TargetSolutions, the leader in online training management applications for fire departments, hosted its annual Networking & Training Workshop on Tuesday in San Diego.

More than 70 attendees from fire departments across the country packed the Marriott Gaslamp Quarter's Altitude Sky Lounge to meet with TargetSolutions account managers and mingle with other training officers.

The highlight of the afternoon was the awards presentation, which honors customers who give so much to TargetSolutions and share the same commitment of providing exceptional fire department training.

Capt. Benjamin Banks of the city of Los Angeles (CA) Fire Department was presented with the Technology Achievement Award, which goes to an individual who is consistently looking to maximize TargetSolutions' web-based system. Banks was the choice because of his forward-thinking mindset for his metro agency's training program.

“Our department in general is trying to use technology more and more, all the time for everything,” said Banks, who has been managing the department’s training platform for the last year. “That’s really been a directive of our mayor and our fire chief, so this falls right in line with that.”

The ability to measure training hours – as well as other key performance indicators related to training – is critical to LAFD, which has increased its utilization of the TargetSolutions platform since Banks took on his current role.

“Being able to provide metrics, that’s what it’s all about,” Banks said. “I hear that across the fire service. Metrics, it’s the numbers, it’s the totals, really being able to show the work that we’re doing, the training that people in the fire stations and otherwise are doing, it’s all about being able to put those numbers on. Unless you have technology that can support that, it’s going to be very difficult. And then having technology that can make that job even easier, I mean that’s what the goal is. TargetSolutions has definitely helped us in that regard.”

Battalion Chief Matt Barnes of Southern Marin (CA) Fire Department was given the Vanguard Award, which goes each year to someone who exemplifies dedication in the delivery of fire department training. Barnes has consistently worked to maximize TargetSolutions and help his agency streamline training and compliance.

“The fire service changes and evolves on a daily basis and the only way to stay current is to research and go out and perform skills based off the information that you’ve gathered and learned from the past,” said Barnes, who has been with the agency for the last 15 years. “We’ve had some significant near misses in our organization. We’ve had two line-of-duty deaths in our organizations due to health, so training is very near and dear to me. I think it’s the fabric of what makes someone become a good, proficient performing individual in the fire service.”

The final award went to Capt. Jamie Young of the St. Charles Fire Department in Missouri. The Helping Hand is delivered each year to someone who goes above and beyond to assist TargetSolutions or their neighboring agencies who are using the platform. Young's department hosted a team of TargetSolutions videographers in 2016 for a special training shoot and the footage is being used in TargetSolutions' upcoming NFPA 1410 training series,

By Alan M. Petrillo

The rescue-pumper has been around for a number of years and makes up a strong part of many fire department fleets, but some departments remain loyal to traditional medium and heavy rescue trucks-both walk-in and walk-around models.

1 VT Hackney Inc. built this heavy rescue truck on a tandem rear axle for the Madison Township (IN) Fire Department. (Photo courtesy of VT Hackney Inc.)

Rescue truck manufacturers are continuing to build traditional rescues for departments that want the kind of carrying power that a dedicated rescue allows, from hauling equipment for vehicle extrications to that required by a number of technical rescue disciplines.

Straight Rescue Market

Ed Smith, director of the emergency vehicles group for VT Hackney Inc., says that Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association data for 2015 show 280 apparatus identified as rescues, and that 2016 figures through the third quarter were within two percentage points of 2015. “So, there’s been no growth in the purchase of traditional rescue trucks,” Smith says but notes that “we are still building a good number of big traditional rescues, usually on bodies of 20 to 24 feet long that some states classify as heavy rescues.”

2 The Berea (OH) Southwest Emergency Response Team went to Hackney for this technical rescue rig. (Photo courtesy of VT Hackney Inc.)

Smith adds that Hackney’s rescue truck percentages were up during the past year, especially for light-duty vehicles with 10- to 12-foot bodies on Ford F-550 or Dodge Ram 5500 chassis and cabs. “Departments are designating them as rescue companies and also using them as squads to run medical calls,” Smith says. “The next step up is a medium rescue that would also carry air bags and cribbing, and then heavy rescues that carry equipment for structural collapse, trench rescues, and other types of technical rescue, including hazardous materials response.”

Hackney has seen most heavy rescues going to cities with populations of 100,000 or more, Smith points out. “We’re also seeing smaller rural and suburban fire departments buying heavy rescues when they have the specific need and the resources to purchase them.”

3 The East Freehold (NJ) Fire Department chose Rescue 1 to build this tandem-rear-axle traditional walk-around heavy rescue truck. (Photo courtesy of Rescue 1.)

Mike Mildner, rescue sales specialist for E-ONE, believes that rescues have evolved into highly specialized vehicles. “While very large departments might have two or three specialized rescue vehicles, some of them put it all together in a heavy squad that handles technical rescue,” Mildner says. “Usually hazardous materials is on a separate vehicle because if a combo unit that has h

By Alan M. Petrillo

The rescue-pumper has been around for a number of years and makes up a strong part of many fire department fleets, but some departments remain loyal to traditional medium and heavy rescue trucks-both walk-in and walk-around models.

1 VT Hackney Inc. built this heavy rescue truck on a tandem rear axle for the Madison Township (IN) Fire Department. (Photo courtesy of VT Hackney Inc.)

Rescue truck manufacturers are continuing to build traditional rescues for departments that want the kind of carrying power that a dedicated rescue allows, from hauling equipment for vehicle extrications to that required by a number of technical rescue disciplines.

Straight Rescue Market

Ed Smith, director of the emergency vehicles group for VT Hackney Inc., says that Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association data for 2015 show 280 apparatus identified as rescues, and that 2016 figures through the third quarter were within two percentage points of 2015. “So, there’s been no growth in the purchase of traditional rescue trucks,” Smith says but notes that “we are still building a good number of big traditional rescues, usually on bodies of 20 to 24 feet long that some states classify as heavy rescues.”

2 The Berea (OH) Southwest Emergency Response Team went to Hackney for this technical rescue rig. (Photo courtesy of VT Hackney Inc.)

Smith adds that Hackney’s rescue truck percentages were up during the past year, especially for light-duty vehicles with 10- to 12-foot bodies on Ford F-550 or Dodge Ram 5500 chassis and cabs. “Departments are designating them as rescue companies and also using them as squads to run medical calls,” Smith says. “The next step up is a medium rescue that would also carry air bags and cribbing, and then heavy rescues that carry equipment for structural collapse, trench rescues, and other types of technical rescue, including hazardous materials response.”

Hackney has seen most heavy rescues going to cities with populations of 100,000 or more, Smith points out. “We’re also seeing smaller rural and suburban fire departments buying heavy rescues when they have the specific need and the resources to purchase them.”

3 The East Freehold (NJ) Fire Department chose Rescue 1 to build this tandem-rear-axle traditional walk-around heavy rescue truck. (Photo courtesy of Rescue 1.)

Mike Mildner, rescue sales specialist for E-ONE, believes that rescues have evolved into highly specialized vehicles. “While very large departments might have two or three specialized rescue vehicles, some of them put it all together in a heavy squad that handles technical rescue,” Mildner says. “Usually hazardous materials is on a separate vehicle because if a combo unit that has h

By Alan M. Petrillo

The rescue-pumper has been around for a number of years and makes up a strong part of many fire department fleets, but some departments remain loyal to traditional medium and heavy rescue trucks-both walk-in and walk-around models.

1 VT Hackney Inc. built this heavy rescue truck on a tandem rear axle for the Madison Township (IN) Fire Department. (Photo courtesy of VT Hackney Inc.)

Rescue truck manufacturers are continuing to build traditional rescues for departments that want the kind of carrying power that a dedicated rescue allows, from hauling equipment for vehicle extrications to that required by a number of technical rescue disciplines.

Straight Rescue Market

Ed Smith, director of the emergency vehicles group for VT Hackney Inc., says that Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association data for 2015 show 280 apparatus identified as rescues, and that 2016 figures through the third quarter were within two percentage points of 2015. “So, there’s been no growth in the purchase of traditional rescue trucks,” Smith says but notes that “we are still building a good number of big traditional rescues, usually on bodies of 20 to 24 feet long that some states classify as heavy rescues.”

2 The Berea (OH) Southwest Emergency Response Team went to Hackney for this technical rescue rig. (Photo courtesy of VT Hackney Inc.)

Smith adds that Hackney’s rescue truck percentages were up during the past year, especially for light-duty vehicles with 10- to 12-foot bodies on Ford F-550 or Dodge Ram 5500 chassis and cabs. “Departments are designating them as rescue companies and also using them as squads to run medical calls,” Smith says. “The next step up is a medium rescue that would also carry air bags and cribbing, and then heavy rescues that carry equipment for structural collapse, trench rescues, and other types of technical rescue, including hazardous materials response.”

Hackney has seen most heavy rescues going to cities with populations of 100,000 or more, Smith points out. “We’re also seeing smaller rural and suburban fire departments buying heavy rescues when they have the specific need and the resources to purchase them.”

3 The East Freehold (NJ) Fire Department chose Rescue 1 to build this tandem-rear-axle traditional walk-around heavy rescue truck. (Photo courtesy of Rescue 1.)

Mike Mildner, rescue sales specialist for E-ONE, believes that rescues have evolved into highly specialized vehicles. “While very large departments might have two or three specialized rescue vehicles, some of them put it all together in a heavy squad that handles technical rescue,” Mildner says. “Usually hazardous materials is on a separate vehicle because if a combo unit that has h