NAHF Endorsement

Brothers and Sisters,

In dealing with emergency responses we are increasingly faced with victims who are members of the largest minority in the US - Hispanics, many of whom have limited English language skills. In emergency situations, the ability to communicate clearly and effectively can save lives and reduce risks to ourselves and other emergency workers. I am sure that many of you who are bilinguial have been called upon many times to assist in these situations.

Now we have an opportunity to show leadership in this area by teaching Spanish to our fellow Firefighters and EMS personnel. For over a year, the NAHF actively participated in the development of the self-study program "Tactical Spanish for Firefighters and EMS". Now we have also endorsed the "Instructor Guide" which enables a bilingual firefighter to lead a classroom based training course using the self-study program. This approach provides more structure than self-study alone and equips students with a flexible learning tool that they can use whenever they have spare time. This approach has been tested by Public Safety Language Training who developed the self-study program and led a number of classroom based courses using the self-study program before developing the Instructor Guide. You will be certified to teach this course by Public Safety Language Training.

Previous teaching experience is not needed as the Instructor Guide includes:

training tips and techniques
scheduling the classroom sessions
access to training materials for download
guidance on how to evaluate student progress, and
two hours of individual coaching with the developer of this program

Bilingual firefighters are uniquely qualified to champion this effort and help our brothers and sisters improve emergency service to our communities.

If you are interested in becoming an instructor, I encourage you to contact Alejandra Gómez at Public Safety Language Training

E-mail: alejandra@alejandra.net
Toll free 1 (888) 343-4883

In Community Spirit

Alberto Olmos

President National Association of Hispanic Firefighters
February 5th, 2008