The South Lyon Fire Department requires all probationary firefighters to successfully complete the following credentials courses prior to being promoted to the rank of firefighter. SLFD will pay for the tuition and supply the equipment for all of these courses. Probationary firefighters are compensated for their time in class. Failure to pass any of these required courses will result in termination of employment.

On-The-Job Training Program

• The captain is responsible for reviewing weekly updates from the mentor, logging updates onto the dashboard, and will handle any problems with OJT mentor / student throughout process.
• Any fire officer or designated firefighter may work with probationary employees, and indicate review of subsections (topics) of a probationary employee’s OJT via placing their initials and the date reviewed next to those subsections.
• Any fire officer or designated firefighter may complete skill sheets with a probationary employee. The instructor must review the skills with the probationary employee, and demonstrate where necessary. The instructor then evaluates the probationary employee’s performance of the skills, and indicates competency by initialing the appropriate boxes. Only the probationary employee’s assigned mentor can review the probationary employee’s homework and sign-off on satisfactory completion.
• Upon completion of all module topics, skill sheets, and homework, the probationary employee signs the module completion page asserting completeness and competency.
• Once the probationary employee has signed off on the module, the probationary employee’s assigned mentor verifies satisfactory competency and signs off on the module’s total completion. Only the probationary employee’s mentor has the authority to sign off on module. Upon the mentor signing off on the OJT module, the mentor shall send notice of the completed section to the captain. The captain will administer an examination to verify competency of the probationary employee. The probationary employee must receive a passing score of 80% or higher. Only one retest is allowed for each module, and only two total retest opportunities are allowed throughout the entire process.
• Upon successful examination, the captain shall also sign-off on the module’s completion and will issue notice to the fire officers, where applicable. If the probationary employee is not successful in passing a module examination, the captain will work with the probationary employee’s mentor to develop a remediation plan.
• Upon passing the module 3 examination, the employee is permitted to ride apparatus (with company officer permission) to emergency incidents and participate in a limited manner, under direct supervision.
• Failure to complete OJT, EMT, or the fire academy may result in termination of employment.

OJT Completion Expectation Timeline (including exams)

• Complete OJT Module 1 (Intro to SLFD, Part I) 1 week post-hire 1 week post-hire
• Complete OJT Module 2 (Intro to SLFD, Part II) 2 weeks post-hire 2 weeks post-hire
• Complete OJT Module 3 (Reporting and Forms) 4 weeks post-hire 3 weeks post-hire
• Complete OJT Module 4 (Engine 1) 6 weeks post-hire 4 weeks post-hire
• Complete OJT Module 5 (Engine 2) 8 weeks post-hire 5 weeks post-hire
• Complete OJT Module 6 (Rescue 1) 9 weeks post-hire 6 weeks post-hire
• Complete OJT Module 7 (Ladder 1) 11 weeks post-hire 7 weeks post-hire
• Complete OJT Module 8 (SCBA) 12 weeks post-hire 8 weeks post-hire
• Complete OJT Module 9 (Radio Communications) 13 weeks post-hire 9 weeks post-hire

Emergency Medical Technician

The Emergency Medical Technician (EMT Basic) level, is a 266 hour classroom and field based emergency medical program. This level of education is the minimum requirement to staff and operate an emergency response vehicle (an ambulance) in the State of Michigan.

This course is approved by the Michigan Department of Community Health EMS & Trauma Systems Section. Upon successful completion, students are eligible to take the National Registry Certification test as required by the State of Michigan for licensure.

This course prepares students to enter into handle entry level emergency response positions and is typically employed by private ambulance companies, fire departments and as hospital Emergency room technicians.

The EMT Basic course curriculum prepares the student to perform a variety of medical techniques including but not limited to:

• Basic airway control and oxygen delivery
• Increased understanding of anatomy and physiology
• CPR and defibrillation
• Emergency field childbirth
• Lifting and moving patients
• More definitive patient assessment
• Assisting with such medications such as epinephrine auto injector, nitroglycerine and emergency breathing treatments
• Patient extrication, immobilization and transport
• Triaging and handling multiple trauma victims
• Dealing with more complex medical and traumatic life-threatening illness and/or injuries
• Pediatric assessment and field treatment
• Assisting EMTS and Paramedics with more advanced care

Students will be evaluated in the following core competency areas: didactic, practical, clinical and internship performance. In addition, students achieving an 80% or higher will receive a certificate of completion and be eligible for State licensure. Practical skills are graded on a pass/fail basis and students will be required to pass all practical examinations to successfully complete the program. All clinical and internship rotations are graded on attendance, attitude and skills performance, which are evaluated by field mentors, a clinical coordinator and/or the course instructor.

Firefighter I & II

The objective of this course is to provide students with the knowledge and skills to safely and effectively perform basic firefighting operations as part of a firefighting team.

Major topics covered in the course are the fire department organization, communications, incident command system, ropes and knots, fire behavior, safety, personal protective equipment, building construction, fire extinguishers, respiratory protection, water distribution, ventilation, hose lines, forcible entry, search and rescue procedures, ladders, sprinkler systems, fixed fire protection systems, fire prevention, inspections, and firefighter survival techniques. Methods of instruction include lecture, discussion classroom exercises, audio/visual material, graded practical exercises, and skills check off and homework assignments, which are all, evaluated by the instructor for satisfactory completion.

Length: 227 hours (minimum)

Written exam: 200 questions multiple choice (70% passing score)

Practical exam: 12 practical skill stations

Hazardous Materials First Responder - Operations

The objective of this course is to provide the student with the knowledge and skills to perform hazardous materials first response.

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to analyze a hazardous materials incident, plan an initial response, implement the response, and evaluate the progress of the actions taken.

Major topics covered in the course include firefighter safety, regulations and standards, chemistry, recognition and identifications, DOT guidebook, site management, container behavior, defensive control measures, personal protective equipment, and decontamination. Methods of instruction include lecture, discussion, classroom exercises, audio/visual material, practical exercises, quizzes, observations, written examination and a final examination.

Length: 24 hours

Written exam: 75 questions multiple choice (70% passing score)

Practical exam: Participation in practical exercise

Emergency Vehicle Operator Course

The driver training course includes items which address both the attitude and knowledge of the potential emergency vehicle driver while responding to an emergency as well as an understanding of the emergency vehicle driver's responsibility during non-emergency situations.

Length: 16 hours

Written exam: 25 questions multiple choice (70% passing score)

Practical exam: Practical driving test on closed course

Vehicle Extrication

This course is designed to provide fire fighters with a better understanding of the current techniques available for the swift extrication of victims from a variety of vehicle entrapments.

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will perform specific rescue skills applicable to common passenger vehicles.

Specific rescue skills include planning for a vehicle incident, performing on-going incident size-up, establishing scene safety zones, establishing fire protection, stabilizing vehicles, isolating potentially harmful energy sources, determining access and egress points, creating access and egress openings, disentangling victims, removing packaged victims, and terminating vehicle rescue incidents.

Length: 16 hours

Written exam: 20 questions multiple choice (70% passing score)

Practical exam: None

National Incident Management System

The National Incident Management System (NIMS) provides a systematic, proactive approach to guide departments and agencies at all levels of government, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector to work seamlessly to prevent, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of incidents, regardless of cause, size, location, or complexity, in order to reduce the loss of life and property and harm to the environment. NIMS works hand in hand with the National Response Framework (NRF). NIMS provides the template for the management of incidents, while the NRF provides the structure and mechanisms for national-level policy for incident management.

Students are required to complete several online modules to understand NIMS.

Length: 8 hours

Written exam: Online exam (can retake until passage)

Practical exam: None