities, in an ongoing effort to provide the widest range of skill-enhancing training.
The training cadre consists of all Company Officers (who are required to be State of Ohio Certified Fire Instructors; many are also State of Ohio EMS Instructors), and numerous Firefighter/Paramedics who may also be instructors. The Fire Training Bureau provides a challenging mix of hands-on and classroom training with up-to-date knowledge to help prepare our Firefighters/Paramedics to perform in the wide variety of missions they may be assigned to mitigate.
In May of 1990, the fire training facility was opened at 4420 King Rd. (on Sylvania Fire/EMS property located in what used to be a remote area of the community) behind the Sylvania Township Police Department. The centerpiece of the King Road Training Facility is the training tower that was constructed in 1991. The original three-story training tower had a ground-level burn room, a sprinkler system connection, and interior stairs with Standpipes to simulate High-Rise and Commercial Occupancy fires. A second unit with a forcible entry simulator and a variety of other props has been added over the years. This includes an exterior stairway built above the addition containing a large platform at the second and third levels. A supplementary burn room on the third story was also created. These additions allow for more realistic training with the scenarios that can be performed. The facility also contains a structure that houses equipment and provides a space for pre-training lectures, skills demonstrations, live burn safety briefings, and command post operations in a variety of weather conditions.
Each newly hired employee is required to attend the Sylvania Fire/Ems Recruit Orientation. The orientation provides our new employees with a basic introduction to all phases of operations within the department.
Some of the highlights include:
- Department operations
- Computer system and data entry
- Tool and equipment operation and maintenance
- Basic fire and rescue techniques
- EMS protocol review and operations
The orientation includes live-burn scenarios, where the recruits are able to “put together” the techniques they covered during the orientation.
The ability to improve our service is generated through many ideas and initiatives that originate from our personnel. It is their values, energy, commitment, and compassion that drive many of the Fire Training Bureau’s functions, programs, and activities that support the accomplishment of our mission of providing excellent service to the community.