Fire Commission Agendas &

Fire Commission Special Meeting Minutes February 25, 2013, 5:30 PM. Fire Station Call to Order at 5:30 PM. Present: President Carl Peeters, Secretary Pat Nikolay, Commission Members Bill Verhagen, Dick Schevers, Chief Mark Janssen, Asst. Chief Jon Brockman, Asst. Chief Tom Coenen, Lieutenant/Engineer Duane Nechodom, FVTC Department Chair Jeremy Hansen, FVTC Executive Dean Dr. Pat Robinson. This special meeting was called to discuss the recent issue regarding the scheduling of the current Firefighters’ Training Class which is being held in Neenah. It was hoped that because we had a minimum of 12 firefighters who had indicated that they would like to take the class in Little Chute that we would be able to hold the class at our station. However, the registration for the class was closed without warning on December 18th before all 12 firefighters had registered; therefore the class in Neenah was filled with 25 firefighter trainees, which we believe to be too large a class to be effective. Mr. Hansen discussed a survey that was taken at a recent class since this issue was brought to light, asking the students whether they would rather take the class in Little Chute. The survey resulted in 6 yes and 16 no votes. Asst. Chief Brockman expressed continued concerns as to the size of the class. He indicated that many of our students are looking to the student who is retaking the class for help because they cannot get the appropriate assistance from the instructor. When asked by Mr. Hansen how many students would be an appropriate number, Chief Brockman said that he thought 14 – 16 should be the limit to the size of the class. Mr. Hansen offered the option that the 6 students who want to take the class in Little Chute could form their own class, but they probably wouldn’t be ready to take the certifications tests in May. It was decided that at this point the current class should remain status quo. When asked about a set time to have enough people signed up to run a future class, Mr. Hansen couldn’t give a definite amount of time, but stated that 4 weeks would probably be a good time frame to make sure we could hold the class in Little Chute. Chief Brockman requested a courtesy call be made to him a couple of days before a class is going to be cancelled due to low enrollment so that he can call around and fill up the class before the cancellation takes place. We were assured that if we can get 12 people for a class in the future that we can run it in Little Chute. A discussion took place about the testing procedures and the inability of some people to be able to fulfill the requirement of taking a written test due to a documented disability. Mr. Hansen and Dr. Robinson indicated that the requirements for certification remain with the State Fire Commission and that they are bound by those rules. The accommodations of tests being read to students and students given additional time to take the tests are the only ones currently approved. The Commission asked Mr. Hansen, who is on the Board of the State Fire Commission, to bring the issue of adding an oral test in lieu of a written test to his next meeting with them, advocating for men and women with learning handicaps. Adjourn at 6:30 PM.