Chesterfield Fire Department
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Training

Personnel Development

Chesterfield firefighters trained more than 4,300 hours in 2025, from live fire and ice rescue to confined space, HAZMAT and Blue Card incident command.

4,306
Training Hours, 2025
66
Hours of Blue Card Training
50 online plus a 16-hour simulation
4
Training Groups
Three battalions and part-time

About the Training

In 2025 the Chesterfield Township Fire Department spent 4,306 hours in training, including confined space, live fire, ice rescue and HAZMAT. Daily apparatus inspections, SCBA checks and company drills sit alongside specialty training for the technical rescue, HAZMAT and water rescue teams.

Full-time firefighters attend Blue Card training, a standardized, simulation-based incident command program. It includes 50 hours of online training followed by a two-day, 16-hour simulation workshop, with certification, recertification and Train-the-Trainer options.

The department also trains for disasters across all four phases of emergency management, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery, and for mass casualty incidents such as multi-vehicle crashes and train derailments.

Responsibilities

  • Deliver initial training and continuing education for every member
  • Maintain EMT, Paramedic and HAZMAT Operations certifications
  • Train the technical rescue, HAZMAT and water rescue teams
  • Run Blue Card incident command training
  • Prepare crews for disasters and mass casualty incidents

Strategic Plan: Personnel Development and Training

The department's people are its greatest asset. The 2025-2030 Strategic Plan commits it to a published progression of skills and training for every position, a list of essential skills for each rank used in annual evaluations, a mentor program for probationary members, and a fair annual evaluation process that identifies training successes and needs.

Training

Facts and Figures

Training Hours by Category, 2025 (Annual Report)
CategoryHours
Daily vehicle maintenance and inspection672.00
Fire Officer I and II (NFPA 1021)634.00
Preventive maintenance (NFPA 1002)266.50
Daily SCBA checkout206.75
Technical rescue quarterly166.00
Fire hose121.50
Firefighter fitness (NFPA 1500)112.86
Quarterly fire training111.50
Specialty training100.50
Miscellaneous1,914.80
Training Hours by Group, 2025 (Annual Report)
GroupHours
Battalion 11,177.67
Battalion 21,279.07
Battalion 31,240.39
Part-time firefighters609.38
Total4,306.51
In Pictures

Training Gallery

Firefighters working a Blue Card incident command simulationNew Chesterfield firefighters in turnout gearA Chesterfield fire officer at a multi-agency industrial drillA firefighter forcing a door during forcible entry trainingA firefighter breaching a block wall during forcible entry trainingA firefighter working through a breached wall with a halligan barFirefighters cutting with a rescue saw during hands-on trainingFirefighters in SCBA training with a rotary sawA firefighter in SCBA with a ground ladder at the station
Firefighters and residents practicing CPR on manikinsA live fire extinguisher prop set up for training
Video

Watch

Chesterfield Township Firefighter Recruits Train in Near 100-Degree HeatWXYZ-TV Channel 7 follows the department's recruits through training on one of the hottest days of the summer.
Watch on YouTube
Firefighters Train for Ice Rescues in Frozen Michigan LakesWXYZ-TV Channel 7 on Chesterfield's ice rescue training.
Firefighter Friday: Apparatus Driver TrainingCaptain Brian Hubbert on the annual driving course every firefighter completes before taking the department's apparatus out on the road.
Firefighter Friday: Staying Fit on ShiftFirefighter Chloe Lowell in the Station 3 gym, where crews work out once a day on shift, with equipment donated by Planet Fitness.
Firefighter Friday: Inside Our Bunker GearThe three layers of a firefighter's turnout coat, and the built-in drag rescue device used to pull a downed firefighter to safety.
Firefighter Friday: SCBA with Firefighter Scott PomavilleHow the self-contained breathing apparatus firefighters wear into a fire works, and how crews check it every day.

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