Fire professionals complete latest training

Two members of the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District management staff attended special training sessions during February.

Fire Chief Tay Robertson spent two weeks attending a class on executive planning held at the National Fire Academy at Emmitsburg, Maryland south of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Fire Marshal Dave Wheeler participated in a regional fire prevention conference at Lincoln City.

Some 43 fire executives from throughout the country attended the Fire Academy session. The first week of the course was devoted to strategic planning followed by a week focused on project management. Leadership was stressed throughout the course built around a video series entitled “The Last Place on Earth.”

“That series told the story of Scott and Amundsen’s race to the South Pole in 1911,” Robertson said. “One group headed by Amundsen was successful and made it back, while the few survivors of Scott’s party that later did make it to the pole died before they got back. There were real significant lessons in planning, project management and leadership from that experience.”

Robertson stated that he brought back a better understanding of project management, making him better prepared to manage an upcoming project to enlarge the Sisters fire station. In addition, the session reinforced past work done in strategic planning on the district and the need to revisit that plan. He will be available as an instructor of courses that he has completed for the local fire district, Deschutes 911 and the Bend Fire Department.

“My expenses in attending the training are paid by the federal government, not the local fire district,” he said. “So while taxpayers funded my training and travel expenses, most came from federal taxes, not local taxes. Only my time and meals came from district funds.”

Robertson completed a four-year program for executive fire officers prior to coming to Sisters. “This is basically an upper-division master’s degree program” he explained. “In addition to the four two-week courses, there is an applied project. I truly believe that training and learning is important for your entire life and for your entire career. So I continue to attend the academy.”

The U.S. Fire Administration manages the National Fire Academy and offers specialized courses for fire and emergency services professionals. Courses are presented at the Maryland facility and throughout the nation in cooperation with state and local agencies in cooperation with educational institutions. Wheeler attended a four-day Pacific Northwest Fire Prevention Conference, a gathering of over 190 structural and wildland fire personnel from federal, state and local fire agencies from seven states.

“There were 10 different classes offered that you could select from to attend during the conference,” Wheeler said.

He focused primarily on a hazard inspection training class that took a day and a half. Other courses he attended were on video production and how to identify houses presenting major fire hazards.