Firefighter training drill by Forest Reeder
This firefighter training drill is a series of questions that relate to crew and company safety issues a company officer may come across during his career. By considering your response to these potential situations now and referencing your department procedures for dealing with them, you will be better prepared to handle them in the future.
Some have common-sense answers whereas others will require you to use your knowledge of rules and regulations and other policies to answer them directly. Role-playing of these situations with your crews will also allow you the opportunity to communicate your expectations to them. Play these scenarios out as if they are happening at this moment within your crew.
Download this week’s firefighter training drill as a PDF HERE.
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Forest Reeder began his fire service career in 1978 and retired as fire chief of the Tinley Park (IL) Fire Department in 2021. He has worked extensively in the areas of instruction, firefighter safety, and officer development and earned his Master of Science Degree in Public Safety Administration in 2004. He is the author of Fire Department Incident Safety Officer 4th edition (2025) and co-author of Fire Service Instructor Principles and Practices, now in its 3rd edition. Forest presents nationally on fire service leadership, safety, and instructor development. He was inducted into the Moraine Valley Community College Alumni Hall of Fame in 2020 and awarded the Distinguished Alumnus award in 2021. In 2008, he received the ISFSI George D. Post Instructor of the Year, considered to be the highest recognition for fire service instructors in the nation.
