By John “Skip” Coleman
As with many things in the fire service, training has evolved over the past 50 years. My dad was chief of training, as was I. Before I came on, Dad talked about major training programs that he was working on. He developed the first bomb squad and water rescue unit and coordinated the first paramedic class for the Toledo (OH) Fire Department. These were the beginnings of technical rescue for the department.
When I came on, company officers generally created and conducted their individual companies’ fire training. The training bureau developed a list of topics that were to be covered in a specific year. There were fewer topics than there were months in the year. This allowed the officer to work on the evolutions that he deemed necessary after observing his crew at fires.
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