Training is defined as the acquisition of skills and competencies resulting from the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge relating to specific useful skills education. It also refers to receiving a body of theoretical knowledge and applied research as it relates to a particular field.
Often in the fire service we try to fix operational challenges solely with training. A need is recognized, and with the goal of increased performance, we train to meet this need. What we don’t do nearly enough is seek new information that would meet or challenge a need and then apply this research to educate our firefighters.
Training without questioning or challenging the norms of the fire service does little more than reinforce practical applications that may be part of the problem we have recognized. We must have a deliberate mix of education and training to teach not only the How but also the When, Why, and Why Not. This will allow us to move into a different plane of problem solving as a firefighting practitioner.
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