Abstract
A bulletin, “Vocational Training for Firemen” (Vocational Division Bulletin, No. 199, Trade and Industrial Series, No. 57. G.P.O., Washington, D.C. 10 cents) issued by the Office of Education, U.S.. Department of the Interior, gives a general account of the present status of firemen training in the United States, particularly with reference to programmes developed in co-operation with public vocational education. The estimated loss by fire in the United States in 1937 was 285 million dollars, and the growing demands upon the fire service have increased the importance of training all members of fire departments sufficiently to enable them to utilize the results of technical progress and to apply scientific knowledge in fire-fighting and prevention. Since 1930, the International Association of Fire Chiefs has been responsible for a programme of training and development, and in 1937 fireman training schools were organized in connexion with State programmes of vocational education in twenty-two States, in which 5,441 firemen were enrolled. The training programmes include a system of zone or regional schools for training within a wide area; extension classes, chiefly in connexion with a State college or university; short courses or institutes providing three to five days of instruction annually; and local training programmes in the larger cities. Vocational training agencies appear to be of assistance chiefly in the training of instructors or conference leaders; the organization of instructors’ conferences; the supervision of training programmes, particularly in the zone schools; the provision of instruction in practical and technical subjects through extension classes or short courses and the supply of literature for instruction and teaching. The bulletin also discusses the methods of assisting a local fire department in organizing a training programme and the possibilities of co-operation with other agencies. Details of the organization and administration of the Massachusetts zone schools are appended and also of the California programme.
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Vocational Training for Firemen. Nature 144, 361–362 (1939). https://doi.org/10.1038/144361d0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/144361d0