LLRMI TRAINING

FIRE DEPARTMENT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
Drafting and Implementing Effective Fire Department Policies and Procedures

Length of Seminar: 2.5 Days
Instructors: Curt Varone

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

Policies and procedures have become increasingly important to fire departments in our complex, litigious society. Effective policies serve to improve operations, promote the safety and health of firefighters, and limit the department’s liability exposure. They are the cornerstone of organizational learning, and have proven to be the best method for incorporating lessons learned into a fire department’s daily operations.

Yet the lack of policies is repeatedly cited in NIOSH firefighter fatality reports as a contributing factor in firefighter fatalities. The lack of policies also figures prominently in many law suits against fire departments, including negligence suits, as well as employment related actions, and disciplinary challenges.

This program will provide attendees with everything they need to know about researching, drafting and implementing sound and effective fire department policies and procedures, including:

• Identifying which policies your organization needs
• Strategies for developing, drafting and implementing policies
• Distinguish between policies, procedures, guidelines, SOPs and SOGs
• Proven methods to enforce policies and procedures
• Best practices for conducting periodic compliance audits

The program also covers:

• Writing policies in plain language using common words (and simple sentence structures)
• Policies and leadership… they go hand in hand
• The two critical ways that policies reduce legal exposure
• The four polices your fire department needs (but probably doesn’t have)…
• The three failures that contribute to virtually every lawsuit
• Case examples of policy failures and successes
• Policy writing—where to begin
• Use and customization of model policies
• Applying the KISS principle
• Copyright and fair use

Attendees Are Encouraged To Bring to The Seminar:

• Existing Policies For Discussion Purposes
• Laptop Computers to Facilitate Policy Writing Activities.