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PRESS RELEASE 4/18/2006
West Virginia State Fire Commission Approves Silverton Fire Department Computer Based Training

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (April 18, 2006) -- Thanks to the efforts of the Silverton Fire Department, the West Virginia State Fire Commission has reviewed and approved the Firefighter I computer-based training series by ACTION TRAINING SYSTEMS Inc.

Led by Chief Lee Thomas, the Silverton Fire Department is a 30-member volunteer department providing fire and rescue services to a 150-square-mile area in northern Jackson County, including a 20-mile stretch of Interstate 77. It runs 350 to 500 calls a year.

The department purchased its computer-based training system with a grant from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. Silverton Assistant Fire Chief Jason Baltic, training officer, submitted the ATS Firefighter I series for the state’s rigorous review process. Baltic is employed by the State Fire Marshal’s Office.  

The State Fire Commission voted to approve the series for 36 hours of Level I firefighter training at its February meeting. ATS’ Firefighter I series currently includes 25 multimedia self-study courses instructionally designed to meet current NFPA 1001, the Standard for Firefighter Professional Qualifications. Instructors deliver the training and manage student training data using the ILUMINAR LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.   

 The Commission’s approval validates Silverton’s training system, and also opens the door for other fire departments to use the series for state-recognized firefighter training.

Victor Stallard, Jr., chairman of the WVSFC Training Committee, congratulated Chief Thomas in a letter on April 7. “I appreciate the efforts of the Silverton Fire Department in providing this new training opportunity to our firefighters. Thanks for your dedication to the Fire Service and to the citizens of West Virginia,” wrote Stallard.

To win the State Fire Commission’s approval, Baltic submitted an application with detailed course information, including instructional methodology, outlines and timelines for students, examinations and instructor guides for each program in the series.

Fire instructors from West Virginia University and the West Virginia Regional Education Service Agency evaluated the system on site. “We’ve had different people from the University and the Fire Marshal’s Office come to look at the training and actually work on it,” said Chief Thomas. “It pretty much sold itself, as far as being realistic.”

Silverton offers the training on four computers wirelessly networked to a server in a room dedicated to CBT. “The whole idea that it’s available 24-hours-a-day was of great interest to our firefighters,” said Chief Thomas. Because firefighters are busy with their jobs, families and other demands, the availability of “on-call” computer-based training is an important feature of Silverton’s training opportunities, he said.   

In addition to training its own firefighters, the department is trying to accommodate requests from neighboring fire departments to use its computer training facility.

The department’s comprehensive training plans also include the construction of  a training center eight miles from the fire station, with plans to build a live-burn building, extrication pads and a storage building for training equipment.