Plumas County Firefighters Complete Driver Training Course
Originally published in Plumas News, Inside the Fire House Column, November, 2017
By Tom Forster
A total of 32 firefighters from 13 Plumas County fire departments recently completed over 40 hours of intensive training required to qualify for driver licensing.
The “Fire Apparatus Driver Operator 1A” course was completed over two weekends and two Friday evening sessions. In addition, students were assigned supplemental practice time in their local fire engines in the one month between the two weekends. The class is part of the California State Fire Training curriculum, hosted within the State Fire Marshal’s Office (SFM), a division of CAL FIRE. The State agency does not provide the actual training – that must be done through qualified and usually local instructors.
Up until 2011, firefighters were required to hold a California Class B Commercial Truck driving license to drive any truck weighing over 26,000 pounds. This made it very difficult for rural fire departments to qualify their personnel, due to the often very distant Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) driving testing locations, in addition to other issues and costs for all FD’s. The law was changed statewide in 2011 to allow those firefighters with Class C licenses to qualify on their FD apparatus, in part if they complete this 40-hour State course or its in-house equivalent.
In part because of these challenges, a myth arose and persisted that it was OK for firefighters without proper licensing to drive to an emergency, if a properly licensed driver returned the engine after it was over. While this was never true, the myth persisted, something Quincy CHP Commander Sarah Richards called “a Unicorn Myth,” while speaking to the class one Friday evening.
Course costs were kept low through volunteer instructors. The author served as the lead instructor, assisted by Quincy Chief Robbie Cassou. In addition, Quincy Fire Captains Matt West, John Gay, David Schmid, Ray Nichols, and Mechanic Charlie Read volunteered as evaluators some of the testing portions of the class, along with Plumas Eureka Driver Operator John Sea and Graeagle Driver Operator Jackson Harris. Sea and Harris also volunteered a weekend of their time to help mentor and ride along with practicing students at the Indian Valley FD station in Taylorsville.
The course covered many topics, with a very strong emphasis on safety, both for the firefighters and the public. Students were tested on conducting very thorough pre-trip inspections, following DMV guidelines for commercial operators. In addition, they were tested on five mandatory driving skills stations to qualify to take the final written exam for course completion. Other topics covered included laws and liability, driving in hazardous conditions, off-road driving, backing safety, defensive driving, crew and load safety, and more.
The Quincy FD hosted the classroom and pre-trip inspections location at their downtown station on Lawrence St. The County’s Gansner Field Airport in Quincy was used for the driving course on the tarmac area, during an unusual period where the airport was closed due to the runway being repaved. “It worked out great for us,” said Chief Cassou, “but it’s probably not a location we’ll be able to use for future courses, given the unusual timing.”
The overall goal of the course was to effectively prepare firefighters for safe driving of their apparatus, both in emergency and non-emergency situations. In addition to testing for their DMV Firefighter Endorsement now that they’ve completed the required training, each firefighter must now qualify on their own apparatus, following their own department policies and procedures. Finally, they must maintain a clean driving record, and a valid license.
Historically, the Driver Operator role in FD’s has been called “Engineer”, a term still commonly used. The term Driver Operator is becoming the standard name, as recommended by the National Fire Protection Association, a standard setting group that the course content is partially based upon. Regardless of what we call them, this is a very important role to help your fire department protect the community.
Next up for the students will be to complete pump operations training, either through the state Driver Operator 1B class, or a basic Pump Operations course taught regionally, or in-house. Not only must the fire engine travel safely to the scene, the driver must then know how to operate the pump and other equipment. A basic pump operations course is expected to be offered before the end of the year.
Please join us in congratulating 32 of your local firefighters for completing this very important course. Now is a good time to consider becoming a volunteer firefighter in your community. Contact your local fire department for more information.
Originally published in Plumas News, Inside the Fire House Column, November, 2017
By Tom Forster
A total of 32 firefighters from 13 Plumas County fire departments recently completed over 40 hours of intensive training required to qualify for driver licensing.
The “Fire Apparatus Driver Operator 1A” course was completed over two weekends and two Friday evening sessions. In addition, students were assigned supplemental practice time in their local fire engines in the one month between the two weekends. The class is part of the California State Fire Training curriculum, hosted within the State Fire Marshal’s Office (SFM), a division of CAL FIRE. The State agency does not provide the actual training – that must be done through qualified and usually local instructors.
Up until 2011, firefighters were required to hold a California Class B Commercial Truck driving license to drive any truck weighing over 26,000 pounds. This made it very difficult for rural fire departments to qualify their personnel, due to the often very distant Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) driving testing locations, in addition to other issues and costs for all FD’s. The law was changed statewide in 2011 to allow those firefighters with Class C licenses to qualify on their FD apparatus, in part if they complete this 40-hour State course or its in-house equivalent.
In part because of these challenges, a myth arose and persisted that it was OK for firefighters without proper licensing to drive to an emergency, if a properly licensed driver returned the engine after it was over. While this was never true, the myth persisted, something Quincy CHP Commander Sarah Richards called “a Unicorn Myth,” while speaking to the class one Friday evening.
Course costs were kept low through volunteer instructors. The author served as the lead instructor, assisted by Quincy Chief Robbie Cassou. In addition, Quincy Fire Captains Matt West, John Gay, David Schmid, Ray Nichols, and Mechanic Charlie Read volunteered as evaluators some of the testing portions of the class, along with Plumas Eureka Driver Operator John Sea and Graeagle Driver Operator Jackson Harris. Sea and Harris also volunteered a weekend of their time to help mentor and ride along with practicing students at the Indian Valley FD station in Taylorsville.
The course covered many topics, with a very strong emphasis on safety, both for the firefighters and the public. Students were tested on conducting very thorough pre-trip inspections, following DMV guidelines for commercial operators. In addition, they were tested on five mandatory driving skills stations to qualify to take the final written exam for course completion. Other topics covered included laws and liability, driving in hazardous conditions, off-road driving, backing safety, defensive driving, crew and load safety, and more.
The Quincy FD hosted the classroom and pre-trip inspections location at their downtown station on Lawrence St. The County’s Gansner Field Airport in Quincy was used for the driving course on the tarmac area, during an unusual period where the airport was closed due to the runway being repaved. “It worked out great for us,” said Chief Cassou, “but it’s probably not a location we’ll be able to use for future courses, given the unusual timing.”
The overall goal of the course was to effectively prepare firefighters for safe driving of their apparatus, both in emergency and non-emergency situations. In addition to testing for their DMV Firefighter Endorsement now that they’ve completed the required training, each firefighter must now qualify on their own apparatus, following their own department policies and procedures. Finally, they must maintain a clean driving record, and a valid license.
Historically, the Driver Operator role in FD’s has been called “Engineer”, a term still commonly used. The term Driver Operator is becoming the standard name, as recommended by the National Fire Protection Association, a standard setting group that the course content is partially based upon. Regardless of what we call them, this is a very important role to help your fire department protect the community.
Next up for the students will be to complete pump operations training, either through the state Driver Operator 1B class, or a basic Pump Operations course taught regionally, or in-house. Not only must the fire engine travel safely to the scene, the driver must then know how to operate the pump and other equipment. A basic pump operations course is expected to be offered before the end of the year.
Please join us in congratulating 32 of your local firefighters for completing this very important course. Now is a good time to consider becoming a volunteer firefighter in your community. Contact your local fire department for more information.
Photos courtesy of Tom Forster
Inside the Fire House Column, originally published in Plumas News
By Tom Forster June, 2013
Firefighters Learn How To Drive the Big Fire Engines
Seventeen local Firefighters recently completed a 40-hour State course on becoming Fire Apparatus Driver/Operators, an FD role also called Fire Engineer. The class was sponsored by the Plumas County Fire Chiefs Association (PCFCA), and hosted by the Graeagle Fire Protection District.
This was the first regional State Fire Training certification class taught by a 2012 graduate of the State Fire Training Instructor certification program, Plumas Eureka Fire Chief Gary Castagnetti. “I enjoyed leading teaching this class, and really appreciate everyone who pitched in to help make it happen,” said Castagnetti.
The course also required the help of Assistant Instructors Quincy Fire Chief Robbie Cassou and the author. In addition, several more Assistant Instructors participated during the 14-hour driving portion of the class, all of whom have either a Class A or B Commercial Truck Driving license and previous experience driving fire apparatus. All of the instructors volunteered their time.
Licensing regulations have changed over the past few years for Firefighters, in part to help with the challenges and cost of getting a license to drive fire engines in rural areas. Many local DMV offices, such as Quincy, could not offer the traditional commercial truck pre-trip inspection and driving course testing due to staffing limitations.
As the number of DMV offices providing this service was reduced over the years, this left rural, some suburban, and even some urban FD’s with a choice of either qualifying to run their own commercial testing operation through the DMV, or sending Firefighters and Engines long distances for testing. Running a commercial testing operation was very complex, and for many years Quincy Fire Department did the only one in Plumas County. While they generously offered testing for other local FD’s, this became a daunting task over the years.
The California State Firefighters Association worked closely with Assembly Member Kevin Jeffries of Riverside County to complete their top legislative priority a few years ago, that of changing Firefighter driver licensing through AB1648. The basic change created what is called a Firefighter Endorsement for Firefighters with a Class A, B, or C license. A Class C can now drive most fire apparatus with a Firefighter endorsement.
"With major changes coming from the federal level to the Commercial Drivers License program, we knew that we had to extricate the California Fire Service from the current testing program with DMV," said Assemblymember Kevin Jeffries. "Thanks to CSFA and others, we will now have a new fire service based training and testing process for future apparatus operators."
Completing the Driver Operator 1A class or it’s equivalent is one of the requirements to receive a Firefighter endorsement. 40 documented hours are required, with 16 hours of classroom work and 14 hours of driving fire engines through approve courses and road trips. In addition, there are some written tests and medical exam requirements.
Firefighter Steve Peters of Long Valley FD said that “…student participation, hands-on practice, and a good class atmosphere…” were the best parts of the course, while “…the hot weather outside…” was the most challenging aspect.
The PCFCA plans on offering the class once a year if possible, along with Driver Operator 1B, a 40-hour class focused on fire apparatus pumping skills.
By Tom Forster June, 2013
Firefighters Learn How To Drive the Big Fire Engines
Seventeen local Firefighters recently completed a 40-hour State course on becoming Fire Apparatus Driver/Operators, an FD role also called Fire Engineer. The class was sponsored by the Plumas County Fire Chiefs Association (PCFCA), and hosted by the Graeagle Fire Protection District.
This was the first regional State Fire Training certification class taught by a 2012 graduate of the State Fire Training Instructor certification program, Plumas Eureka Fire Chief Gary Castagnetti. “I enjoyed leading teaching this class, and really appreciate everyone who pitched in to help make it happen,” said Castagnetti.
The course also required the help of Assistant Instructors Quincy Fire Chief Robbie Cassou and the author. In addition, several more Assistant Instructors participated during the 14-hour driving portion of the class, all of whom have either a Class A or B Commercial Truck Driving license and previous experience driving fire apparatus. All of the instructors volunteered their time.
Licensing regulations have changed over the past few years for Firefighters, in part to help with the challenges and cost of getting a license to drive fire engines in rural areas. Many local DMV offices, such as Quincy, could not offer the traditional commercial truck pre-trip inspection and driving course testing due to staffing limitations.
As the number of DMV offices providing this service was reduced over the years, this left rural, some suburban, and even some urban FD’s with a choice of either qualifying to run their own commercial testing operation through the DMV, or sending Firefighters and Engines long distances for testing. Running a commercial testing operation was very complex, and for many years Quincy Fire Department did the only one in Plumas County. While they generously offered testing for other local FD’s, this became a daunting task over the years.
The California State Firefighters Association worked closely with Assembly Member Kevin Jeffries of Riverside County to complete their top legislative priority a few years ago, that of changing Firefighter driver licensing through AB1648. The basic change created what is called a Firefighter Endorsement for Firefighters with a Class A, B, or C license. A Class C can now drive most fire apparatus with a Firefighter endorsement.
"With major changes coming from the federal level to the Commercial Drivers License program, we knew that we had to extricate the California Fire Service from the current testing program with DMV," said Assemblymember Kevin Jeffries. "Thanks to CSFA and others, we will now have a new fire service based training and testing process for future apparatus operators."
Completing the Driver Operator 1A class or it’s equivalent is one of the requirements to receive a Firefighter endorsement. 40 documented hours are required, with 16 hours of classroom work and 14 hours of driving fire engines through approve courses and road trips. In addition, there are some written tests and medical exam requirements.
Firefighter Steve Peters of Long Valley FD said that “…student participation, hands-on practice, and a good class atmosphere…” were the best parts of the course, while “…the hot weather outside…” was the most challenging aspect.
The PCFCA plans on offering the class once a year if possible, along with Driver Operator 1B, a 40-hour class focused on fire apparatus pumping skills.