Recruits participate in a new hire orientation. They are introduced to the Management Staff and the Training Staff. Recruits are informed of the department's rules and regulations, as well as the Cobb County Rules and Regulations for conduct. Recruits will be given a physical fitness test. Recruits will be measured for firefighting gear and tested for their personal face piece (SCBA). Actual training for the first week will consist of CPR, computer training, and orientation of personal protective equipment (firefighting gear)

Day 1 - Testing on training received in week 1. Week 2 training begins with fire behavior. Recruits will learn the scientific components of fire, the stages of fire, and the potential hazards associated with each stage of fire.

Day 2 - Recruits are oriented with a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). They are taught the components of the SCBA, its operation, and emergency procedures used with the SCBA.

Day 3 - Self-contained breathing apparatus practical training begins. Recruits are instructed in self-rescue while using the SCBA in a controlled environment (training tower).

Day 4 - SCBA training is progressive. Rescue training is continued, and victim and self-rescue techniques are instructed in the classroom environment.

Day 5 - Training consist of practical application of rescue techniques at the training tower. Exercises will include self-rescue through confined spaces and victim (training dummy) rescue from a structure. Recruits will also have an orientation with the air and light truck. They will learn the components of the truck and learn to fill the SCBA air bottles.

Day 1 - Testing on training received in week 2. Recruits will have classroom instruction on fire hose. This class explains the different types of fire hose, the components of fire hose, and instructions on the use of hose tools and appliances.

Day 2 - Practical training at the tower. Training consist of Hose Drills and Search/Rescue Drills. Hose Drills - recruits apply classroom training and demonstrate various hose rolls and various ways to load hose on a fire apparatus. Search/Rescue Drills - will become progressively difficult.

Day 3 - Recruits will build on training learned in Fire Behavior and will now learn about Fire Control (techniques used to extinguish a fire).

Day 4 - Classroom instruction on safety at an incident scene. Training will also include orientation and instruction on the Incident Command System.

Day 5 - Recruits will perform various exercises/drills at the training tower with their their face piece covered (total darkness). Recruits will also perform practical application of training received on the air truck.

Day 1 - Testing on training received in week 3. Classroom instruction on ladders. Recruits will be informed of the different types of ladders and their uses, as well as techniques used to deploy each type of ladder.

Day 2 - Tower drills: Recruits will identify different types of ladders and deploy each ladder using various techniques. Recruits will also receive orientation with aerial apparatus (ladder truck). They will be instructed how to deploy and use the aerial apparatus.

Day 3 - Classroom instruction on Forcible Entry. Recruits will learn about different types of doors, windows, and components of locking mechanisms. They will be instructed on different techniques used to force entry through a particular obstruction.

Day 4 - Classroom instruction on Ropes and Knots. Recruits will learn the different types of ropes, the components of each type of rope, and the care of each type of rope. They will be instructed on which knots are used with a particular type of rope and the application of the knot for a specific task.

Day 5 - Tower drills: Practical application of forcible entry techniques and use of ropes and knots. Forcible entry: Recruits will use the appropriate tool and technique for the appropriate obstruction. Ropes and knots: Recruit will identify certain types of rope and demonstrate the appropriate knot used for a specific task.

Day 1 - Weekly test from week 4. Classroom: Fire Cause. Recruits learn the techniques to determine fire cause and the origin of the fire. Classroom: High-rise. Recruits are instructed from the CCFES High-rise Manual. Instruction includes: policies, procedures, and tactics for high-rise fires and alarm responses.

Day 2 - Tower Drills: Nuts and Bolts. Recruits perform a slow, systematic search for items in the training tower while wearing turnout gear with SCBA.

Day 3 - Classroom: Fire Extinguishers. Recruits will learn the four classes of fire extinguishers, their uses, and tests used to determine their classification.

Day 4 - Classroom: Building Collapse. Recruits will be instructed on the different types of building collapse, the hazards associated with each type, and the methods used to search for victims.

Day 5 - Tower Drills: Search and Rescue Drills. Recruits will search for victims in a smoke-filled environment.

Day 1 - Weekly test from week 5. Classroom: Salvage and Overhaul. Instruction on techniques used to check for fire extension, techniques used to reduce water and smoke damage to the rest of the structure, as well as techniques used to salvage items that are not in the fire area.

Day 2 - Classroom: Water Supply and Sprinklers. Instruction on establishing a temporary and a permanent water supply to fire attack equipment. Classroom instruction on the different types of sprinkler systems and their components.

Day 3 - Tower Drills: Salvage / overhaul and Sprinklers. Recruits will demonstrate techniques learned in Day 2. Recruits will deploy tarps, divert water, shut down an activated sprinkler head, and restore the sprinkler system.

Day 4 - Classroom: Communications. Recruits will learn CCFES policies related to radio communications, dispatch policies, as well as tour the 911 / Communications Center.

Day 5 - Tower Drills: Hose Evolution's. Recruits in full turnout gear with SCBA will follow a hose in a maze that will lead them through the building and outside to safety (smoke filled environment). Recruits will use the techniques to learn in search and rescue to successfully complete the exercise.

Day 1- Weekly test from week 6. Classroom; Ventilation. Recruits will learn techniques and equipment used for the systematic removal of heat, smoke, and fire gases from a structure while replacing them with cooler, clean air.

Day 2 - Tower Drills: Ventilation practical. Recruits will demonstrate ventilation techniques learned in Day 1 classroom portion.

Day 3 - Classroom: Fire Streams. Recruits will learn the components of a nozzle, type of stream produced by the nozzle, and the fundamentals of pressure used to develop a proper hose stream.

Day 4 - Classroom/Training grounds: Trench Rescue. Recruits will be instructed on the specialized techniques used at a trench collapse. Training will include classroom and hands-on training.

Day 5 - Tower Drills: Search and Rescue. Recruits will perform search and rescue drills in a smoke-filled environment (full turnout gear and SCBA). Drills will become increasingly difficult throughout training.

Day 1 - Weekly test from week 7. Classroom: Fire Ground Hydraulics. Recruits will learn the components of the pump on fire apparatus, build on theories learned in Fire Streams related to pressure, and learn the CCFES thumb rules (specific pressures used with individual types of fire hose).

Day 2 - Training grounds: Fire Ground Hydraulics. Recruits will have hands-on training with the apparatus. They will demonstrate the techniques used to provide an adequate water supply to another apparatus or fire attack team. This training builds on the material learned in week 6 Water Supply.

Day 3 - Tower Drills: Search and Rescue/Fire Control. Recruits will divide into teams of four. Each team will enter the training tower to search for victims and find the seat of the fire. The team will deploy the hose line into the structure, then search for victims while the nozzle man and the back-up person hold the fire in check. The last two personnel will systematically search each room, then return to the hose line. If any victims are found, they relay the information to the nozzle man and remove the victim from the structure.

Day 4 - Tower Drills: Wild Land Fire Fighting/NPQ practice. Recruits will be instructed on techniques used in wild land fire fighting (large scale forest fires). Also, recruits will practice the skills that are tested on the National Professional Qualifications Exam for Fire Fighter 1.

Day 5 - Classroom: Public Education. Recruits will be informed and instructed by members of the CCFES Fire Safety Education Division. They will learn about the fire safety education division and the role they provide for public education related to fire safety. They are also instructed on giving fire safety classes and proper procedures for fire station tours.

Day 1 - Weekly test on week 8. Classroom: Hazardous Materials. Recruits will learn how to identify a hazardous material, how to deploy basic defensive techniques used in fuel spills, and principles used to establish a decontamination sector.

Day 2 - Training grounds: Hazmat Practical. Recruits will identify an unknown chemical by using the D.O.T. Emergency Response Guide, establish a perimeter, and set up and emergency decontamination area.

Day 3 - Classroom: Performance Appraisals and personnel Accountability System. Recruits will learn what factors are considered during their quarterly evaluations (rule conformance, job knowledge, continued training, etc.). Recruits will also learn the components of the P.A.S. (personnel accountability system). This system consist of tags belonging to each individual that contain personal emergency information (emergency contacts, blood type, allergies, and significant medical history). Each shift, all personnel are required to place their tag on their apparatus ring. This ring is turned into the command unit on the scene of a large incident. This will allow the incident commander to know exactly which personnel are assigned to a specific task. It also allows the incident commander to insure the safety of all personnel in the hazard area by having each unit check in with the number of personnel present.

Day 4 - Training grounds; Driver Training. Recruits will be instructed in the proper techniques to drive a fire apparatus. The recruits will be required to drive the apparatus through a course with cones. This is a scored obstacle course with a limited number of cones that can be hit.

Day 5 - Tower Drills: Night training. Recruits will perform search and rescue drills, and fire control during night time conditions.

Day 1 - Weekly test on week 9. Recruits will check all of the personal protective equipment and help prepare any materials needed to take to the burn building at the Georgia Fire Academy.

Days 2 & 3 - Georgia Fir Academy: Search and Rescue/Fire Control techniques used during live fire conditions (12 hour day minimum).

Day 4 - Day Off.

Day 5 - Night Drill #2: LP Gas. Recruits will demonstrate techniques used to extinguish an LP Gas fire during nighttime conditions.

Day 1 - Weekly test on week 10 material. Classroom: Vehicle Extrication. Recruits will learn vehicle stabilization, equipment needed for a vehicle extrication, as well as the techniques used to extricate the victim from the vehicle.

Day 2 - Training grounds: Vehicle Extrication Practical. Recruits will have hands-on training extricating a simulated victim from a vehicle. The recruits will stabilize the vehicle with proper tools and techniques, and remove the victim from the car.

Days 3 & 4 - Half of the class continues with tower drills and the other half rides along with Police units. This allows Police and Fire personnel to become more familiar with the other's job requirements.

Day 5 - Day Off.

Days 1 & 2 - Tower Drills: NPQ Practice. Recruits will practice the skills to be tested on the National Professional Qualifications Fire Fighter I exam.

Days 3 & 4 - Cobb County Fire Practical Test. Recruits will be tested with a written exam and practical examinations on the material and skills instructed during the twelve weeks of training.

Day 5 - Training Grounds: Advanced Rescue / Confines Space / Rappelling / Church Raise. Recruits will learn techniques used in confined space rescue and crawl through tunnels with a supplied air source. Recruits will also be instructed basic rappelling techniques, and will rappel off of the training tower. Recruits will participate in a team-building exercise called the church raise. Each recruit will climb a 50 ft. ladder that is held by ropes in place. The ladder is completely vertical (90 degrees). The ropes are held by the recruits classmates. The individual is required to climb to the top of the ladder and over the top then down the opposite side.