This half-day session (3-4 hours) focuses on the narrative portion of fire and EMS reports. It includes instructions on basic elements that should be included in any report narrative. Participants will evaluate several sample fire and/or EMS reports, paying close attention to the need for complete information.
Find answers to these questions about fire and EMS reports:
- How should I organize my report narratives?
- How can I figure out what is “enough” information?
- What do I do about my spelling & grammar issues?
- How can I provide feedback to my crew’s reports when I’m not sure about the quality of my own?
Course Objectives
- Persuade firefighters that their writing impacts their professional development, their professional image, and their department’s image.
- Identify current risky practices plus solutions.
- Review components of well-written reports.
- Critique samples for fire and EMS reports.
Length of Session: 3-4 hours.
Optional: Participants can submit individually written reports for review and feedback for additional per-person fee.
Resources for attendees:
- Participants receive a handout that can serve as a long-term reference, both for the content covered in class and with a list of resources that allow them to continue building on the lessons learned.
- Templates for fire and EMS reports
- Checklists to help critique others’ reports. Designed to help people who don’t feel like strong writers to be able to provide helpful feedback to others.
- List of charting tips.
- The Report Card ©: Laminated version of templates plus a list of commonly misspelled words is available for an additional per-student cost. See website for an overview.
