Department Training

Leadership training should prepare officers for more than emergency incidents.

Company officers and chief officers are also responsible for communication, crew performance, expectations, conflict, training, decision-making, accountability, and department culture.

Leadership and officer-development programs may address:

• Preparing officers before promotion
• Leading former peers
• Building accountability
• Establishing standards
• Improving crew culture
• Handling difficult conversations
• Addressing toxic behavior
• Developing future leaders
• Decision-making and responsibility
• Instructor leadership
• Professionalism and credibility

Programs can be developed for aspiring officers, newly promoted company officers, experienced supervisors, chief officers, or complete department leadership teams.

Two Dark Thirty can provide or develop programs involving fire-service operations, emergency response, certification preparation, and professional development.

Training topics may include:

• Firefighter knowledge review
• Driver/operator preparation
• Fire officer preparation
• Emergency medical response
• Incident decision-making
• Training officer development
• Promotional preparation
• Department knowledge assessments
• Course and curriculum development
• Practical skills training
• Continuing education

Programs may support certification courses, department training schedules, officer academies, promotional preparation, refresher education, or targeted improvement in a specific subject area.

Hazardous-materials training must reflect the responsibilities of the people receiving it.

Employees who recognize and report hazards have different responsibilities from personnel who package materials, prepare shipping documentation, operate at emergency incidents, or perform technician-level functions.

Programs may address:

• Hazard recognition
• Hazard communication
• DOT hazardous-materials awareness
• Packaging and handling
• Shipping documentation
• Labels, markings and placards
• Emergency Response Guidebook awareness
• Workplace responsibilities
• Fire-service hazardous-materials review
• Certification and exam preparation

Training can be developed for emergency responders, industrial employees, shipping personnel, instructors, and organizations with specific hazardous-materials responsibilities.

Confined-space programs should reflect the spaces, hazards, equipment, and responsibilities employees may actually encounter.

Training may include:

• Confined-space recognition
• Permit-required confined spaces
• Hazard identification
• Atmospheric monitoring
• Entry responsibilities
• Attendant responsibilities
• Entry supervision
• Non-entry rescue
• Personal protective equipment
• Communications
• Entry procedures
• Rescue operations awareness
• Practical scenarios
• Permit and documentation review

Programs can be adapted for fire departments, industrial teams, restoration companies, contractors, public works departments, and employees who work around attics, basements, tanks, vaults, pits, utility spaces, or similar environments.

The level of training should match the work being performed. Organizations should not spend time practicing operations their employees will never conduct while ignoring the hazards they face regularly.

Some organizations already have instructors but need help creating or improving the program itself.

Two Dark Thirty can assist with:

• Course outlines
• Lesson plans
• Presentation materials
• Student handouts
• Instructor guides
• Online course development
• Assessments and answer keys
• Practical skills sheets
• Scenarios
• Training policies
• Permit forms
• Refresher programs
• Blended-learning courses
• Existing course review

Course development may involve building a new program, organizing existing material, shortening a longer class, expanding a basic course, or adapting general information to a particular workplace or department.

The final product should be something instructors can realistically deliver and students can understand.

Sometimes the problem is not the lack of a class. The organization may need help determining what should be taught, who should receive it, how the program should be structured, or why existing training is not producing better performance.

Consultation may help departments and organizations:

• Identify training gaps
• Review existing programs
• Develop annual training priorities
• Improve instructor consistency
• Build officer-development programs
• Create promotional preparation
• Organize certification pathways
• Develop policies and forms
• Improve testing and evaluation
• Connect training to organizational goals

The purpose is not to create unnecessary material. It is to help the organization focus its time and resources on the areas that matter most.

Yes. Programs can be adjusted based on the organization’s audience, available time, equipment, policies, experience level, and training goals.

Customization may include changing the course length, adding department examples, emphasizing specific hazards, incorporating hands-on activities, or creating supporting materials.

Yes. Training may be delivered as a short presentation, department training night, half-day workshop, full-day course, multi-session program, conference presentation, or blended online and in-person program.

The format depends on the subject and the amount of material that must be covered responsibly.

Yes. Two Dark Thirty can help develop complete courses or individual components such as lesson plans, presentations, student handouts, quizzes, practical skills sheets, policies, permits, and instructor guides.

Training, speaking, consultation, and course development may be available for organizations outside Wisconsin depending on the program, location, schedule, and delivery format.

Some programs may also be delivered online or through a blended format.

Yes. Existing courses can be reviewed for organization, clarity, objectives, instructional methods, student engagement, assessment, practical application, and overall usability.

Recommendations may include revisions to the content, delivery method, length, activities, testing, or instructor materials.

Departments have limited training time, limited staffing, and limited resources. That time should not be wasted on programs that are disconnected from the work people are expected to perform.

Effective training begins by identifying the need, understanding the audience, establishing clear objectives, and building a program that gives people the knowledge and practice necessary to improve.

Two Dark Thirty works with organizations to develop training that fits their responsibilities, addresses their challenges, and supports better performance.