Station Officer (SO) programme

The role of Station Officer is a challenging step up from the firefighter ranks.

In an emergency, so much depends on clear, decisive decision-making by the first arriving officer.

The SO programme starts with a set-up briefing for students by the programme manager, setting out the requirements of the course and what students must do to ensure successful completion.

The programme has a distance learning stage, a practical course and an exam.

Passing the exam is a prerequisite requirement to gaining entry to the practical course at the Whyte Island hot fire training facility in Queensland.

At some point during the distance learning, students will be required to undertake the Fire Investigation 1 course.

The programme is designed to be completed in about 18 months, but this may vary considerably between individuals.

What's in the programme?

The distance learning component of the programme focuses on the main skill sets needed by a station officer – incident management and station management.

Topics covered in the distance learning include pre-incident management, incident ground management and staff development.

An exam, based on theory gained in the distance learning.

The consolidation stage follows the practical course to allow participants to put their new knowledge and skills into practice.