April 8, 1998 Special Presentation

by Bruce Piringer & Gary Wilson

Fire and Rescue Training Institute
University of Missouri at Columbia


Online Hazardous Materials Initial Response: Awareness Course



Contents:

Summary
Online Transcript
Download Transcript (MS Word File)
Slides: 1, 2, 3, 4, NAERG96 On-Line

About Bruce Piringer
About Gary Wilson

Fire and Rescue Training Institute
HazMat Awareness Course
University of Missouri Distance Learning Design Center

SUMMARY

EIIP Classroom Online Presentation

"Online Hazardous Materials Initial Response: Awareness Course"

Bruce Piringer
Director
Fire and Rescue Training Institute University of Missouri at Columbia

Gary Wilson
Associate Director
Fire and Rescue Training Institute University of Missouri at Columbia

Gary Wilson provided an overview of the development of the online Hazardous Materials Awareness course, which is a logical extension of an active distance learning program by the Fire and Rescue Training Institute. The course was developed to provide access to as many individuals as possible, including LEPC's and emergency responders year round.

A final examination is required, and exam questions and assignments were written before the lessons to ensure well integrated materials. Graphics were included to reinforce learning and to break up the text. Final exam questions are selected by a powerful test generator program.

Pros and cons of this experience were discussed, including the ability to update material as needed and providing the fire services with the opportunity to learn and use new technology. Results to date include 35 enrollees from Missouri , other states, and Canada. This technology represents just one of a number of tools that may be used to reach students. The course is open to anyone, cost is $30.00 and may be paid online using a credit card.

Bruce Piringer assisted with answering audience questions, and indicated areas for possible future application, including video, CD ROM, and other courses.

BRUCE R. PIRINGER

Director
University of Missouri Fire and Rescue Training Institute


Bruce Piringer is currently Director of the Fire and Rescue Training Institute at the University of Missouri at Columbia.

The Institute is the state-level fire training agency providing supplemental training programs for the nearly 23,000 firefighters serving with over 900 career and volunteer fire departments in Missouri.

The Institute directs and coordinate the field training activities of over 250 part-time Associate Instructors, as well as administers an industrial fire brigade training program and manages a variety of regional and state fire schools. Last year the Institute enrolled more than 18,000 firefighters and allied emergency services personnel in 982 courses.

Prior to joining the University of Missouri faculty in July 1986, Piringer served for five and a half years with the Field Programs Division of Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Fire Academy.

While at the National Fire Academy Piringer was involved with field course development and coordination. He also managed a variety of special programs for the Academy, including the Open Learning for the Fire Service Program, three annual fire safety and burn prevention conferences, and was the first project officer for the Academy's Train-the-Trainer and the Training Resource and Data Exchange (TRADE) network initiatives.

From 1973 to late 1980 Mr. Piringer was associated with the Kentucky Bureau of Vocational Education, serving initially as a regional fire training coordinator and later as a state supervisor of fire training for the Bureau's Public Service Occupations Unit. He also taught college courses in the fire science curricula for Western Kentucky and Eastern Kentucky Universities.

He began the state fire training portion of his career in 1972 as a senior instructor with the University of Maryland Fire Service Extension.

His extracurricular activities have included serving as a consultant to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration on fire training and to the U.S. Fire Administration on public fire safety education, as an adjunct instructor for the National Fire Academy on fire service management and as a lecturer for the International Society of Fire Service Instructors on fireground operations.

Active in a number of national and international fire associations and organizations, Piringer is the past chair of the National Association of State Directors of Fire Training and Education and serves on the board of directors of the National Board on Fire Service Professional Qualifications.

Director Piringer joined the College Park (Maryland) Volunteer Fire Department in 1967, and held various line and staff positions in that Department, including Acting Chief. However, he marks the start of his fire service involvement as 1959 when he received the Boy Scout firemanship merit badge.

Piringer holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Urban Geography from the University of Maryland and has pursued post-graduate work in vocational-technical education at Western Kentucky University and in public administration at Kentucky State University.

piringeb@ext.missouri.edu

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GARY WILSON

Associate Director
University of Missouri Fire and Rescue Training Institute


The University of Missouri Fire and Rescue Training Institute (UMFRTI) provides essential training for approximately 23,000 volunteer and career firefighters serving with the more than 900 fire departments in the state, to members of industrial and institutional fire brigades, and to allied professionals in other emergency service organizations. Eighty-five percent of the state's fire departments are staffed by volunteers.

To expand its outreach through distance learning, the UMFRTI now offers "The Hazardous Materials Initial Response: Awareness" online; the course was developed from the core material found in the National Fire Academy's Initial Response to Hazardous Materials Incidents: Basic Concepts. The updated course material addresses OSHA CFR 29 1910.120 and the 1997 edition of NFPA 472 requirements for Hazardous Materials Awareness First Responder.

Gary Wilson

Professional Experience:

University of Missouri Fire and Rescue Training Institute, Columbia, MO
Associate Director

University of Kansas Fire Service Training, Lawrence, KS
Director, July 1, 1996 to November 30, 1996
Acting Director, February 18, 1995 to June 30, 1996
Associate Program Manager, May 1988 to February 1995

Sunflower Army Ammunitions Plant, Desoto, KS
Fire Department Lieutenant, 1986-1988
Fire Inspector, 1985-1986
Driver/Pump Operator, 1978-1985
Firefighter, 1977-1978

Eudora Fire Department, Eudora, KS
Assistant Fire Chief, 1980-1986

Education:

Bachelor of Arts in Management and Human Relations, October 1990
MidAmerica Nazarene College, Olathe, KS
Associate of Arts with emphasis in Fire Prevention, December 1987
Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, KS

Publications:

Fire Chief Magazine, Out of the Box, Into Distance Learning, June 1997
Fire Chief Magazine, Learning A Thing or Two From Business, June 1996
Fire Chief Magazine, Controlling Unfunded Mandates, September 1994
Professional Emergency Newsletter, Determining In-House Efficiency, March
1993

wilsong@ext.missouri.edu

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