Our Schools
At the Southeast Fire District, Spring School these classes are built by firefighters, for firefighters—packed with real-world scenarios, hands-on skills, and the kind of gritty, high-energy training that makes you sharper, faster, and more confident on any call. Whether you’re sizing up a wildland fire, crawling into a collapsed structure, pulling victims from twisted metal, or working shoulder-to-shoulder with EMS on high-risk rescues, every class is designed to push your skills to the next level.
From wildland tactical operations and patient handling, to structural and trench collapse, to full-day extrication and confined space rescue, you’ll train with seasoned instructors and get your hands on the tools, tactics, and decision-making that save lives when seconds matter.
If you’re ready to step up, level up, and operate like the firefighter your team can depend on—this is the training lineup you don’t want to miss.
Let’s go. Gear up. Train hard.
South Dakota's Southeast Fire District Spring School Classes
Wildland Fire Tactical Considerations
Duration: 4 Hours
Class Limit: 20
Firefighters Instructor: Pete Bolzer – Over 40 Years served in the Fire Service
Prepare your team for the complexities of wildland fire response with this focused, hands-on training session. Wildland Fire Tactical Considerations equips firefighters with the knowledge and decision-making skills needed to safely and effectively manage dynamic wildland incidents.
Participants will learn to evaluate and recognize values at risk, develop clear and achievable incident objectives, and implement appropriate tactical operations based on changing conditions in the field.
This course includes a blended approach of engaging lecture and realistic incident simulation using the Sim Table, allowing firefighters to apply concepts in an interactive, scenario-based environment.
Ideal for departments looking to strengthen their wildland readiness, improve operational coordination, and build confidence in tactical decision-making.
Structural Collapse Awareness
Duration: 4 Hours
Instructor: Mike Murphy – 20 years served in the fire service.
· Sioux Falls Fire Battalion Chief
· Rescue Manager and Structure Specialist for South Dakota Task Force 1
· Rescue Manager and Structure Specialist for Iowa Task Force 1
When buildings fail, every second matters—and the actions taken by the first-arriving fire department can make the difference between rescue and recovery. Structural Collapse Awareness provides firefighters with the foundational knowledge needed to safely assess and respond to collapse incidents.
This course covers essential topics including:
• Initial Incident Size-Up: How to quickly and accurately evaluate structural conditions, hazards, and operational priorities.
• Recognition of Collapse Types: Identifying common collapse patterns and understanding how they influence rescue strategies.
• Likely Victim Locations: Predicting survivable void spaces and determining high-probability search areas.
• First-Arriving Actions: Establishing command, securing the scene, identifying risks, and making informed tactical decisions.
• Overview of Structural Collapse Operations:
- Shoring fundamentals
- Breaching and breaking techniques
- Heavy lifting considerations
- Search methods used in collapse environments
Designed for firefighters seeking to enhance their technical rescue awareness, this class builds a strong foundation of knowledge essential for safe and effective operations at structural collapse incidents.
Firefighter Vehicle Extrication Class
Firefighter Vehicle Extrication Class
Duration: 8 Hours
Class Limit: 20 Firefighters
Instructor: Dan Bruna – Assistant Chief Brookings Fire Department
Jim Kriese – Assistant Chief Brookings Fire Department
-Combined of over 62 years served in the fire service
Modern vehicle crashes present complex hazards—from advanced metals and reinforced structures to evolving airbag systems and hybrid technologies. This 8-hour, hands-on extrication class prepares firefighters to safely and efficiently remove victims from today’s vehicles using proven tactics, modern tools, and coordinated teamwork.
Participants will learn and practice:
• Scene Size-Up & Hazard Control: Identifying risks such as traffic, fuel leaks, electrical systems, and unstable vehicles.
• Stabilization Techniques: Cribbing, struts, and step chocks to create a safe working environment.
• Tool Operations: Use of hydraulic cutters, spreaders, rams, saws, hand tools, and alternative rescue equipment.
• Access & Disentanglement Tactics: Door pops, roof removals, dash lifts/rolls, third-door conversions, tunneling, and patient-centered techniques.
• Rescue Coordination: Communication between crews, patient protection and packaging, and working alongside EMS.
• New Vehicle Technology Awareness: High-strength steel, laminated glass, airbag systems, hybrids/EVs, and energy storage hazards.
Designed for both new and experienced firefighters, this full-day class immerses participants in realistic scenarios that emphasize safety, speed, and precision. By the end of the course, firefighters will have sharpened their decision-making skills and strengthened their ability to perform effective vehicle extrication under pressure.
Confined Space Operations
Duration: 6 Hours
Instructor: Darrell Hartmann – Served 35 years in the Fire Service
Class Limit: 25 Firefighters
In Partnership With: South Dakota Soybean Processors
Confined spaces present some of the most dangerous and complex rescue environments firefighters may encounter—featuring limited access, hazardous atmospheres, entrapment risks, and industrial machinery. This 6-hour Confined Space Operations class, delivered in partnership with South Dakota Soybean Processors, provides firefighters with real-world training grounded in the conditions, challenges, and rescue needs commonly found in agricultural and industrial settings.
Participants will learn:
• Confined Space Recognition & Hazard Identification: Understanding OSHA definitions, permit vs. non-permit spaces, atmospheric dangers, engulfment risks, and mechanical hazards.
• Initial Size-Up & First-Arriving Actions: Establishing command, isolating energy sources, assessing victim survivability, and determining rescue vs. recovery mode.
• Air Monitoring & Ventilation: Proper use of multi-gas meters, ventilation strategies, and maintaining safe atmospheres.
• Entry Procedures & Non-Entry Rescue Techniques: Using retrieval systems, harnesses, rope-based methods, and situational decision-making to reduce rescuer risk.
• Communication & Team Coordination: Roles within the rescue group, attendant responsibilities, and maintaining safe operational zones.
• Victim Access, Packaging & Removal: Practical skills for reaching, treating, and extricating patients in restricted environments.
• Hands-On Industrial Training: Utilizing real confined space locations, mock setups, and operational challenges provided by South Dakota Soybean Processors to enhance realism and firefighter readiness.
This course blends lecture, equipment review, and scenario-based practical exercises, giving firefighters the competence and confidence needed to respond safely and effectively to confined space emergencies in both agricultural and industrial environments. Must bring your full turnout gear to attend the class.
Trench Collapse Awareness
Duration: 4 Hours
Instructor: Mike Murphy – 20 years served in the fire service.
· Sioux Falls Fire Battalion Chief
· Rescue Manager and Structure Specialist for South Dakota Task Force 1
· Rescue Manager and Structure Specialist for Iowa Task Force 1
Trench incidents are among the most dangerous and unforgiving emergencies responders face. Trench Collapse Awareness provides firefighters with the critical knowledge needed to safely recognize hazards, initiate proper actions, and support incoming technical rescue teams.
This course will cover:
• Initial Size-Up: How to rapidly assess trench stability, soil conditions, victim survivability, and scene hazards.
• First-Arriving Actions: Establishing incident command, securing the area, managing bystanders, and preventing secondary collapse while maintaining responder safety.
• Resource Requests: Understanding what specialized teams, equipment, and support units are required—and how to request them early and effectively.
• Emergency Shoring Overview: Foundational knowledge of temporary shoring methods used to stabilize trenches during rescue operations.
This awareness-level class is designed to help responders make informed decisions, avoid common pitfalls, and ensure safe and coordinated operations at trench collapse incidents.
Patient Handling: Farming Accidents, Medical & Traumatic Emergencies
Duration: 3.5 Hours
EMS Credit: Participants with EMS certifications are encouraged to provide their credentials, as this course can count toward required hours.
Instructor: Joey Denison Paramedic, over 10 years in EMS
· Certified American Heart Association CPR AED Instructor
· Certified Instructor for the South Dakota Safety Council
· Pediatrics Emergencies for Pre-hospital Providers (PEPP)
· South Dakota Emergency Services Association State Training Officer
Emergencies can happen anywhere—on the farm, at church, in schools, at home, during funerals, weddings, and countless other everyday settings. With ongoing EMS staffing shortages and extended response times in many rural areas, bystanders and first responders may be the first—and only—help a patient has until EMS arrives. And when EMS does arrive, there’s a strong chance they will need your help.
This hands-on, scenario-based class will prepare participants to confidently and safely manage patient handling, especially in farming accidents, as well as a wide range of medical and traumatic emergencies.
Participants will practice:
• Patient packaging using the long board
• Proper use of the scoop stretcher
• Airway management support
• BVM ventilation techniques—one of the most challenging skills to master, especially for CPR-certified responders
This course is designed to build confidence, teamwork, and readiness when seconds count and help is still minutes away. Let’s go!!!!!
STOP AND REGISTER HERE!
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Southeast District Spring Fire School
April 25th, located in Volga SD
This school is no cost to firefighters. Must be registered by April 1st, 2026
South Dakota's Southeast Fire District
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