B Shifter
Fire command and leadership conversations for B Shifters and beyond (all shifts welcome)!
B Shifter
The New Blue Card ARFF Program
We're excited to introduce the newly developed ARFF program, designed specifically for airport firefighting! This innovative training program focuses on enhancing incident command and control, crucial for improving operational efficiency and safety at airports.
- Introduction of the ARFF training program
- Discussion of the integration of the eight functions of command
- Personal experiences of team members in developing the ARF program
- Insights from JBlue Card instructors about practical applications and simulations
- Details regarding the certification process and its structure
- Emphasis on the importance of ongoing training and recertification
Read all about it here: https://conta.cc/3XggCaa
Hello everyone and welcome to the B Shifter podcast. We've got John Vance here today, along with Jeffrey King, the program manager from Blue Card. We've got Sean Glazer, lead instructor, and also another instructor who's joining us for the first time on B-Shifter from Honolulu, Hawaii. It's JT Aloha, JT, Thanks for being here with us. And today we're talking ARF and we have a brand new ARF module that is part of the Blue Card curriculum that we are very proud to be rolling out this week. So we thought we would get on and talk about that a little bit. Let you know what you can expect with the ARF module and exactly what it entails, who it's intended for and whatnot. So thanks for joining us for our ARF conversation today. I just want to start off and maybe I'll throw it to Jeff first what is the ARF program and what is it all about?
Speaker 1:Well, I appreciate it, John. The ARF program is pretty simple. What we wanted to do was take the eight functions of command that existed in the standard FHIR command textbook that has been reproduced a second time and will be a third edition coming out soon. Take those eight functions of command that existed in the standard fire command textbook that has been reproduced a second time and will be a third edition coming out soon. Take those eight functions of command and be able to integrate that into the ARF environment. There wasn't really anything in the ARF world that dictated what incident command and control would look like. So being able to apply the functions of command to the ARF world was very important. So we started taking our program and trying to model it to fit what would be in that environment.
Speaker 3:So how did this come to fruition, what was the idea behind this and how did we get to having a whole program just for the ARF world?
Speaker 1:I think the impetus was need. When somebody contacts us as we all know with our CAN reports, that needs are probably the most important thing that we have when we have a number of our customers out there working in ARF environments like JT being one of them, who was trying to take Blue Card itself and model it for what they were doing in their system, we realized that there was a much broader need, because we had folks from all over the country, both commercial and military, who were looking for ways to integrate Blue Card, or more particularly, fire Command and the functions of command, into their system. So we just decided to listen to the needs of our people, find a way to address those needs and started creating the programming to help do that.
Speaker 3:And what we did is tapped into some of the expertise of people that we were already affiliated with. Now Jeffrey puts together the education and professional development for Blue Card, so he was really the producer of this, but we relied on our own subject matter experts and the folks working in those fields to help us out in developing it. Jt, I'm going to throw it to you If you can just give us a little bit of your background and talk about your airport, then we'll go over to Sean and talk about his expertise in this field and unfortunately, Chris Stewart was going to be here today and we'll fill in for him on the back end, but he was one of the other huge contributors to this. So, starting off with JT JT, what is your experience and what are you bringing to this ARF program that we are launching this week?
Speaker 4:Yeah, thanks, john. So my name is John Tabulo, from Honolulu, hawaii. I work out at Daniel K Inouye International Airport. I'm a battalion chief out there with about 24 years experience, so under me we have two stations at our airport, about 20 ARF members there. So the state of Hawaii, they control all the airports in the state, so all the islands, all the major airports there are run and owned by the state, so we have about 265 odd members and we started Blue Card back in 2020. Since then, we've seen dramatic, dramatic change in our response efficiency and safety.
Speaker 4:So ever since 2020, we've been trying to overlay blue card into our system and, um, there was, there was a few changes, um, but it's important to know the basic blue card system first. It was important for us, so we were able to manipulate it into the ARF world, right? So a lot of things that we do, we uh, we respond as a unit, right. We have at my airport we have seven trucks, six major RF apparatuses in one engine. A lot of times we get on the scene the same time. So I usually operate in my own command vehicle. So now the initial radio report changed a little because we're not building the response. We all arrive at the same time so we had to develop really SOP driven initial actions that build around Blue Card. So those are the things that as we develop, as I help Jeff and Sean develop the program, a few of the things from the R4 that are maybe different from the structural world.
Speaker 3:Excellent. Well, I think you know having your perspective certainly has been huge on that commercial level. Sean is from a world that's a little different than that. Why don't you give your background, sean, and let us know what you brought to this program? Thanks, jb, what?
Speaker 2:you brought to this program. Thanks, jv. My name is Sean Glazer. I worked at Vandenberg Air Force Base for 31 years. We have a flight line, a three-mile flight line, out there, but there's no aircraft assigned because it's a Space Force base. So our main mission out there was to launch missiles. But we do have the flight line and we have a lot of different aircraft that come in and do touch and goes and just practice. So what we had to do is we started Blue Card in 2010.
Speaker 2:And, just like JT's department, we had to integrate Blue Card into the ARF world, to integrate the end of the blue card into the RF world. And what we did is just like JP was saying. You know, our initial rate report changed a little bit, but what we used was the strategic decision making model. So we looked at it as, hey, we have an aircraft response. We start off identifying the critical fire ground factors and that pushes us, based on risk management, into our strategy and then develop an IAP and follow, just like JT was talking about follow our SOPs and policy and continue to do that. And when we looked at it that way, like our response, using the strategic decision-making model, it was pretty easy to convert into the ARF world. We've been using it ever since we were speaking the blue card language and we just made minor changes and we felt that it was never really formal for us until now, until we could actually have a certification process for the ARF. So that's how we got started with it.
Speaker 3:Excellent, and our comrade, chris Stewart, who is not able to join us today unfortunately.
Speaker 3:He had something else come up, but he is also on this program and part of the program and he spent a couple of years as the battalion chief out of Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport with the Phoenix Fire Department, certainly a very busy commercial airport.
Speaker 3:If you've flown in or out of Sky Harbor you know just exactly how active it is and I can't tell you a time that I haven't been in or out of there and I haven't seen some type of activity on the field with the fire department. And you know probably a lot of that is medical, emergency and those types of things, but I have seen a couple of times where, for one reason or another, they've had some kind of deployment out there. So it is a very active space and Chris certainly brought his experience and expertise to the program as a huge contributor. Tying that all together is Jeff King. So, jeff, as the curriculum manager really for Blue Card, what was your end of this, jeff? And maybe you could bring us some nuggets too on some things that you discovered along the way as really our educational expert who maybe didn't really start off as the ARF guy, but got educated through this process.
Speaker 1:Yeah, hello, I had absolutely no background in ARF whatsoever. You know, I spent my time here with the Houston Fire Department and now with the Spring Fire Department Houston. We have some interaction with our folks and have some guidelines that we had to study in case we ever found ourselves responding to an ARF incident at one of the two airports in the system. But my experience with ARF was very limited until we got into this situation where I had to take a deep dive into trying to understand exactly what we were looking at and then trying to figure out how do we take fire command? How do we take the functions of command? How do we take our strategic decision making model and integrate that into a completely different world? And the functions of the command remained the same. As Sean talked about. The strategic decision making model doesn't change at all. The only thing that really changed that we were talking about is going from structural, which would be building, occupancies and types, to dealing with the category and types of planes that we would be dealing with that would be coming into our area. So for me it was fascinating to get to understand those different types of categories that we were looking at and then figure out okay. Well, how do we make this work in a system that is already proven itself time and time again to be functionally sound and operationally efficient? That my job was to take the information that was coming from, you know, from JT, from Sean, from Chris Stewart, from some of the other folks who looked at it from time to time, integrate that into a curriculum package that we could put online so our members could go through it and really, what the folks will notice if you're already certified as a Blue Card IC, you'll notice that it follows a very similar format that we go through each function of command.
Speaker 1:We kind of lay out the meaning and the understanding of that function of command and then we talk about it how it directly applies in the ARF environment. So they'll go through all. They'll have an introduction, they'll go through all eight functions of command. There'll be quizzes and tests for them to take. We'll follow all the same academic rigors that we do in every other program that we have with on the back end, with the hopes of being able to receive accreditation for it, and people will be able to get their college hours as they complete the program. So we do more than offer just certification for our programs we offer an opportunity for people to gain, you know, additional learning at a higher level, so baccalaureate level classes. So we're looking forward to being able to do that for ARF as well.
Speaker 3:So let's talk about the program, what it looks like and really what the steps will be in attaining that certification. Let's start off with the certification. Then at the back, we'll talk about how people would become a trainer if they wanted to become a trainer. But just starting off with someone who works at an airport they're a BC, a captain or someone looking to act up and they want to get involved in the certification. What does that look like?
Speaker 1:So if you are interested in this program and you're sitting there in your ARF world and you're wanting to become a certified ARF incident commander, the online program, just like every other online program we have, is $385. You'll go through all eight functions of command and once you complete eight functions of command, then you become eligible to go through a certification lab. If you are already certified and you're paying the $125 a year for the full access to the Blue Card program, you can go through the ARF IC module for just $200. And again, it's the same thing that you go through on the structural side it's the eight functions of command along with the introduction. So nine different modules, each one focusing on a different function of command as it applies to the ARF environment, and then, upon the conclusion of that, you'll get yourself set up into your certification lab Very similar process to what we have on the structural side.
Speaker 3:And then, on the back end of that, in order to be certified, we're going to have a validation of the skills and that's going to be up to the trainers to do that. How's that train?
Speaker 1:the trainer process and instructor process look like we're going to have a validation of the skills and that's going to be up to the trainers to do that. How's that train the trainer process and instructor process look like? So the train the trainer process we're actually getting ready to have our first train the trainer in June. It's going to be the 23rd to the 25th, so the Monday through Wednesday there, and we're going to be doing that at our command training center in Phoenix. So that'll be an exciting time and I think all the guys are planning on being there for that. Since it's kind of an inaugural rollout of a new program. We're anticipating the train the trainer program to be about a three day course for them to go through to understand the different functions of command and then we'll show them how to go about validating their skill sets as an IC over those three days and then they can go out and roll it out to their individual organizations, departments and or our systems.
Speaker 3:And ongoing. We're going to have the same recertification philosophy correct as we do. And, jeff, why don't you first talk? Because I think it's really helpful for people to understand why recertifying and anything is important, along with you know ARF, why, why do we recertify? And then let's talk about what our recertification process looks like.
Speaker 1:This is. It's a really big question in the fire service the idea that I could take any given class, any given training program, any platform fire officer, fire instructor. I could take that one time and then for the rest of my life, carry that certification with no validation, no going back and making sure that I've tested my skills to be at a test ready level at any given point. It's absolutely ridiculous to think that that's going to maintain any sort of high standard of professionalism. If we look on our counterparts on the EMS side, they are required to maintain their certifications on a regular basis their CPR cards, as simple as that. Their AED certifications, as simple as that. They've got to make sure they're maintaining their EMT, their basic, their intermediate, their paramedic, whatever they are, to meet those requirements, to show that at any given point they are continuing to find themselves at a test-ready level.
Speaker 1:Well, at the incident command level, which is probably one of the most critical pieces of the fire service, you're commanding all these different pieces that are in motion at the same time to not have a system in place to validate that regularly, to ensure that for you and your people in the communities you're served, you're not working at the highest acceptable level. It's kind of silly. So we maintain that every three years you're going to go through, you're going to validate your skill sets again. There'll be an online piece. There'll be some continuing education classes you'll have to take. You'll take the little refresher quiz at the back end of it and then you'll test out on your skills again just to show that you still have competency. We want to be a professional organization. We want to be one that offers again accreditation for what you're doing, and part of being a professional is being able to demonstrate that you are competent in the skill sets you say you can do and what's the time commitment?
Speaker 3:roughly, I know people work at their pace, but just when we generally give people the amount of hours they think they're going to need to budget for this anywhere in between that 10 to 15 hours for the online program the online program you have access to the fire command textbook.
Speaker 1:You have access to the SOP.
Speaker 1:So there's a lot of additional reading that you need to understand because all the quizzing and all the testing is coming out of the fire command textbook and the SOP.
Speaker 1:So there's more work to be done offline than there is online, but that's all part of it. So really, with the online itself, anywhere between 10 to 15 hours, you should be able to finish that and then expect two to three days in the certification lab, depending on are you already certified as an IC or are you brand new to the Blue Card process. If you are certified as an IC, that certification lab might be a day and a half two days. If we're talking about somebody new to Blue Card, it's going to take a little bit longer to answer some of those questions and work through that. So you're probably talking about a two to three day timeframe on the cert lab for them. It just depends on where they're at. Folks like JT, who've been doing the program, who've been integrating it for years, it would be much quicker for them to get certified because they already have that framework and contextual understanding.
Speaker 3:But what do those sims look like? I know you had a lot to do with the sim building and you were a part of that. What kind of simulations are there going to be? Is it very similar to the regular blue card program or does it look a lot different?
Speaker 4:I would say it's a lot like the blue card sims and right now there's three simulations. They kind of escalate. The first one starts off as your typical, I think it's a break fire at a gate. So initial attack with a turret, the hand line comes off for mop up and then a search to go all clear in the main cabin. That's the first sim. The second sim is an engine fire with a passenger deployment. So a little bit more involved. I think that on that sim there's one extra occasion that's got to get done. And our last sim is a small aircraft into a structure, a hangar. So again more involved, something that we just dealt, dealt with, in fact, uh, the beginning of the year we built the sim last year and and just so happened in january had that exact same. It was scary, similar to that, but um, so that's how that escalates. So it should be enough. It is enough to test the skills and and build out a, an probably what the basic instance that they will encounter.
Speaker 3:I'm right now just on function number one, so I've already started into it, even though I just wanted to go through it and see what it is. I haven't gotten to the point yet on what that command transfer looks like. I haven't gotten to the point yet on what that command transfer looks like, is it? Is it? I mean you said there's a lot of like almost SOP driven type stuff at the front end and if you're all arriving at the same time, does IC number one usually take that from the front seat of an ARF rig or is it usually the, the battalion chief responding how is? Is there the traditional command transfer typically?
Speaker 4:Typically it really depends on the response time, normally on the blue card system. The structural side is that first unit becomes IC1. For my department we respond seven trucks and usually arrive at the same time. So I usually do ic1. I don't transfer off, but I'm already in a strategic command position already. Um, and then from there, uh, we can just start working, uh, the tlos and whatnot. But if let's say, we have our freight, that's already. Maybe they're doing pre-fire planning and something happens, they come on scene, they're already trained to be ic1 and transfer that out to myself or incoming, another incoming bc to take that strategic command and then sean back to you on the sets and reps.
Speaker 2:So there's a sets and reps package that comes along with this too yes, yeah, so the sets and reps, uh, pretty much uh on the like, like we see when we're teaching the blue card class for structure. But we have different, different aircraft types helicopter, cessna, some jets, commercial. They range, they still go through. You start off with your initial radio report and your follow-up and they get into command transfer, assigning units, even some priority traffic status change. You know, like for the priority traffic, just like JT was talking about, you get inside the aircraft and you got a passenger down in the aisleway so you got to call out priority traffic and then you know, obviously the needs is a medic unit to meet at right door, one you know. So it mirrors pretty much what everybody will be used to and seeing on the structural, if anybody's, if they have taken the blue card command. But it's so far we put it together and it seems to be working pretty well.
Speaker 3:We mentioned earlier that this, this could be either like an addition to Blue Card. You know, you can just segue into using this, but this could be a standalone program. You don't have to. Just I want to reiterate, you don't have to be Blue Card certified, right.
Speaker 1:Not at all. Not at all. It's designed right now as a standalone program. So if you find yourself and you work in an R system and you're wanting some incident command training to help you stabilize and again I think JT nailed it as he talked about it in the introduction that it's helped improve their operational efficiency and it's helped improve safety of their firefighters, and that's one of the things that we can say that the fire command absolutely does and the blue card training system does for agencies across the country. So, no, you do not have to be familiar with it, you don't have to have an understanding of it. You can come into it completely new and you're going to go through a very similar certification process that our structural brethren would go through.
Speaker 3:Well, this is a big week for us. We're really happy to be rolling this out. You guys did a lot of great work to get us to this point. I will also be linking in the show notes an article about this, so if it's something you wanted to print off and give to your chief or other officers in your department to talk about, that, you can go to the show notes and follow the link and print off that article. Is there anything that we haven't covered that we'd like to cover? Still about the ARF program.
Speaker 2:There's one thing I'd like to piggyback on. That is this ARF certification is not just for airport fire departments, not just for military. As you've seen on the news lately, aircraft incidents don't just happen at the airport. Most of them happen outside of the airport. So I think it's important that agencies know and they're certified to be able to respond to these type of incidents. I think that's where this standalone certification for ARF comes in and really helps that department that may not have a lot of experience in the ARF world, but after taking this program I think it'll at least introduce you to it and it'll definitely make you a safer response.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you think about all the departments out there that have airport systems that are near them that have no ARF response whatsoever. So you may be showing up to a situation and having to manage an incident on an ARF field and have no training whatsoever. So this is a great opportunity for a lot of folks to be able to work on the functions of command, which are you know. Look, if you're tied to 1561 and you look at the functions of command, they're not much different, they're the exact same. It was because it was pulled off the original fire command textbook that was originally written by Alan B Brunicini. So what we're doing is not new. What we're doing in this side of the equation is and it's a great opportunity for folks who want to make sure that if they have to respond, either as part of a functioning ARF system or responding to an airport emergency of any kind, that we give them the command and control structure that they need to be successful.
Speaker 3:All right, guys, I'm very excited about this program launching this week and, again, if you want information, you can go to the show notes. I appreciate everyone being here to explain it. Hey, before we go, do you guys have time to stick around for a Timeless Tactical Truth? Timeless Tactical Truth from Alan Brunicini the best ICS. It's flexible, scalable and fits any incident, small or large. Well, we're talking about a command system here today that is definitely flexible and scalable. A lot of times it's adapted for a structure fire response, but a lot of us use it for technical rescue response and we're talking about using it for our response too. What's your experience with this fellas?
Speaker 1:I think this is exactly what we've been talking about. We talked about the idea of there being an express need from people in our industry wanting to have an incident command system for their ARF incidents our industry wanting to have an incident command system for their ARF incidents and we've been able to take something that was absolutely flexible, absolutely scalable and design it to fit the type of incidents that they respond to. That's. I mean, we've hit the nail on the head with this timeless tactical truth. It couldn't be a more appropriate one to pull out of the deck than the one you happen to get for us today.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I agree, you know you think about the types of responses that we have and Blue Card is built for those type four and type five responses and that's our meat and potatoes. That's most of the incidents we go on. But you know that ICS system being flexible and scalable and depending upon the incident, let's say, since we're talking ARF, you get some of these that have been on the news lately and they turn into a type three, type two and even a type one incident. So I do think that it's you know, as far as Blue Card and the system that we use, it's flexible and scalable and it fits any incident we have.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I agree with you, Since we've been using Blue Card, we've been using blue card, we've been able to scale up large incidents and we're talking, uh, 200 people on the ground. You know, without blue card, um, and, and what it the the base that it created for us, we probably wouldn't be able to do that efficiently. Um, so we've seen it. We're true believers of the system and you know we use it on a single rig response all the way up to seven, seven rig plus mutual aid response to alarm fires. So I mean a hundred percent believe in the system.
Speaker 3:Gentlemen, thanks so much for being here today on B Shifter. We appreciate you sharing your knowledge and thoughts on the new ARF program that is now available. Go to bshiftercom If you want to look into that, and you can certainly give us a call or drop us an email if you've got some specific questions.
Speaker 1:You guys be safe and thanks for being on today, thank you. Thanks for having me. Glad to be here.