Grant Schwalbe • Paul Capo • Jon Lockwood • Dave Harms • Seth Major • Rob Blasetti

Residential Primary Search

Course Description:

Each year more than 2000 civilians are killed in structure fires. When we make life safety our number one priority then all of our actions should be about getting inside and finding THEM. We give THEM the best chance for survival when an aggressive primary search is completed within the first 10 minutes of fire ground operations. This fast-pace class concentrates on the fundamentals and focuses on First Due Engine-Based Search, Oriented Search, and VES search techniques. The students will be taught ways to maximize their efficiency, get real-time reps, and be taught simple drags for victim removal. Upon completion of this class, the students will be more confident in their search and victim removal skills.

Biographies:

Grant Schwalbe is a 27-year veteran of the fire service. He is the Division Chief of Operations for Estero Fire Rescue (Fort Myers, FL) Grant has taught at various conferences including FDIC, The Orlando Fire Conference, Wichita HOT, Fort Lauderdale Fire Expo, and Fire Rescue East. He is the lead instructor for the FDIC HOT program “Residential Search-Making the Grab”. Grant hosts 2 podcasts-Grabs and the Journeyman Firefighter and is an instructor for When Things Go Bad, Inc.  His areas of passion include Search, Engine Company Ops, Firefighter Survival, and RIT.

Paul Capo has been a firefighter in Florida since 1996 and currently serves as the Division Chief of Operations and Training with the Estes Valley Fire Protection District in Estes Park, Colorado.  Paul Capo is the Founder of When Things Go Bad, Incorporated where he develops a vast complement of firefighter curriculum and training. His diverse teaching includes, but not limited to, FDIC (Fire Department Instructors Conference), Fire House Expo, Orlando Fire Conference, Fire Rescue East, Wichita HOT, etc. where he trains on multiple subjects in fire service academia. He and his crew can be seen regularly on Fire Engineering’s Training Minutes as well as in the When Things Go Bad training DVD series. 

Jon Lockwood is a fireman on Truck 74 with the Iona-McGregor FD in Fort Myers, FL. He is a FL Instructor 1, TRT member, and dive rescue specialist. He is a Florida Gulf Coast F.O.O.L.S. board member and instructor for When Things Go Bad, Inc.

Dave Harms is assigned to a dual company fire station as a Captain with West Metro Fire Rescue in Lakewood, Colorado. He began his fire service career as a volunteer in 2004.

Seth Major is a 15 year veteran of the fire service and Lieutenant with West Metro Fire Rescue in Lakewood, CO.  He is currently assigned to E-3.  He has experience in both engine and truck company operations.  He has a passion for search and RIT operations and has taught nationally in both.  Seth is the President of the 5280 FOOLS in Denver, CO, and also a founder of the Mile High Firefighters training group.

Rob Blasetti is currently a Lieutenant assigned to the Field Training Section of the Fire Academy at a large metro fire department in Northern Virginia and a member of VA-TF1/USA-1 Urban Search and Rescue Team. Before moving to Virginia, Rob worked for the City of Cape Coral Fire Department in Florida, where he held the rank of Battalion Chief of Operations with extra responsibilities of Special Operations. Since 2006, Rob has been sharing with firefighters around the country, the effects environmental and mechanical stress has on decision-making on the fire ground. Rob has shared at many regional and national conferences and Instructor with ISFSI.  Blasetti is a presenter for the National Olympic Committee for sports psychology and Athena Institute for education and research Conference on Psychology