I had been in the fire service for some time before I had my first opportunity to attend a large production national fire service conference. Before that I thought that all fire departments were pretty much the same and what was going on in Shreveport was going on everywhere else – same services, personnel issues, etc. Boy was I wrong. It was having and taking advantage of that first chance to venture outside of not only my department but my state and region to attend Fire Rescue International (FRI) in Kansas City that opened the real world of the fire service and professional development to me. Next month, you have that same opportunity when FRI opens its 2010 conference in Chicago, August 24-28.

Even in these tight financial times, as much as I can, I try and send some of my officers to professional development conferences. None is better at getting your money’s worth than FRI. From the highly touted Company Officer Leadership Symposium (COLS) to the finest in chief officer level programming, spotlighted by the power packed Executive Edge series that last year featured Chief Alan Brunacini, you won’t find a better compilation of educational programming anywhere.

By attending fire service conferences such as FRI, firefighters and officers have a unique opportunity to look outside of their own departments and compare, contrast, and evaluate themselves and their organization against some of the very best.  The place where I noticed this occurring the most is during the great networking opportunities available at FRI, including their very popular Street Party evening event, Welcome Reception for first time participants (and anyone else who happens to stop by), Diversity Luncheons, 5K Fit-to-Fight run, Presidential Celebration, and much more.

The main reason you should attend a national conference is for the educational content and its ability to develop your knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs). Even though I am the program chair for the FRI conference (making me ever so slightly bias), no others compare to the diversity of programming and caliber of firefighter and officer instruction delivered.

Sometimes the learning process is simply about location and who is lecturing. I’m not sure if you’ve ever noticed but anytime someone, anyone comes to your academy from outside and teaches, it automatically becomes the gospel. This can be the same class met with skepticism if taught by one of your training officers.

Now why this occurs is not exactly known but it remains a psychological certainty nonetheless.  This principal allows those attending conferences the ability to really hear and see something perhaps for the first time – even though they have seen it before, a light bulb finally goes on in this type of large scale learning environment.

The comfortable, inviting, and interactive classroom settings found at FRI are specifically designed to maximize your learning opportunities to the fullest. Most all programming for the respective education tracks will be located in the same convention center areas each day. i.e., you want to find the Leadership track any day of the conference? Go to the second floor, W-hallway 150-175. New color coded signage and program booklets also make it easy to follow your subject of choice or quickly locate other instruction areas that may interest you.

This year, FRI developed six specific course tracks of what firefighters and officers asked for in Emergency Operations, Leadership, Administration and Human Relations, Health, Wellness & Safety, Community Risk Reduction, and Emerging Issues. Each track has been fully developed to enlist a balance of high quality programs with the industry importance and significance with the interest level of participants.

These are just a few of the enhancements and additions we’ve made to this year’s program. I encourage everyone to visit the FRI website and see all the new additions and endless opportunities FRI has to offer this year.

I have often said that if you look hard enough, most of the great ideas for the current and future success of our industry are already being done or developed in some form or fashion by someone else. Finding out what and where those ideas are is the key. Attending FRI is a great start to discovering that idea and receiving training that will make you a better firefighter or officer and your organization a better public safety provider. I hope to see you there.

Brian A. Crawford, Chair
Program Planning Committee

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