Thursday January, 23 2025

Nature: Emergency Vehicle Driver's Training Course

Location: Station #1 – Oak Orchard

A cadre of Indian River Volunteer Fire Company personnel recently completed six (6) hours of classroom instruction and a written examination to obtain an emergency vehicle operator's endorsement designation.

This course meets the classroom and testing requirements set forth by the State of Delaware and the Delaware State Fire School (DSFS) for driver training exempting the operator of an authorized emergency vehicle from possessing a CDL license that would ordinarily be required in a commercial environment.  This non-CDL Class B or Class A endorsement is at the discretion of the Fire Chief and is just one component in obtaining the necessary educational requirements to become a certified apparatus driver / pump operator.

The curriculum advocates topics bearing on both the potential and past problems as cited in a variety of incidents and national studies.  Instructional presentations show where apparatus shortcomings may be found during operation and suggests methods to operate within safe ranges. The program's philosophy is that a safe operator will not operate his vehicle beyond safe boundary lines to the point of "no return". The undercurrent of this program is “safety through avoidance.” This course has been developed to emphasize highway safety, intersection safety and vehicle rollover prevention.

The course was taught by renowned Delaware State Fire School Instructor and subject matter expert – Richard Toulson.

The Indian River Volunteer Fire Company expresses it appreciation to the Delaware State Fire School staff for coordinating such an initiative.