The Westchester County Department of Emergency Services offers a full range of courses for all emergency services personnel including but not limited to; NYS OFPC courses, SEMO courses, NYS DOS Codes courses, EMS Courses, as well as County developed courses.
Conformance to the following rules and regulations is essential to the efficient operation of the Westchester County Department of Emergency Services Training Facility and the safety of the students. All students/visitors/instructors will familiarize themselves with their content and be held responsible for compliance.
CLASS REGISTRATION: Firefighters and other emergency responders can register through our on-line registration process, training tracking application system. Specific classes require approval for Fire Chiefs or Training Officers. https://training.westchestergov.com/training/login.do. All students must be registered prior to the start of the class. WALK-INS WILL NOT BE PERMITTED.
PREREQUISITES: Prerequisites are indicated in the course bulletin for each course. Please make sure your personnel has successfully completed all necessary prerequisites before registering for class. Students without proper prerequisites will not be registered for the class.
CONFIRMATIONS: Course registration confirmations are sent via e-mail through the training tracking system.
CANCELLATION POLICY: If a student has to cancel for some reason, they must do so prior to the start date of the first class. Students can cancel themselves from classes directly through the on-line training system.
SUBSTITUTIONS: If the Chief or Training Officer discovers that a person who has registered cannot attend a course, they may send a substitute from the same organization, if that substitute has met the prerequisites for that course. Please make these changes through the training tracking application system.
ATTENDANCE: Students are responsible for arriving for class on time. Class times are posted on the individual class bulletins. If turnout gear is required for class, students are responsible to arrive early to stow gear on the apparatus floor prior to the class start time.
Attendance at ALL sessions is mandatory in order to successfully complete any course. If a session is missed, the student must notify his or her instructor, and then a makeup session will be scheduled by the Instructor and the Fire Training Technician. All make-up sessions must be authorized by the Fire Training Technician and no “walk-ins” will be allowed.
All students and visitors attending any training session, meeting, drill, exercise, or another event shall sign in on a designated attendance form or a WCDES Activity Report, which are used for accountability purposes. Formal ceremonies such as graduation ceremonies and the Fallen Firefighter Memorial service are exempt from this policy due to the nature of such events.
TRAINING AUTHORIZATION LETTERS: Students participating in all NYS Office of Fire Prevention and Control fire training courses are required to submit a completed NYS Training Authorization letter. This form must be signed by the Chief or their designee (assistant chief or training officer) and by the student acknowledging compliance with 29 CFR 1910.134 and must be submitted on the first day of class. This form can be found on our website under the Fire Services page in the “Forms and Listing” section.
PARKING: All students are to park in the lot adjacent to the WCDES Robert J. Schnibbe Jr. Support Services Building located at 35 Walker Road. There is a stairway linking the parking lot directly with the training facility. No student/visitor is to park in the front parking lot of WCDES located at 4 Dana Road at any time.
DRESS CODE: It is the student’s responsibility to use good judgment in selecting attire that projects a professional image and that is appropriate for both climate differences and classroom activities. A student whose attire is determined to be inappropriate by the Instructor will be required to change into more appropriate clothing before being allowed to return to class. If the student does not correct the situation they will not be allowed to participate in class for the day, and the instructor will direct the student to leave the facility. The student will have to make up the class at another time.
Acceptable attire for Classroom Settings:
The students in the classroom are recommended to wear long pants. Shorts and/or skirts must cover the student’s entire buttocks area and must extend to the knee. Students shall wear a shirt that covers their entire midriff and shoulders. No open-toed footwear is allowed.
Acceptable attire for the Training Grounds:
Comfortable clothing is suggested for all outdoor programs. Clothing may become soiled by outdoor activities, so dress appropriately. Trousers and long sleeve shirts are suggested. No open-toed footwear is allowed.
Unacceptable attire for the Training Grounds:
Any shirts with profanity or any type of discriminatory wording or phrases printed on them.
- Shirts/blouses that have spaghetti straps and/or show midriff.
- Muscle shirts, tank tops
- Shorts, which exposes the buttocks in any manner.
- Pants, which have large holes in them and have the potential of exposing student’s buttocks or genital areas.
- Sandals of any kind.
For any live burn evolutions, no performance wear or jewelry may be worn. This includes body piercings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and rings. Medic alert bracelets and necklaces are exempt.
PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT: All PPE must meet the current specifications as stated by the current version NFPA 1971. Proper PPE must be worn during training evolutions (unless otherwise instructed). Proper PPE shall include the following:
- Full turnout gear including coat, bunker pants, and boots
- Nomex hoods
- Gloves
- SCBA
SCBA/ MEDICAL CLEARANCE: All students participating in training utilizing a Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) must have obtained medical clearance for the use of the SCBA, in accordance with 29 C.F.R. Part 1910.134 and have completed a proper mask fit test. The NYS Training Authorization Letter attesting to the medical clearance must be signed by the Chief of Department and submitted to the instructor on the first day of class WITHOUT EXCEPTION. This form can be found on our website under the Fire Services page in the “Forms and Listing” section.
Students with facial hair that interferes with the facepiece seal for respiratory protection shall not participate in any training function requiring respiratory protection. This is in accordance with OSHA 29 C.F.R. Part 1910.134 and NFPA 1500.
TURNOUT GEAR: At no time is turnout gear to be worn into the classroom/office building. All turnout gear is to be removed outside of the glass entrance, gray doors, or garage doors. Turnout gear is to be kept outside or in the wooden cubicles located on the apparatus floor. Nothing should be left on the apparatus floor when performing outdoor training evolutions, i.e. shoes, clothes, book bags, etc.
INJURIES: Any injury during a training evolution must be reported immediately to an Instructor. The proper injury report forms must be completed. Students that are transported to the hospital via ambulance may not return to class without written clearance from the attending physician.
TRAINING GROUNDS: Instruction being conducted on the outside training grounds can be difficult at times, simply due to the aspect of being outdoors as well as the inherent dangers that are always present in the learning environment. Therefore, it is imperative that the students give their full attention to the instructor. Failure to do so takes away from the training and may be grounds for removal from the class.
Students shall not be given credit for any unit of instruction in which they did not actively participate. Students who do not actively participate in any portion of the class will not be given a certificate for the class and will not be eligible to return for other courses for which the incomplete class is a prerequisite.
TRAINING EQUIPMENT: All training equipment will be treated with the utmost respect and care. Treat this equipment as if it was your own. All equipment is to be cleaned and stored as it was found. Abuse and failure to clean or properly store equipment will not be tolerated. Any equipment that is damaged during training evolutions must be reported to an Instructor immediately.
SMOKING: Smoking is prohibited in the training center building; this includes cigarettes, cigars, or vapors. Anyone wishing to smoke must do so outdoors. There are receptacles for cigarette butts and are to be used for cigarette butts only. Chewing tobacco is also prohibited in the classrooms and on the training grounds.
GENERAL: Students are not to sit with their feet against the walls, on desks, or chairs, or mark, alter or damage any DES property. Students are expected to clean up after themselves both in the classroom and on the training grounds. Soda bottles, coffee cups, newspapers, etc. are to be placed in the proper receptacles provided for regular trash and recyclables.
Students should not, in any way, interfere with any classes that might be in session. When on breaks from class be mindful of other classes in session, meetings, or administrative offices and keep your voices to a reasonable level. Proper decorum should be exercised at all times.
Pagers, beepers, cellular phones, and other electronic devices should be turned off or switched to silent mode while classes are in session.
The use, possession, or introduction of any intoxicants, or reporting to class under the influence of intoxicants is strictly prohibited.
RESERVING THE TRAINING CENTER PROPS: A diverse array of training props, equipment, and buildings are available for fire departments for hands-on skills training. Firefighters get first-hand firefighting and rescue experience in every aspect of fire/rescue operations in a safe and supervised setting.
All evolutions on the training center grounds must be reserved and are granted on a first-come, first-served basis. When reserving the props, a minimum of one week's notice is required. When reserving any of the live burn modules, a minimum of three weeks' notice is required. A minimum of 24-hour notice must be given when canceling the use of reserved training props. Contact the fire training division at (914) 231-1699 or by e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to reserve the training props.
LIVE BURN GUIDELINES: Please reference the 2018 WCDES Live Fire Policy.