Lubbock (TX) Fire Rescue

The Challenge

Dating back to 1909, Lubbock Fire Rescue has a history of dedicated service to the community. But when it came to managing policies and training, department leaders struggled to meet their own expectations. “We were a paper policy department,” says Randy Lammons, LFR Training Battalion Chief. “Every station had a notebook, and when we wanted to update or add a policy, we would send over paper copies. It was the responsibility of the personnel at the station to update the notebook.”

But the policy updates weren’t always made right away, leading to inconsistency in operations. “We had policy books all over the city that would say completely different things,” Chief Lammons says. “Also, we had no way of knowing if the firefighters had read the new policies or someone had just stuck it in the book.”

LFR faced similar challenges with training. “We had things scattered all over the place with different platforms – medical, fire, administration,” Chief Lammons says. “We used an online system for EMS continuing education, but the rest of it was printed and sent out to the stations, and we just had to hope the firefighters did it.

The Solution

LFR needed a partner that could provide contemporary technology while also supplying high-quality policy and training content. Agency leaders targeted policy first, bringing on Lexipol’s Fire and Rescue Policies in 2017. The solution provides 165 Texas-specific, customizable policies delivered via an online platform and mobile app. Lexipol issues policy updates as laws change, and the system features policy acknowledgment tracking. “Having instant access to policy – having the policy manual in your pocket – sold the department as a whole on Lexipol policies,” Chief Lammons says.

Two years later, LFR expanded this approach to incorporate training, bringing on Lexipol’s FireRescue1 Academy. “When I came to the training division, I was searching for a way to bring together all our systems,” Chief Lammons says. Colleagues at neighboring department recommended FireRescue1 Academy, and Chief Lammons was quickly convinced of the benefits.

“Our personnel were used to online training on the medical side,” he says. “But we had never had any way to deliver high-quality fire content via an online platform.” FireRescue1 Academy provides access to over 1,000 online courses as well as robust reporting and tracking tools, allowing trainers to create learning plans, electronically issue training assignments and track personnel progress.

Chief Lammons stresses the benefit of being able to track all training – not just online courses – in FireRescue1 Academy. “We use the external training tool heavily to document inhouse training,” he says. “Our personnel love that you can log into one place and get it all done.”

The Results

With Lexipol’s policy and training solutions, LFR is realizing increased efficiency and enhanced operational performance. “Now we can update a policy departmentwide instantaneously, and we can see that the firefighters have acknowledged and understand the policy,” Chief Lammons says.

And with FireRescue1 Academy, the department now has a “one-stop shop” to deliver all training. “That’s helped us tremendously, both in delivering training and in tracking what’s happening,” Chief Lammons says. “We just finished our ISO audit, and the Lexipol system made it super easy to pull reports to deliver to the auditor.”

Together, these systems drive consistency and quality. “Everyone receives the same training, the same policies,” Chief Lammons says. “The platform allows us to do so many things we weren’t able to before. We can see personnel progress. And our training quality is drastically improved. We’re not just providing a lesson plan printout – we’re incorporating videos and other features.”

Lexipol and LFR are true partners, working together to enhance the tools provided to agency personnel. “The system is user-friendly, and the customer service is great,” Chief Lammons says. “Lexipol is always open to our feedback and to making changes. That’s different from any other vendor I’ve worked with.”

We just finished our ISO audit, and the Lexipol system made it super easy to pull reports to deliver to the auditor.