2 9 t h A n n u a l F i r e D e p a r t m e n t I n f o r m a t i o n C o n f e r e n c e
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2026 REGISTRATION OPEN
hANDS-ON sESSION
hANDS-ON sESSION
Residental Fire Rescue
Residental Fire Rescue
Mark van der Feyst
Mark van der Feyst
Sunday Morning 08:00 - 14:30
Full PPE is required, including SCBA
Synopsis
Every fire department in this country deals with the issue of manpower limitations on the fire ground. More hands are always needed when first arriving on scene to a structure fire—sadly, the number of working hands available on arrival are limited and the functions or tasks that are required to be done are not always able to be completed. Every firefighter needs to be a Tactical Firefighter so that they can perform effectively and efficiently on the fire ground so that the fireground priorities of life safety, incident stabilization, and property conservation can be accomplished with limited numbers of working hands. This class will explore three different key areas that each firefighter needs to be proficient at so that upon arrival at a structure fire, they can tactically be effective and efficient. Each student will rotate through four skill stations:
Tactical Search (TICs provided/sponsored by Bullard): (a) TIC assisted search; (b) Where to begin the search based upon fire conditions and time of day; (c) 2-person tactical search.
Tactical Hose (Elkhart will provide the nozzles): (a) Advancing the hose from truck to door; (b) Tactical search off the handline; (c) Leader Line stretches (2 1/2" supply to 1 3/4" handlines).
Tactical Rescue: (a) Vent, Enter, Search; (b) Tactical drags; (c) Floor to sill lifts.
Ladders for Life: (a) Occupant rescues; (b) 1 FF throws; (c) Scoop throws.
Bio
Mark van der Feyst: Mark van der Feyst began his career in the fire service back in 1998 with the Cranberry Township Volunteer Fire Company in Pennsylvania, where he served as a Firefighter and Training Officer. From there, he joined the Mississauga Fire & Emergency Services, Canada, where he served as a firefighter and shift instructor before transferring to the City of Woodstock Fire Department, where he served as their Training Officer and as a firefighter until 2020. Currently, he is a part-time FF/EMT for the Fort Gratiot Fire Department in Michigan, and a Career Battalion Chief for the Six Nations Fire & Emergency Services.
Mark graduated from Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology as a Fire Protection Engineering Technologist, the Justice Institute of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Fire and Life Safety Studies, and completed his Master of Science in Safety, Security & Emergency Management through Eastern Kentucky University in March 2015.
Mark writes twice monthly for Fire Engineering and is the lead author of Fire Engineering's Residential Fire Rescue and The Tactical Firefighter book, along with two DVDs from Fire Engineering called The First Five Minutes and The 21st Century Firefighter.
Mark is an international instructor teaching in Canada, the United States, India, and Africa. He instructs at FDIC in Indianapolis, as well as many other regional conferences in both the USA and Canada.
Mark is the President of Firestar Services Inc., which specializes in providing training and infrastructure support for the fire & emergency services in Canada and other parts of the world and employs about 30 instructors. He is a founding member of the Hogtown FOOLS in Toronto, Canada.
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