ON COURSE TO STEP UP

Halfway through the latest Station Officer Development Course, Adam Hyland talks to Course Director D/O John McNally about what new S/Os will learn

“We’ve just begun the rst week of the course, and so far, we are giving the candidates an overview of the roles and responsibilities involved in being a Station O cer,” Course Director D/O John McNally tells me.

“Over the next couple of weeks, we will be looking at various aspects of the role, but in this rst week, they will get a solid overview of the services we provide, from BA to RTCs, HazMat to Hi Line, Swi water

Rescue to Wildland re ghting, as well as other DFB roles such as re prevention and logistics, before we move on to the more speci c training of incident command.

“All of the o cers here have been active in the role of Sub-O cer for a few years already, so they are familiar with what is involved, but they will then receive an overview of the incident command system, followed by a week of exercises in the Training Centre, where they will play the role of being an incident commander, both on the yard and in the XVR simulation suite.”

To facilitate training across both areas, the class will be broken up into two groups, D/O McNally tells me, with one taking to the yard for physical incidents, while the other takes on exercises in the XVR simulation suite, before they switch.

Training

“ ey will get a very good insight into how to manage incidents from an incident command point of view, on a Level 1 basis where they will be the O cer in charge until a more senior o cer arrives,” D/O McNally says, “so it gives them the skills they need to manage the incident in a safe manner in order to bring the incident to a safe and successful conclusion, both for the re ghters and the public involved.” e XVR simulation suite, he tells me, is vital in providing

Moore come in to spend half a day with the o cers, putting them in front of a camera and microphone to answer questions, and giving them feedback on where they can improve,” Course Director McNally tells me.

“ is is valuable training to have, because it enables the o cers to have the skills to talk to the media. e media will always look for a headline, and O cers have to be careful, when they are the face and voice at the scene, not to give out sensitive information. For example, if there is a house re, you can’t fall into the trap of o ering your opinion on how the re started.

THEIR ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES INCREASE GREATLY IN THAT THEY HAVE TO MANAGE THE STATION ON A DAILY BASIS, BOTH ON-STATION AND AT EVENTS”

experience of scenarios that wouldn’t be possible to replicate in the training yard.

“We can have, for example, a simulated incident involving a Luas and a vehicle crash, which we wouldn’t be able to show ordinarily,” he says. “ e simulation allows them to see and experience these incidents and manage them in a virtual environment, and all of this will be new to them when they take it on next week.”

As well as incident command, other aspects of the S/O’s role will also be covered, including training on Automatic Fire Detection systems, with a module put together by re ghters with experience in the re detection industry to help understand and interpret the information displayed, as well as media training to be able to handle the media at the scene of an incident.

“For that part of the course, we will have media expert Cathy at is not our role, and we train our o cers to know and say that re investigation is carried out by An Garda Síochána, and it is our role to make the scene safe.”

Qualities

When the course nishes, the S/ Os will take up their new roles across the city and county before returning in the New Year for modules covering HR and health and safety, but while the course continues, I ask Course Director McNally what he thinks makes for a good Station O cer.

“It’s someone who can manage their station,” he says simply. “ ese people were Sub-O cers who worked under a Station O cer, and now they will be going out as S/Os with Sub-O cers and re ghters under them, so their role and responsibilities increase greatly in that they have to manage the station on a daily basis, both on-station and at incidents.

“When they nish this course, they will have the skills to do that, to deal with matters at the station and at incidents when they go on turnouts. ey have already made the transition from Sub-O cer, so it is just a natural progression and a step up in rank.

Advice

“ ey need to be mindful to give their crew their own time and space, and apply what they will learn on this course, particularly in relation to incident command, because it is all about managing a scene in a safe manner, making sure the public is safe and the incident doesn’t develop into something bigger, but also to have the control measures in place to keep your crew safe.

“My advice would be to keep your re ghters safe, run your station well, and always be open to taking advice from your peers who are there to help.”

Thanks

Course Director McNally adds that there are many people to thank for the delivery of the course over the next two weeks.

“We have a core group of instructors in Assistant Course Director S/O James Hetherington, S/O John O’Flaherty, S/O Brian Gunning, S/O Eugene Maher, and Sub-O cer Alan Corcoran, plus next week we will have excellent training in incident command from D/O Niamh O’Regan, D/O Pat O’Riordan, D/O James Bisset, D/O Willie Maher, D/O Derek Cheevers and D/O John Chubb. All of them must be thanked in advance. We also have a large group of visiting lecturers and instructors who will deliver small portions of the course that are too numerous to mention, but they will all contribute greatly, so my thanks to them.”