This show is in memory of Fire Chief (Ret.) Alan V. Brunacini (April 18, 1937 – October 15, 2017) and Chief (Ret.) Dr. Harry R. Carter, FIFireE, CFO (July 29, 1947 – Jun 17, 2022).
In this encore presentation from The Future Firefighter Podcast, Host Christopher Baker speaks to Dr. Harry R. Carter about the value of education in the fire service. This episode originally aired on April 27, 2018, and was broadcast at the Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Dr. Carter started riding an ambulance as a junior in high school in 1964. In 1966, during the Vietnam War, he enlisted in the Air Force as an Air Force Fire Protection Specialist. He served in Alaska, the Philippines, and Vietnam. When he was discharged from the military, he returned to New Jersey and rode the ambulance. He relocated to Adelphia and became a volunteer with the Adelphia Fire Company in 1971.
"You have your formal education in college and your informal education in the living of your daily life as a firefighter." – Dr. Harry R. Carter
Dr. Carter entered the fire science program while attending Jersey City State College, now New Jersey City University, and completed his Bachelor of Science degree in Fire Safety Administration in 1976. One of his dear friends and fellow colleagues while at Jersey City State College was Dr. Denis Onieal, the former Deputy U.S. Fire Administrator. Both Dr. Carter and Dr. Onieal were among the first four recipients of Bachelor of Science Degrees in Fire Safety Administration in the State of New Jersey.
"The fire service is a profession, not an occupation, which is skills, talents, and tasks, but a profession based around core knowledge." – Dr. Harry R. Carter
After a highly successful career, he retired in 1999 as a Battalion Commander in the Suppression Division of the Newark Fire Department in New Jersey. During his tenure in Newark, he served as Chief of Training, Commander of the Hazardous Materials Response Team, and Administrative Assistant to the Fire Chief. He was also a past Fire Chief and former Training Officer of the Adelphia Fire Company, located in the Adelphia section of Howell Township, New Jersey.
How can the future firefighter get started in higher education in the fire service?
The first thing you need to keep in mind is that you want to learn more than just what they are teaching you at the fire department. To do that, you can simply step out and visit your local library. You can read many things in a library. You can attend your department academy, county academy, State academy, or the National Fire Academy. All of these offer great educational courses. But before starting, you have to determine what you want to know. If you start out on a journey without a destination, you will never get to the destination.
National Fire Academy FESHE Model Curriculum Associate's (Core):
1. Principles of Emergency Services
This course provides an overview to fire protection and emergency services; career opportunities in fire protection and related fields; culture and history of emergency services; fire loss analysis; organization and function of public and private fire protection services; fire departments as part of local government; laws and regulations affecting the fire service; fire service nomenclature; specific fire protection functions; basic fire chemistry and physics; introduction to fire protection systems; introduction to fire strategy and tactics; life safety initiatives.
2. Building Construction for Fire Protection
This course provides the components of building construction related to firefighter and life safety. The elements of construction and design of structures are shown to be key factors when inspecting buildings, preplanning fire operations, and operating at emergencies.
3. Fire Behavior and Combustion
This course explores the theories and fundamentals of how and why fires start, spread, and are controlled.
4. Principles of Fire and Emergency Services Safety & Survival
This course introduces the basic principles and history related to the national firefighter life safety initiatives, focusing on the need for cultural and behavior change throughout the emergency services.
5. Fire Prevention
This course provides fundamental knowledge relating to the field of fire prevention. Topics include the history and philosophy of fire prevention, the organization and operation of a fire prevention bureau, the use and application of codes and standards, plan review, fire inspections, fire and life safety education, and fire investigation.
6. Fire Protection Systems
This course provides information on the features of design and operation of fire alarm systems, water-based fire suppression systems, special hazard fire suppression systems, water supply for fire protection, and portable fire extinguishers.
According to Dr. Harry R. Carter, knowledge is about:
1. Content
a. What are you learning?
2. Critical Thinking
a. Are you learning how to think? Thinking is a process; critical thinking involves taking facts, weighing them, evaluating them, and drawing a conclusion on how to proceed based on those facts.
b. Why.
c. Why do I want an education?
d. If you can't come up with a good, reasonable answer for the question why, it is probably a journey you don't need to take or shouldn't take.
"Education is critical in what we do. When I explain my model for learning in the fire service to people. You are taught at the academy what to do. You go to the firehouse, and you practice and drill on what to do. You go to real emergencies, you do something, and it works, or it doesn't. You come back, use your feedback, and go back to training again. It is a circle, it is a cycle, but injecting education makes the circle larger."- Dr. Harry R. Carter
George D. Post, an illustrator for fire service publications, created the Brady overlays for the Brady Corporation. The International Society of Fire Service Instructors (ISFSI) honors an instructor each year with the George D. Post Instructor of the Year Award, and a former recipient was Lieutenant Paul Combs. According to Dr. Carter, "An overlay went on an overlay projector, and this was highly immobile. An overlay was placed on a sheet of acetate. However, there were multiple sheets, for example, the basic street, the building, and the arrival of your truck. What do you see? What do you do? reading, learning, and gathering knowledge, it creates overlays in your brain. So, when you turn into the block where that emergency is, whether a fire or an accident or whatever, your mind can flip through the overlays, placing them in front of your mind's eye, on what to do." – Dr. Harry R. Carter
Why should the recruit, entry-level firefighter, attend the Fire Department Instructor's Conference?
You need to join the family. There are courses at all levels. There are HOT courses that are a perfect follow-up to your fire academy. These courses give you an opportunity to take what you have learned and share the knowledge you received while at FDIC with your fire department. Teach a drill about what you have learned at FDIC with your department and or agency.
"I was always in my mind a better person for what I had learned at FDIC." – Dr. Harry R. Carter
"You come to FDIC to learn, and you are going to be surrounded by people who are charged up." – Dr. Harry R. Carter
Top 10 things to do that increase your odds of receiving an Associate's Degree in Fire Science.
(Not in any specific order).
- Start with your why.
- Have a mentor to assist you with the journey.
- Schedule a meeting with a College counselor.
- Complete your FAFSA.
- Identify the most suitable program for your course of study.
- Apply for admission to your preferred program.
- Complete the six FESHE courses.
- Complete your general education courses.
- Apply for your Associates Degree in time for graduation.
- Celebrate success.
Reading List:
- Essentials of Fire Department Customer Service – Fire Chief Alan V. Brunacini
- Fire Command – Fire Chief Alan V. Brunacini
- Pass It On: What We Know…What We Want You to Know - Deputy Chief Billy Goldfeder
- Pass it On: The Second Alarm – Deputy Chief Billy Goldfeder
- Pass it On: The Third Alarm – Deputy Chief Billy Goldfeder
Pitfalls:
1. Not attending the national-level fire conferences.
2. Your why is the biggest question.
3. Stay active with your fitness.
4. In order to take care of the public, you first have to take care of yourself.
5. If you are not able to take care of yourself, you are not able to take care of Mrs. Smith.
Takeaway's:
1. Keep your textbooks.
2. You must share and share at the next level.
3. You can only share when you can talk, look, and listen.
4. Attend the Fire Department Instructor's Conference (FDIC).
5. You must join the family.
6. Hands-on training (HOT) courses are a follow-up to your fire academy training.
7. Teach a drill that you learned at FDIC for your Fire Department.
8. Goal setting throughout every decade of your life.
9. Have a Mentor.
10. Everyone is a lending library.
Resources:
- National Fire Academy
- U.S. Fire Administration
- Fire Engineering Magazine
- Fire Department Instructor Conference
- Everyone Goes Home Program – 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives
Catastrophic Multiple Death Fires:
- The Station Night Club Fire
- The Peshtigo Fire
- The Great Chicago Fire
- Cocoanut Grove Night Club Fire
- Iroquois Theater Fire
- The Ghostship Warehouse Fire
- Rhythm Club Fire
Biography:
Dr. Harry R. Carter, FIFireE, CFO, (29 JUL 1947 - 17 JUN 2022) was a veteran chief fire officer, an internationally-known municipal fire protection consultant, author, writer, and lecturer. He served as a fire commissioner and was Chairman of the Board of Fire Commissioners for Fire District #2 in Howell Township, New Jersey. Dr. Carter served on the adjunct faculty of a number of community colleges in New Jersey, as well as the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He formerly served on the faculty of the School of Public Safety Leadership at Capella University in Minneapolis, Minnesota.