It is the intent of the City of Dickson Fire Department Training Division to provide employees with training established by legal mandate or determined by the department to be necessary. The Training Division is responsible for the development, coordination, and presentation of all training within the department.

The goals of the Dickson Fire Department training program are:

1. To meet mandatory and in-service training requirements.
2. To provide better-educated and more professional personnel.
3. To provide more efficient and effective accomplishments of departmental objectives.
4. To improve fire department and community relations.
5. To provide career development opportunities within the department.
6. To provide training in specialized areas of fire fighting.
7. To provide training consistent with department’s responsibilities.

   Training is a continual never-ending process involving all members of the Dickson Fire Department. The training function is the responsibility of the Training Division Captain. These responsibilities include: training both sworn and civilian personnel, developing training programs, notifying personnel of available training, selecting instructors and supervising the field training program just to name a few.

TRAINING OFFICER

BRENT HAM

Dickson Fire Department hosts their own fire training academy in-house. The academy is taught by instructors from within the department. Training occurs in the training room at station 1 and at the Dickson Fire Rescue training grounds. Live-fire training is hosted by the Ashland City Fire Department at their state-of-the-art training facility. The recruit academy is 4 months of intensive training in all aspects of fire fighting and emergency services.

Once the recruits have completed the classroom portion of the academy they must perform skills as required by the State of Tennessee. The next step is taking the written test which is provided by the Tennessee State Fire Commission. After passing the written test, the recruits become probationary fire fighters.

During the probationary period, the fire fighters must attend emergency medical training classes. Dickson Fire Rescue requires that all fire fighters are certified by the State of Tennessee as Advanced Emergency Medical Technicians (AEMT). Following the class, they must take a national certification exam which, once passed, will make them AEMT's.

After their probationary period, where the fire fighters must prove themselves by performing the duties required of them, they earn the official title of fire fighter. With this title they receive a personalized helmet shield.

As a firefighter and Advanced EMT (AEMT), it is important to keep up your knowledge and skills so you can continue to provide the best service possible to the public. It is also important to learn new information and skills to advance your knowledge. The State of Tennessee requires a specific number of hours of fire and emergency medical services training every year. These hours are obtained either through on-duty training within the department, training at other facilities and online education. Advanced classes are also available for skills such as instructor, officer and driver/operator. These classes allow firefighters to advanced their careers by becoming engineers, instructors and officers. Dickson Fire Department prides itself on making sure they have highly trained and certified individuals responding to all emergency situations.