Aldine Fire & Rescue: Training Hours Management

Purpose: To ensure accurate records management compliance with the Texas Commission on Fire Protection (TCFP) and the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) Continuing Education requirements.

All fire, EMS, and emergency services training hours will be recorded in the District report writing and training record documentation system.
To constitute training, an event must serve to increase or maintain job-related knowledge and skills.
All on-duty fire suppression personnel will participate in and record at least 2 hours of training for each 24-hour period worked.

Individual, station, and shift training will be documented in the system by the lead instructor or their designee.
All training must be actively overseen and/or delivered by a TCFP Certified Instructor.
Instructors should also receive training hours in the subject area they instruct.
Individual, station, and shift training that takes place while employed or volunteering with another fire department may be entered into the system following the same criteria.

The District Chief of A-Shift will be responsible for maintaining and documenting part-time employees' required yearly TCFP training hours verification for the District.
Part-time employees will provide the District Chief of A-Shift with a training record transcript from their full-time fire department twice a year.

Individuals must actively participate in the training to receive credit.
Specific training hour restrictions apply:
- Daily and Weekly Apparatus Check Out: Only those individuals actively checking out the apparatus and associated equipment will receive training credit.
- Apparatus Familiarization: A maximum of 2 hours of apparatus familiarization and 1 additional hour in an equipment specific area (ladders, ventilation, etc.) will be recorded in any one shift for weekly apparatus checks.
- Daily Apparatus Checks: A maximum of 1 hour of apparatus familiarization or 1 hour in an equipment specific area may be recorded in any one shift for daily apparatus checks.

All suppression personnel assigned to a front-line apparatus and SCBA will perform a daily inspection on their assigned SCBA and record 0.25 hours of SCBA training as a single company entry.

The physical act of driving a vehicle can be considered as driver training, but only the individual actually driving will receive credit for driver training.

Passengers may not receive credit for driver training, but may receive training credit in other categories such as territory.

Physical fitness hours will be entered on a daily basis for each individual completing physical fitness training, with a maximum of 1 hour a day.

Job-related meetings may constitute training if they serve to increase or maintain one's knowledge of their individual job responsibilities.

Training hours resulting from individual company critiques will be entered into the current District report writing and training record system by the Company Officer leading the critique or their designee.

The employee receiving the certification will enter the completed course and any certification in the current District report writing and training record system.
The training record must clearly state the name of the course, the date of the certification, and the number of hours credited for the course.

The employee will follow the steps identified in their TCFP FIDO account to process their course exam and certification completion.

When entering training data, it is vital that the information is accurate and not duplicated.
It is the responsibility of the individual entering training data to ensure that a previous entry for the same training has not already been created.
Falsification of training data, whether purposeful or due to a lack of attention to detail, will be considered a serious offense and addressed accordingly.

A single company drill must meet all the criteria of a drill and involve a single company.
A night drill must meet all the criteria of a drill and be classified as either a company drill or multi-company drill, and begin at or after 6 p.m.
A multi-company drill must meet all the criteria of a drill and involves two or more companies.

Each day, on-duty fire suppression personnel will, at the minimum, document the following training:
- Apparatus Familiarization: Enter actual hours with a maximum of 1 hour for daily check and 2 hours for a weekly check for every individual on the crew.
- Equipment Specific Familiarization: Enter actual hours with a maximum of 1 hour for daily and weekly check for every individual on the crew.
- SCBA: 0.25 hours for every individual on the crew.