CFFJAC's TCM Train-the Trainer Course Reaches Nearly 100 Departments

Nearly 100 fire departments in California will be better prepared for a terrorist threat, after sending their training officers and Haz Mat personnel to one of the CFFJAC's Terrorism Consequence Management (TCM) Train-the-Trainer courses. The CFFJAC has held classes in 11 locations throughout the state over the past year.

The one-day course, offered at no cost to the individual or department, provides an overview of TCM standardized protocols, building on the curriculum that was disseminated through the CFFJAC's 2004 TCM course. The class is designed to prepare the participants to go back to their departments to teach the course at the local level.

The TCM class teaches first responders how to recognize chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive agents and devices and to understand what issues to consider when planning strategies and tactics during a terrorism incident.

"The curriculum offers so many examples of possible threats," said Russ Fowler, battalion chief for CAL FIRE in Butte County, who is a course instructor. "It's no longer just about the Twin Towers and Oklahoma City. People are seeing that it's on the home front. It's happening in their backyard."

TCM Continuing Education

In addition to the classroom based TCM training, the CFFJAC has been in production on a series of Web Based Training (WBT) modules to help firefighters continue their TCM education. These modules will be available to every fire department in the state and are designed to be taken by individual users online. Modules will include: Chemical Considerations, Biological Considerations, Radiological/Nuclear Considerations, and Evidence and Crime Scene Preservation, to name a few.

"We're proud that we've equipped training officers and Haz Mat personnel throughout the state to prepare our first responders with the knowledge to handle potential terrorist threats," said CFFJAC Program Director Yvonne de la Peña. "We look forward to launching our first Web Based Training product and trust it will be an extremely beneficial component of our TCM training."