TRAINING DIVISION

The Training Division is led by the District’s Battalion Chief of Training. The Training Division is responsible for coordinating and managing all aspects of the District’s training and certification program. The Battalion Chief of Training is supported by the Shift Officers who deliver the majority of the training to their crew members. 

The Platte Valley Fire Protection District has a training facility located on the same property as the Firehouse. The District was able to build-out the training facility over the last few years thanks to Energy Impact Grant funds as well as donations received from PDC Energy and Chevron. 

The training center includes a three-story burn building, a “dirty classroom,” and a two-story conex box structure that is used for hose management, search training, and SCBA confidence. Additionally, there a various props including propane fired oil and gas props, a propane fired vehicle prop, ventilation props, forcible entry props, fire behavior props, trench rescue props, and confined space props. The training facility has a large concrete area for driver/operator training, as well as a gravel area for conducting vehicle extrication and stabilization training. This training facility is open for use by our regional partners.

All Platte Valley personnel are certified to various levels of certification through the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control.  These certifications include but are not limited to:  Firefighter I, Firefighter II, Fire Instructor I/II/III, Fire Officer I/II/III, Driver Operator, Driver Operator Pumper, Hazardous Materials Operations, Hazardous Materials Technician, and Fire Inspector. Our Officers receive additional training and certification through the Blue Card Incident Commander program.  Additionally, our personnel receive certifications for their specialty assignments, such as Dive Rescue I through Dive Rescue International, Technical Rescue Technician through West Metro, and Wildland Fire certifications through NWCG.

All new-hire Firefighters enter the Front Range Fire Consortium (FRFC) Recruit Academy, and our Battalion Chief of Training plays a large role in that training.  These recruit Firefighters complete a 15-week career academy totaling 600+ hours along with recruits from the 10 other agencies that make up the FRFC, including: Boulder, Boulder Rural, Front Range, Greeley, Lafayette, Longmont, Loveland, Mountain View, Poudre, and Windsor-Severance.