Firehouse Training offers both practical and online training courses for any workplace safety and fire department training needs you may have. Some examples of courses include emergency planning, hazardous materials training, industrial fire and spill response training, foreground training and search tactics (to name a few). Firehouse Training really is, as they call it, a “one-stop shop” for coaching and skills development training. We spoke with Adam McFadden, the owner and founder of Firehouse Training to learn more about them.
What is your business called and what does it do?
Firehouse Training is an industry leader in providing classroom and online training for emergency services, as well as workplace safety training for local businesses. We provide training certification courses to aid in professional development for emergency services staff, workplace safety training for small and medium-sized businesses; and career preparation sessions for aspiring firefighters or emergency services workers.
We offer health and safety training programs in the areas of WHMIS, fire safety planning and fire extinguisher training, as well as hazardous materials, and spill response, just to name a few.
What made you want to do this work?
I grew up working in different industrial facilities such as food processing plants, automotive manufacturing and oil and gas workplaces. Now that I have the opportunity to work in the Emergency Services and respond to these work sites, as a career firefighter I love being able to teach fellow emergency responders and industry workplace leaders more about emergency planning, fire safety and dealing with hazardous materials spills. Another part of our business is assisting aspiring firefighters who are looking for additional education and career preparation services, on their journey to work and have a job within the emergency services.
What problem did you want to solve with the business?
I believe there is a big disconnect in communications between the responding emergency services personnel and the building staff working within the various businesses, industrial facilities, high-rise buildings and retail workplaces. We can help teach the coordination of everyone involved during an emergency; from scene safety to patient care or fire evacuation and spill response. We will plan fire safety training courses, extinguisher training or workplace evacuation scenarios for our clients.
Who are your clientele/demographics?
We can assist any workplace staff, young and old with our workplace fire safety programs, and also assist those recent graduates, and aspiring emergency responders’ across Canada, with our hiring and career preparation sessions.
How does your business make money? How does it work?
Our business has various services we offer in an online or in-person format. We offer emergency services and workplace safety training courses, and career preparation services from resume revisions, to mock interviews and aptitude test tutoring. We also have training guidebooks and aptitude test study manuals for sale, not including our growing clothing line and fire services style apparel.
Where in Toronto can we find your profession?
Within our online and digital platform, we service clients and customers from across Toronto, the GTA, Ontario and even across Canada. We have many clients from the USA, who participate in our virtual training classes too. We offer in-person educational courses for firefighters, to fire safety training for local businesses.
What is the best question a prospective customer could ask a member of your profession when comparing services? Give the answer as well.
A prospective customer may ask; why should we choose your training courses, over a competitor? Firehouse Training prides itself on having a balance of quality education and instruction with our very experienced instructors. We also provide a diverse learning environment that is unmatched; from standardized content to interactive and fun teaching methods, along with group discussion and scenarios for students of any culture or background. Our customer service is hands-down the best in the business, and we offer a money-back guarantee on all of our fire safety training services.
What is the best part about what you do? What is the worst part?
The best part of what we do; is knowing that teaching has been a passion of mine for many, many years, but having the opportunity to now build a platform, a brand and a business that can have direct involvement in various community and networking events, as well as providing training to keep people safe within their workplaces.
We also love hearing great reviews from the recruited firefighters we assist, in getting hired for a career in the emergency services, and the many “thank you’s” from our workplace fire safety training customers, after a great day of safety training. There is no worst part… because when you “love what you do…you will never work a day in your life”.
What is your favourite joke about your own profession?
What did the firefighter say when the church caught fire? Answer: Holy smokes!
What are your social media channels?
Instagram | TikTok | Twitter | LinkedIn
PAY IT FORWARD: What is another Toronto business that you love?
I have always been a huge fan of Real Sports Bar in downtown Toronto, across from the Scotiabank Arena and I am a big fan of the food and overall vibe, that this restaurant business brings to their customers.
