Helpful Links for Training

NFPA 2014 Fatality Report
The National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) has released its study of firefighter fatalities for 2014. Overall the numbers in most areas of activity were down, but “sudden cardiac events” continues to be a concern. The report makes a strong case for fitness and wellness programs. Here is the link to the full study: www.nfpa.org/2014fatalityreport

Did You Know?
The California POST board continues to make roll call videos available on their website. Their “Did You Know” series has won an Emmy award, and they just released a new video on night driving: https://www.post.ca.gov/safe-driving-videos.aspx


IACP Poster
The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) has a poster entitled “Are You Ready for Duty?” The seven elements on the poster are familiar themes—but this poster serves as more than a reminder. Take the time to read the hard data that supports each element. The seven elements are:

-Wear Your Vest
-Proper Vest Fit
-Physical Readiness
-Mental Readiness
-Off-Duty Vigilance
-Situational Awareness
-Know Your Community

Here is the link to the poster. I encourage you print it and post it someplace where you will see it every shift: http://www.theiacp.org/Portals/0/documents/pdfs/VAP/IACP-Poster-AreYouReady-web.pdf


Up next: A guest blog from LMCIT Field Consultant Troy Walsh. Hey Troy, why are fire trucks red?

In the meantime, stay safe and be careful.



Rob

2015 Police Report Writing Workshops

“If it is not in the report, it never happened.” How many times have you heard that? It is even truer now than in the past as criminal and civil courts look to the officer’s report for what happened and may not allow testimony that is not documented in the written report.

Report writing is hard, and it is difficult to capture all of the simultaneous activity of a police call in writing. It can also be challenging to record what occurred in a manner that allows the reader of the report to fully know what happened.

The request to provide training in this area is the most frequent wish we see on our evaluation and feedback forms from our members. And as someone who has been there, I know that training on these skills has an immediate effect on the quality of reports—and in my case it made report writing easier and more focused.

Good news! We have six report writing workshops this fall. Here is the schedule:

Thief River Falls – September 23
Bemidji – September 24
Alexandria – October 7
Waite Park – October 8
Northfield – October 13
Preston – October 15

For more information and to register, go to:

www.lmc.org/police15RB

Up next: Helpful links to training information.

In the meantime, stay safe and be careful.



Rob