Firefighter Refresher Course

Lesson 1 • Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus Refresher

Reviews SCBA donning, air management, and emergency procedures. Reinforces the foundational skill required before any interior firefighting operations.

Lesson 2 • Personal Protective Equipment Standards

Covers proper donning, doffing, and inspection of structural PPE. Connects equipment integrity directly to firefighter survivability on the fireground.

Lesson 3 • Firefighter Survival Techniques

Addresses disorientation, entrapment, and Mayday activation procedures. Builds the survival mindset that underpins all advanced rescue and suppression chapters.

Lesson 1 • Fire Development Stages

Traces fire progression from incipient through fully developed and decay phases. Enables firefighters to read conditions and anticipate dangerous transitions.

Lesson 2 • Ventilation Effects on Fire Behaviour

Explains how openings alter fire growth, smoke movement, and suppression effectiveness. Prepares firefighters for coordinated ventilation decisions covered in later chapters.

Lesson 3 • Smoke Reading and Fire Gas Behaviour

Teaches interpretation of smoke volume, velocity, colour, and density. Directly informs entry decisions and nozzle placement in later suppression chapters.

Lesson 4 • Principles of Combustion

Explains the fire tetrahedron, heat release rates, and ignition thresholds. Provides the chemical foundation needed to understand suppression agent selection.

Lesson 1 • Nozzle Types and Flow Management

Covers smooth bore, combination, and specialty nozzle characteristics and flow settings. Enables informed nozzle selection for the suppression tactics in Chapter 4.

Lesson 2 • Hose Deployment and Advancement

Teaches efficient hose loads, stretches, and advancement techniques for various building types. Directly supports interior attack operations introduced in Chapter 4.

Lesson 3 • Hydraulic Principles and Friction Loss

Reviews pressure, flow, and friction loss calculations for common hose configurations. Provides the hydraulic literacy needed for pump operations and relay supply.

Lesson 4 • Hose Types and Selection Criteria

Reviews attack, supply, and specialty hose specifications and appropriate use cases. Grounds firefighters in equipment knowledge before advancing to deployment techniques.

Lesson 1 • Exterior and Transitional Attack

Covers blitz attack, transitional cooling, and defensive master stream operations. Provides safe alternatives when interior conditions exceed acceptable risk thresholds.

Lesson 2 • Offensive Versus Defensive Mode Decision

Establishes criteria for selecting, transitioning, and communicating operational mode. Integrates risk assessment from Chapter 1 with structural knowledge from Chapter 2.

Lesson 3 • Interior Attack Techniques

Covers door control, flow path management, and nozzle techniques for interior suppression. Builds directly on hose advancement and fire behaviour skills from Chapters 2 and 3.

Lesson 4 • Coordinated Ventilation and Attack

Teaches synchronised timing of ventilation and water application to control flow paths. Prevents unintended fire spread caused by uncoordinated crew actions.

Lesson 1 • Search Methodology and Prioritisation

Covers primary and secondary search objectives, victim location probability, and room prioritisation. Establishes the systematic approach that prevents missed victims.

Lesson 2 • Search Techniques in Zero Visibility

Teaches oriented, oriented-with-rope, and thermal imaging-assisted search methods. Directly applies SCBA and survival skills from Chapter 1 to victim location tasks.

Lesson 3 • Victim Removal Techniques

Covers drags, carries, and stair descent methods for victims of varying size and condition. Ensures firefighters can remove victims without causing secondary injury.

Lesson 4 • Accountability During Search Operations

Addresses personnel accountability systems, entry/exit logging, and PAR reporting. Prevents firefighter loss during complex multi-crew search operations.

Lesson 1 • Haemorrhage Control and Shock Management

Teaches tourniquet application, wound packing, and pressure dressing for severe bleeding. Addresses the leading cause of preventable fireground and trauma fatalities.

Lesson 2 • CPR and AED Refresher

Reviews high-quality CPR technique, compression-to-ventilation ratios, and AED operation. Ensures firefighters maintain certification-level cardiac arrest response skills.

Lesson 3 • Burns, Smoke Inhalation, and Heat Illness

Covers burn classification, inhalation injury signs, and heat-related illness management. Addresses the most common medical emergencies encountered at fire incidents.

Lesson 4 • Fireground Trauma Assessment

Covers rapid trauma assessment adapted for fireground conditions and PPE constraints. Connects victim packaging from Chapter 5 to systematic medical evaluation.

Lesson 1 • Incident Escalation and Mutual Aid

Addresses triggers for escalating command, requesting mutual aid, and integrating arriving resources. Prepares firefighters for large-scale incidents beyond single-company response.

Lesson 2 • Sector and Division Assignment

Teaches geographic and functional sector designation and reporting responsibilities. Enables firefighters to operate within assigned areas and report status accurately.

Lesson 3 • Incident Command System Review

Reviews ICS organisational structure, span of control, and unity of command principles. Establishes the command framework that coordinates all tactics from previous chapters.

Lesson 4 • Fireground Radio Communication

Covers radio discipline, standard terminology, and message formatting for fireground use. Prevents communication failures that contribute to firefighter injuries and tactical errors.

Lesson 1 • Solar Panel and Renewable Energy Hazards

Covers energised solar array risks, roof load concerns, and suppression limitations. Prepares firefighters for hazards present in an expanding number of residential structures.

Lesson 2 • Confined Space and Trench Rescue Awareness

Reviews permit-required confined space hazards and trench collapse recognition. Establishes awareness-level boundaries before technical rescue teams take over.

Lesson 3 • Hazardous Materials Awareness

Reviews recognition, placarding, and isolation procedures at hazmat incidents. Establishes the awareness-level response boundary before specialist resources arrive.

Lesson 4 • Alternative Fuel Vehicle Incidents

Addresses electric vehicle battery fires, hydrogen fuel cell hazards, and hybrid vehicle risks. Provides safe response procedures for an increasingly common incident type.