Fire Service Leadership (L-380, CA-002-PREV)

A context-specific version of the At the Point of the Spear series, Fire Service Leadership focuses on building leadership skills that translate directly to company performance as well as station culture.

Fire service leaders must operate in two very different worlds. In their operational world, response time is measured in seconds, and success often hinges on split-second decisions and quick action. At the station, relationships among team members and their leaders are built over years, and decisions and actions require more measured and thoughtful approaches.

In addition, the distributed and geographically dispersed nature of most fire and rescue departments presents another set of unique challenges to cohesion and communication. To be successful as an organization, departments must go beyond operational standardization and generate synergy across stations and shifts to achieve their mission. Fire Service Leadership offers company leaders the foundational skills and philosophies for building cohesive, adaptive, resilient units - both on the job and at the station.

Fire Service Leadership provides a balanced blending of theory, classroom exercises, and field exercises to weave together the what, why, and how, creating an integrated model for understanding and influencing human behavior. This 36- to 38-hour primary leadership program sets a foundation of concepts, philosophies, and techniques to enable leaders to reconcile the requirements of both worlds to build and reinforce high-performance teams, units, companies, and battalions.

Who benefits from this program?

Company and chief officers will find this training invaluable for developing their own leadership skills as well as learning the best practices for building, motivating, and leading teams.

Participants learn and practice decision making, communication techniques, team building skills, and interpersonal behaviors that enable them to be capable and effective leaders.

Graduates come away with critical insight into their own strengths and weaknesses and an understanding of the human factors that motivate or build barriers among team members. Leaders develop skills for dealing with issues on the spot and learn an alternative to escalating problems to the next levels or making the situation worse.

Many graduates report far-reaching effects from the program - both in their personal and professional lives - indicating that the practical tools and techniques have enhanced their ability to understand and interact effectively with people.

The program strikes a balance between theory and practice: roughly 50 percent of the time is spent in lecture and discussion (what and why) and 50 percent in classroom and field exercises (how).

Certification Equivalencies

MCS's Fire Service Leadership exceeds all the requirements and objectives for NWCG L-380 or S-281 and S-381. Contact MCS for more information on how to qualify the program for your organization’s certification requirements.