FAQ'S

FIRE OPS 101 is an all-day event designed to demonstrate to elected officials and journalists the perils that fire fighters face every day. The event includes three to five 40-minute scenarios in which the attendees participate. Scenarios can range from engine or ladder operations to search and rescue to extrication to hazmat/WMD stations. The scenarios may be similar to the training experiences fire fighters go through when learning to become a fire fighter, however they will be adopted for elected officials and the media.

FIRE OPS 101 provides elected and appointed officials and the media with a hands-on opportunity to better understand the complexities of what you do on a daily basis.

Conducting a FIRE OPS 101 exposes participants to the smoke, the adrenaline rush, and the physical stress and strain fire fighters and emergency medical personnel routinely address. In addition participants will gain a better understanding of adequate and safe staffing and the need to have up-to-date protective equipment, modern apparatus and presumptive laws that protect our members.

FIRE OPS 101 gives decision-makers in your community the opportunity to live a day as a fire fighter. Nothing else gives your elected officials a taste of the fire service like experiencing FIRE OPS 101. Spending a hands-on day as a first responder is one of the most effective ways for your elected officials and your local media to learn about your job. The scenarios planned for a FIRE OPS are ultimately intended to help the elected officials and media understand the challenges fire fighters face in staffing, equipment and response time, as well as the physical and mental strength that fire fighters must possess.

The ability to build an emergency response system that delivers an effective, timely and trained response to a citizen’s call for help is probably the single most important role of an elected official. The IAFF developed the FIRE OPS 101 program to give decision makers a better understanding of the challenges of the job. There is no better way to get a firsthand, clear understanding of how an emergency response works and of what fire fighters need to do the job than experiencing a day as a professional fire fighter/paramedic. Read more about FIRE OPS 101 in the Spring issue of Fire Fighter Quarterly.

PFAS is used in fire fighter turnout gear and poses an unnecessary occupational threat. As a result, in August 2022, the IAFF and the Metro Chiefs joined forces to alert members to the adverse health risks posed by PFAS in turnout gear, draw attention to the need for PFAS-free turnout gear, and recommend precautionary steps for members and departments until next-generation gear can be developed and put in use. Subsequently, the BCPFFA & FCABC also published a joint memo on this important issue.  We will NOT being using PPE, rather we’ll be using cotton or nomex coveralls and modify the fire fighting scenarios.