Kicking Off the Event

Consider a creative kick-off. For example, at one Fire Ops 101 event a dispatcher send a call over the loud speaker to start the morning.

A few examples:

• Start the morning by laying a dummy in the middle of the room and telling participates that it could be a member of their family. Ask participants what they would do next to get them to think about the course of the events in an emergency.
• Start the scenario and then wait three to four minutes to simulate response time. Use those few minutes to describe the rising heat and what they will face when they arrive on the scene.

Hydration Station
Your Fire Ops 101 event must have an area for participants to re-hydrate following each scenario. Provide water, Gatorade or a piece of fruit to re-energize for the next task. Make sure there are enough stations around the scenario circuit for your participants to comfortably get water.

Debriefing and Lunch
It is important to wrap up your day by talking with participants once more. Emphasize your event's objective, ask what they learned and find out how the event effected their views of the fire service. Eat lunch with the participants for the opportunity to build relationships with these elected officials and vice-versa.