Chabot College
Fall 2003
Course Outline for Fire Technology 51
FIRE SERVICE OPERATIONS
Catalog Description:
51 - Fire Service Operations
3 units
Fundamentals of fire department organization, management, and resources; fire company organization;
resources to control various emergencies; multi-agency coordinating systems; support and regulatory
agencies; strategy and tactics applied to structural fire fighting, wildland fire fighting, and hazardous
material emergencies; and safety conditions to be considered. 3 hours lecture, plus a total of 12 hours
laboratory for the semester.
[Typical contact hours: lecture 35, laboratory 12]
Prerequisite Skills:
None
Expected Outcomes for Students:
Upon completion of the course, the student should be able to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
identify the organizational divisions of a typical fire department and explain the duties and
responsibilities of these divisions;
identify the management systems and give examples of where they could be used in the fire
service;
describe the elements of mutual aid and automatic aid and the constraints and capabilities of
each for a second alarm or larger incident;
explain in writing what impact regulatory agencies and doctrines have upon a firefighter;
list the various ways emergency calls can come into a dispatch system and explain how units are
dispatched;
identify and describe three separate pieces of fire apparatus and explain where they would be
used;
analyze the steps of size-up and explain how they apply to a structure fire;
provide examples of the safety procedures used on a wildland fire;
explain the differences between the duties of a fire service unit and an ambulance on a typical
traffic accident and list the sequence of how they are accomplished;
list and compare the safety considerations that should be used on various emergency incidences;
describe how a firefighter can preserve evidence for a fire investigator on a structural fire.
Course Content:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Fire service operations
a.
responsibilities and authority
b.
types of agencies
Fire department organization
a.
organization structure
b.
individual responsibilities
Fire service management
a.
administration
b.
management systems
c.
private fire protection agencies
Multi-agency coordinating systems
a.
state, region, country, and area
b.
mutual aid, automatic aid, and move-up
c.
alarm classifications
Chabot College
Course Outline for Fire Technology 51, page 2
Fall 2003
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
Support and regulatory agencies
a.
support
b.
regulatory
Dispatch systems
a.
how calls are received and units dispatched
b.
local and supervised alarm systems
Types of fire department apparatus
a.
types of engines and their equipment
b.
ladder trucks and aerial platforms
c.
aircraft and airport apparatus
d.
wildland apparatus
e.
auxiliary apparatus
f.
EMS apparatus
Structural fire fighting
a.
fire behavior in structures
b.
building construction hazards
c.
tactics and strategy
d.
types of attacks
e.
supporting fire protection systems
f.
fireline safety
Wildland fire fighting
a.
fire behavior
b.
tactics and strategy
c.
fireline safety
Emergency medical services
a.
types of incidents
b.
training requirements
c.
ambulances and squads
d.
safety
Transportation incidents
a.
roadway
b.
aircraft
c.
rail
d.
marine
e.
safety
Hazardous materials
a.
classification and identification system
b.
transportation and pipeline incidents
c.
handling and storage incidents
d.
tactics and strategy
e.
reference texts
f.
safety
Fire investigation responsibilities
a.
preservation of evidence
Methods of Presentation:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Lecture and discussion
Field trips
Audio-visual presentations
Group activities
Diagnostic quizzes
Chabot College
Course Outline for Fire Technology 51, page 3
Fall 2003
Typical Assignments and Methods of Evaluating Student Progress:
1.
Typical Assignments
a.
Essay demonstrating a knowledge of the structure and organization of a fire department
b.
Present a typical fire department for a large size city (greater than 100,000 population)
c.
In a group list the elements of a size-up for a structure fire
2.
Methods of Evaluating Student Progress
a.
Weekly quizzes
b.
Course project
c.
Classroom activities
d.
Midterm and final examinations
Textbook(s) (Typical):
IFSTA - Essentials of Fire Fighting, IFSTA , 4th edition, 2001
National Fire Protection Handbook, IFSTA, 19th edition, 2001
Special Student Materials:
None
Revised: 9/19/02