Curriculum System
Professional Development
Advance
Curriculum Overview
LEAD is the leadership and professional development curriculum of the Falls Training Complex, focused on developing the person throughout their fire-service career. Courses strengthen the knowledge and skills needed to lead people, manage teams and organizations, supervise operations, and make effective decisions during emergency incidents.
LEAD includes leadership and management education, promotional preparation, incident command training, and formal certification programs such as Fire Officer, Incident Safety Officer, and Fire Safety Inspector. Programs may range from individual professional-development courses to multi-day certification and command programs, including the Blue Card Incident Command System. While some subjects naturally overlap with emergency operations, LEAD is centered on developing the individual as a leader, supervisor, manager, and decision-maker rather than teaching operational firefighting skills.
Primary Training Areas
Leadership
- Leadership Development
- Crew Leadership
- Decision-Making
- Professional Responsibility
- Organizational Culture
- Mentoring
- Communication
Management & Supervision
- Personnel Management
- Company-Level Supervision
- Conflict Management
- Performance Management
- Organizational Management
- Fire Service Administration
- Report Writing
Incident Management
- Incident Command
- Blue Card Incident Command System
- Incident Safety
- Strategy and Decision-Making
- Command Communications
- Managing Complex Incidents
Officer Development
- Company Officer Development
- Fire Officer I
- Fire Officer II
- Fire Officer III
- Fire Officer IV
- Promotional Preparation
- Officer Assessment Preparation
Prevention / Organizational Responsibility
- Fire Safety Inspector
- Code / Inspection Development
- Administrative Responsibilities
- Risk Management
Curriculum Scope
The central concept behind LEAD is developing the person. Courses may range from single-session seminars and workshops to multi-day certification and command programs — one registration covers the complete course offering, with attendance recorded per session. LEAD is classified by primary development objective, not by whether an emergency incident is discussed: teaching a firefighter how to perform search operations is DRILL, while teaching an officer how to manage companies during a search operation is LEAD. Operational firefighter skills (hose, ladders, forcible entry, search, fire attack, technical rescue, dive rescue, hazardous materials operations, apparatus operations) belong primarily to DRILL; EMS and clinical patient-care education belongs to PULSE. Blue Card is classified within LEAD because its primary purpose is incident command, organization, decision-making, communications, accountability and management of companies and resources. Not every LEAD course results in certification — leadership, communication, promotional preparation, public information and instructor development courses are offered as professional development.
Primary Courses
Representative programming within Lead. Scheduled offerings appear in the current course catalog below.
FTC Leadership Academy
A multi-session leadership program for personnel preparing for supervisory and organizational responsibility.
Company Officer Development
Supervision, accountability, tactical decision-making and daily company management for new and aspiring officers.
Incident Command
Command structure, size-up, strategy and tactical decision-making at the company and command level.
Blue Card — First Responder System Overview
System orientation for all personnel operating within a Blue Card command environment.
Blue Card — Incident Command Certification
Certification pathway covering standard command practice for typical NIMS Type 4 and Type 5 incidents.
Incident Safety Officer
Scene safety responsibilities, risk assessment and the safety officer's role within the command structure.
Instructor Development
Instructional method, lesson planning, evaluation and safe delivery of hands-on fire-service training.
Leadership & Crew Culture
Crew dynamics, accountability, mentorship and the daily behaviors that build a strong company culture.
Fire Service Communications
Radio discipline, incident communication, report writing and clear written and verbal expression.
Public Information for Company Officers
Interacting with the public and media, messaging discipline and representing the department professionally.
Current Course Catalog
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