About the Connecticut Fire Academy

The Connecticut Fire Academy (CFA) is a state-of-the-art training facility located at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks. With a faculty of around 200 part-time adjunct instructors and contractors, the CFA offers a diverse range of training and education programs. These programs range from the comprehensive 17-week resident Recruit Firefighter Training program to Fire Officer and technical specialty level courses, many of which offer collegiate transfer credits. Courses can be delivered at local fire stations, Regional Fire Schools, and the CFA campus in Windsor Locks.

In FY22, the Training Unit delivered 249 training programs to 4,331 students, providing 185,896 contact hours. Additionally, the Unit administered 3,687 N-95 respirator fit tests at 176 scheduled sessions statewide, supporting healthcare professionals during the COVID response.

Record Keeping at the CFA

Before implementing Slate Pages, the CFA managed equipment checks, maintenance records, and training reports using pen and paper. However, this approach led to inefficiencies, and the CFA sought to move away from hard copy records.

Due to the high volume of equipment on site, maintenance and tracking became challenging. Instructors used paper tags to report equipment issues, but these tags were often incomplete, lost, and lacked accountability. There was also no way to track equipment sent off-site for repairs.

The CFA conducts at least two 14-week Recruit Firefighter Programs annually, with each live-in program hosting up to 70 recruit firefighters from across the state. Managing documentation for these classes, including physical training, skills checks, proficiency and deficiency tracking, and meal requests, became burdensome.

Additionally, the CFA offers around 300 classes both on-campus and off-site at locations across the state. The CFA also operates an off-campus Candidate Physical Agility Test (CPAT) testing facility that administers tests to over a thousand candidates each year.

About Slate Pages

Established in 2017, Slate Pages has enhanced the daily operations of companies and organizations with its user-friendly smartphone app and special QR code tags. Slate Pages is a fully customizable asset management system that can be tailored by users to track virtually anything.

Slate Pages was designed with the following objectives:

• Cost-effective: Pricing depends on the number of assets, not users, licenses, or devices.
• QR code-driven: Enables fast and easy scanning from any smartphone, connecting information directly to the asset.
• Easy to use: Get started with Slates in about 5 minutes, thanks to its straightforward user interface.
• Customizable by the user: Effortlessly customize fields and layouts from your device, without waiting for someone else. Choose from pre-built templates or create one from scratch to meet your organization's specific needs.

Slate Pages & the Connecticut Fire Academy

P.J. Norwood, the new Director of Training at the CFA, introduced Slate Pages after successfully using it in his previous fire service career. An initial meeting with Slate’s Account Manager and Director Norwood's team of recruit coordinator instructors helped identify the major challenges facing the Academy's operations.

Equipment Tracking

The CFA's equipment tracking system was identified as a significant issue. In collaboration with the CFA team, a customized template was created for all their equipment. This enabled instructors to submit maintenance request tickets and provide the logistics team with the necessary information to initiate repairs.

Customizing the dashboard with multiple views allowed the logistics team to see all out-of-service equipment, track maintenance notes, and log repair costs. The information could be exported to Excel for easy calculations.

The State of Connecticut uses a statewide asset system for tracking high-value assets, audited annually. By integrating this information into Slate QR code tags, the CFA gained easier access to the statewide asset information.

Recruit Tracking

At the start of each 14-week recruit class, students receive a list of items, important information, and a personal accountability tag with their recruit number. Handling documentation, such as performance logs, daily health checks, dorm room inspections, and cafeteria meal requests, became increasingly cumbersome.

By customizing individual Slate accountability tags, paperwork was eliminated, and students and instructors could document and record items directly from the drill ground using their smartphones. Recruit coordinators could monitor the progress of recruits through the online dashboard remotely.

Previously, recruits submitted paper forms for meal requests based on the cafeteria menu for the following day. Kitchen staff would collect and process these requests at the beginning of the day to prepare meals. By using each recruit's Slate tag, recruits could complete these requests from their phones, which would then populate in a preset customized view for kitchen staff before their arrival.

Conclusion

The Connecticut Fire Academy has been a valuable partner for Slate Pages, and the two continue to collaborate on refining processes to increase efficiency, saving time and money. The extreme customization and adaptability of the Slate Pages platform to the unique needs of the CFA demonstrates its capacity to address important tasks within any organization. Make the most of your data by making it work for you, rather than merely "checking the box."

Testimonial from PJ Norwood, Connecticut Fire Academy:

"The CT Fire Academy Training Unit delivers a wide range of training and education programs [...] The Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT) continued to be offered to municipalities to assist in identifying future firefighters with the capability of career and lifelong success. This past year, the CT CPAT center administered tests to 1,671 candidates.

The Fire Academies logistic division is a 24/7 operation to support every aspect of our training both on and off campus. The equipment cache is extensive [...] With the size of the operation, tracking and managing assets and up to 140 recruits became increasingly difficult every day. The Academy administration, with the full support of the logistics staff, has begun the immense project of embedding Slate Pages into our operations. While the project is massive, the Slate Pages platform has made this otherwise challenging task smooth and easy. The Slate Pages QR system has paid off dividends each day. We are managing our assets and recruits much better and have seen a faster turnaround time in our equipment during breakdowns and preventative maintenance. Incorporating Slate Pages into the CT Fire Academy is one of those platforms that we do not know how we were successful without it."

Learn more about the Connecticut Fire Academy: https://portal.ct.gov/CFPC/_old/CT-Fire-Academy/General-Information/Training-Introduction

Learn more about Slate Pages: https://slatepages.com/