Avoid Emergencies With Emcare’s Fire Fighting Training

Fire fighting training can prevent hazardous fires from harming your family or staff, and from destroying your property. If you're a business owner who wants to be prepared for any crisis, then you should consider investing in training courses for your staff. If you're looking to pursue a firefighting career, then you could equally advance your practice with the fitness and training techniques offered by Emcare's advanced classes. Read this article to learn more about the advantages of Emcare's fire fighting training.

What Is The Purpose Of Fire Fighting Training?

The outbreak of a fire can be fatal. Acting reactively and disorderly could lead to the acceleration of a bad situation. Hence, these dangerous scenarios require immediate response and the calm execution of evacuation procedures and fire combat. Emcare's courses provide the resources for the worst-case scenario.

The best way to combat emergency events and unexpected accidents is to prepare for the worst. Preventative fire fighting training allows you to build the confidence, skill, fitness and knowledge necessary to handle a crisis. The Emcare fire fighting training courses educate you on the safe application of techniques that will ultimately protect your life and the lives of people around you.

Which Fire Fighting Course Is Right for Me?

If you're interested in pursuing fire fighting as a career, then you will need to be well-trained. Even if you're considering fire fighting as an extracurricular safety measure while you pursue another career, fitness is still an important aspect of the training course. The Emcare Fire & Hazmat courses provide both the physical and theoretical resources needed to develop your capacity to fight fires. You need to ensure that you are picking a course that aligns with your fitness levels, knowledge and skills. Below is a list of 6 fire and hazmat courses available from Emcare, as well as their course contents.

Emcare Fire and Hazmat Courses

• Basic Fire Awareness (BFP)
  
  This course is designed so that learners can extinguish fires in their homes or in office environments. It also teaches you how to prepare for your environment. The duration of the course is half a day. The certificate is valid for 2 years.
  
  
• Basic Fire Fighting (BF1)
  
  One step up from BFP, BF1 will teach you additional firefighting techniques and their applications. The course teaches you how to prepare your home or office for unexpected emergencies. The duration of the course is 1 day, and the certificate is valid for 2 years.
  
  
• Advanced Fire Fighting (AFF)
  
  This course builds on BF1, but it teaches additional practical skills in the operation of hand-held equipment and other extinguishing agents. These mediums include fire buckets, hoses, reels, foam, and dry chemical powder. This is a popular course that focuses on fire prevention and fire rescue. It spans 2 days, and the certificate is valid for 2 years.
  
  
• Fire Fighter 1 SP and Hazmat Awareness SP (FF1)
  
  This is a career course for potential full-time firefighters. Trainees will learn about hazmat awareness and practical drills. This course is longer, spanning 9 weeks. The certification does not expire. Prerequisites include a grade 10 qualification, no claustrophobia or acrophobia, and a fitness declaration.
• Fire Fighter 2 SP and Hazmat Operations SP (FF2)
  
  This is a career course. Advancing from hazmat awareness, students will be trained on hazmat operational procedures. The duration of the course is 7 weeks, and the certification does not expire. Again, prerequisites include a grade 10 qualification, no claustrophobia or acrophobia, and a fitness declaration.
  
  
• Hazardous Material Handling Course (HMH)
  
  While this course does not deal directly with fire prevention or rescue, it aims to train people in the identification of incidents and emergencies relating to hazardous materials. Amongst other theories and practices, students will learn how to evaluate the situation, plan a response and implement it. The course takes 2 days to complete, and the certification lasts for 2 years.

There is a mixed learning approach in each of these fire fighting training courses that combines theory and practical application. However, the more advanced training takes a more hands-on approach compared to the beginners' classes. Each course builds on the information and practice of the course that precedes it.

For example, Basic Fire Awareness is a beginners' class that will inform you of the equipment that should be present on all properties to prevent or stop fires. Some of this equipment might initially seem foreign to you, such as fire blankets, fire hose reels and fire buckets. But with time, firefighters learn the practical ways of operating these safety tools. They will also teach you how to class different types of fires, care for and maintain the equipment, use PPE, and learn how fire spreads. These classes are great for those wanting to understand the basics of fire prevention, either for work or in general.

Alternatively, advanced classes such as the Fire Fighter 2 SP and Hazmat Operations are intended for those wishing to pursue careers in fire fighting. Trainees will be taught identification techniques in order to determine fire origins and causes. Practically, students will be expected to demonstrate the application of incident control strategies and decontamination tactics.

Students of the fire fighting training courses will be provided with learner manuals, training and presentation equipment. They will also receive A4 certificates after they complete the course, and other certifications are available depending on the unique course they choose. All of these classes require English proficiency, although local language instructors will be made available if a group of ten or more request it. BFP, AF1, AFF and HMH are available at all Emcare branches, and on your premises for groups of 20 or more. FF1 and FF2 are available at the Polokwane branch only, unless a group of ten or more requests to have the course on their premises.

Fitness in Fire Fighting Training

Firefighting requires strength, resilience, skill and durability. Firefighters are expected to manage heavy equipment like ground ladders, hoses and extinguishers while still taking account of fire behaviour, team communication and building construction etc. In the case of a real fire, following methodological approaches to the evacuation and extinguishment process will be highly effective. While some of these classes may seem intuitive, it is vital that mistakes are avoided and qualification is earned.

Firefighters are expected to maintain a certain level of health so that they, as first-responders, can execute the mandatory routines and operations which will save lives. Performance on the ground requires firefighters to have completed exercise programmes consistently and timeously during their training. All firefighters are expected to complete rigorous training as a means to reduce injury, enhance resilience, improve mobility and increase strength.

Fire outbreaks are highly stressful scenarios, and it is not uncommon for firefighters to experience anxiety, stress, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder. Moreover, one of the worst risks that firefighters face is heart attacks. Besides the danger of fire, high exposure to toxic chemicals, trauma and the overexertion of one's physical body can cause heart attacks. This presents a serious problem for both the firefighter and the people depending on them.

However, routine practice and drills will allow firefighters to manage their stress, reduce their symptoms of anxiety, and minimize their chances of worsening cardiovascular issues. Regular exercise and training will boost firefighters' immunity so that they are less vulnerable to inflammation, illness or high blood pressure. If you're considering fire fighting as a career, or even as an introductory course, then you need to understand the basic fitness requirements that make a person eligible for duty and emergencies.

Trainees - particularly those in advanced courses - can expect to learn about the physicality of firefighting, such as sustainable energy exertion, survival, breathing techniques and speed. Moreover, fire fighting training also requires that trainees run drills of the common movements which will help them to make it out alive. Below is a list of activities and drills which will require consistent practice and mentoring before they can be mastered:

• Lifting and carrying techniques
• Vehicle extraction
• Technical rescue
• Fire suppression with hose and hydrant operations
• Hydrant drills
• Practical extinguishing
• Victim removal
• Forcible entry
• Tactical ventilation
• Water supply rescue

These drills can be extremely demanding. Hence, certain advanced courses - like Fire Fighter 1 SP & Hazmat Awareness Course (FF1) and the Fire Fighter 2 SP and Hazmat Operations SP - request fitness declarations as prerequisites. If you cannot guarantee your fitness, then it might be best to start with the beginner's classes, and accelerate your home training programmes before you advance to the next level. If your fitness is suitable for advanced courses, then you can expect to achieve new levels of physical fitness upon completion of the training.

Why Choose Emcare?

The Emcare Training Academy was founded in 1999, and they are known for providing exceptional health and safety courses. All of their courses are accredited by the Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority (HWSETA), the Local Government Sector Education and Training Authority (LGSETA), and the Department of Labour.

Emcare's accreditation with the above bodies demonstrates their rigorous checks and balances. Thus, all trainees can expect to work within regulated structures. Monitoring is done to ensure that the standards of Emcare, a health and safety company, are upheld according to code and aligned with quality standards. All trainers at the academy are fully qualified with Level 6 Intermediate Life Support Paramedic or higher qualifications.

Emcare has multiple branches throughout South Africa which are easily accessible to all citizens. You can acquire various fire fighting training courses at their offices in Polokwane, Durban Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Hoedspruit. Simply send an email or contact Emcare here if you'd like a quote or additional information.

Their affiliates and accreditors include:

• The South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA)
• The Local Government Sector Training and Authority (LGSTA)
• TLD Trust
• The Independent Schools Association of South Africa (ISASA)
• The Construction Education and Training Authority (CETA)
• South African Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (SAIOSH)
• Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority (HWSETA)
• EduCert
• The Department of Labour

Emcare also offers a variety of other courses. These courses include emergency and medical courses, health care courses, health and safety courses, fire and hazmat courses, rescue courses and hand tool operator courses. Participating in any of these courses could quite literally save a life someday.

Emcare Offers Quality Courses That Will Increase Your Fire Fighting Knowledge and Fitness

Emcare's tailored courses are designed so that prospective students can choose what works best for them, depending on their physical and mental health. These fire fighting training courses will benefit business owners who are required by law to protect their employees and clients from emergencies, homeowners who are worried about property damage, and aspiring firefighters who would like to pursue careers as first-responders. Trainees who complete these courses will be better prepared for emergencies and learn the necessary skills to combat fire effectively.