POULSBO, Wash. -- Georgetown City (S.C.) Fire Department announced the launch of ILUMINAR LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (ILMS) this week as its new platform for delivering ACTION TRAINING SYSTEM, Inc.’s multimedia computer-based training content. A five-year client of ATS’ interactive media-rich suite of training products based on NFPA standards, the department provides training over a secure Local Area Network (LAN) directly at firefighter work stations.

Developed by ILUMINAR TECHNOLOGIES INC., the ILMS is a new easy-to-use training management system designed to enhance delivery of multimedia interactive computer-based training.

According to Georgetown City Fire’s Assistant Chief Bill Johnson, the ILMS has several advantages over Courseworks, the previous platform: “It’s easier to enroll students and to capture information and data about their training once they’ve done that, but also technically, the program is sounder; it’s a smoother operating system,” Johnson said. “The video looks better.”

Georgetown City Fire is a combination fire department with 36 paid members and 12 volunteers near the coast of South Carolina, about midway between Myrtle Beach and Charleston. With two fire stations, the department protects a small city of 9,000 and a total population of about 12,000.

Johnson said the department’s computer-based training network has become vital to keeping pace with the increasing demands for firefighter training. Relying strictly on instructor-led training was becoming increasingly impractical, Johnson said, because of the challenge of bringing together instructors, class space and scheduling for both career and volunteer members.

ATS interactive training is delivered 24/7 at the department’s fire stations – at firefighter convenience and at their own pace. Because the system is maintained on the department’s server, Johnson is able to deliver better video quality and to monitor detailed records on firefighter tests and progress through training courses. As he throws the switch on the ILMS, Johnson said his database on firefighter training is maintained, enabling firefighters to seamlessly pick up where they left off.

Georgetown City Fire’s system includes Firefighter I and Firefighter II, HAZMAT Response, Rapid Intervention Teams Assessments, and the Pumper/Operator and Aerial Apparatus series. The system helps firefighters prepare for certification and all members are required to go through the curriculum once a year as a refresher. For refresher purposes, firefighters able to score 90% on a pretest get credit for taking the course without going through it, thus saving unnecessary training time.

One of his biggest challenges is keeping volunteer members trained after certification, said Johnson. “Another great advantage of computer-based interactive training is that our volunteers – who aren’t here for 24-hours as our paid members are – can come in and work an evening separate from any regular drills and work on this program. They get an awful lot of training by doing that.”

Career members also say they feel better trained because “they’ve got this right in front of them,” said Johnson. Career members are required to take 250 training hours per year and volunteer training requirements are soon to get close to that. “I think they appreciate the independence they have with it,” Johnson said, “they can take their time and do it at their leisure and on their schedule, without having to interrupt other things going on.”

Certainly, CBT won’t replace all the various components of the Georgetown City Fire’s training program, Johnson noted, but it’s been a very efficient and economical way to keep firefighter training where it needs to be. Computer-based training provides a foundation of knowledge so that firefighter and instructor time in on-site training is maximized. “You can watch the technique of putting up a ladder on a computer screen, but you still have to follow through with the physical skill of doing that so you feel the weight and you feel the movement of the ladder, so we are still doing practical skills training, but this has augmented our training so much. It’s vastly improved our training program.”

Johnson says he welcomes visits from other fire departments interested in seeing a demonstration. “We believe in not reinventing the wheel, and so we like to pass along as much of this as we can,” he said.

For more information about Georgetown City Fire Department’s training, contact Johnson via e-mail at billjohnson@georgetowncityfire.org.

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