Preparation for Initial Company Operations (PICO)
Course Hours: 16.0 Hours
Course Description
This two-day course is designed to develop a better
understanding of the roles and responsibilities of a Company Officers (CO) in
preparing their company for incident operations. In addition, this course is designed to
clarify the transition from firefighter to CO and the new roles relating to
leadership and safety.
Topics include: Roles and Responsibilities, Mission
Readiness, Communications, Building Construction and Fire Behavior Factors, and
Pre-incident Planning.
Prerequisites
Who Should Attend
Students who will benefit from this course include:
- Company officers, acting officers, or senior firefighters of all experience levels who command a fire company during emergency operations will benefit from this course
- Company officers who are responsible for developing or maintaining skills and firefighter readiness
- Firefighters who aspire to be company officers
Special Notes
Pre-course emails: Students and training
officers, please ensure a current email address is present in the student account for all students being registered. Students will be sent a pre-course email with additional instructions.
Pre-course
assignment: Students must familiarize themselves with the course
topics and material in the student manual prior to the first day of class to be
prepared for class discussions, activities, and the written exam which will be
administered at the end of class.
Student Manuals: Upon acceptance in the class, students will need to
download the student manual. Students need to bring their own computer or
device to access and reference the student manual if they are not bringing a
printed copy of the student manual; printed manuals will not be issued in
class.
Application For
FEMA Credit: In addition to the Georgia Public Safety Training Center (GPSTC)
application process, students are eligible to also apply for a training certificate
from The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) / National Fire Academy (NFA) for completing this course. To apply for FEMA / NFA credit, students will
need to use their FEMA student ID and apply through the following online process
(students may need to press Ctrl with their cursor over the link):
https://training.fema.gov/generaladmissionsapplication/staticforms/startapplication.aspx
The online FEMA
application will open the day before the class and be open fourteen days after
the class concludes. Failure to turn in an application will result in students
not receiving FEMA credit for the course.
To obtain a SID: 1. Register at https://cdp.dhs.gov/femasid 2. Select "Need a FEMA SID?" on the
right side of the screen. 3. Follow the instructions to create your
account. 4. Students will receive an email with their SID. Save this number in
a secure location. Use the SID in place of the SSN.
| Name | Start Date | End Date | Location | Time | Course Number | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preparation for Initial Company Operations | 04/21/2026 | 04/22/2026 | Statesboro Fire Department | 08:00 a.m. to 05:00 p.m. | FFAT26190 | Waiting List |
| Preparation for Initial Company Operations | 04/23/2026 | 04/24/2026 | South Fulton Fire Rescue | 08:00 a.m. to 05:00 p.m. | FFAT26398 | Waiting List |
| Preparation for Initial Company Operations | 05/14/2026 | 05/15/2026 | Peachtree City Fire Department | 08:30 a.m. to 05:30 p.m. | FFAA26422 | Register |
| Preparation for Initial Company Operations | 06/08/2026 | 06/09/2026 | GPSTC, FORSYTH | 08:00 a.m. to 05:00 p.m. | FFAA26377 | Register |
| Preparation for Initial Company Operations | 06/08/2026 | 06/09/2026 | Dekalb County Public Safety - Fire Rescue | 08:00 a.m. to 05:00 p.m. | FFAT26109 | Register |
| Preparation for Initial Company Operations | 09/09/2026 | 09/10/2026 | GPSTC, FORSYTH | 08:00 a.m. to 05:00 p.m. | TBA | Coming Soon |
| Preparation for Initial Company Operations | 12/09/2026 | 12/10/2026 | GPSTC, FORSYTH | 08:00 a.m. to 05:00 p.m. | TBA | Coming Soon |
| Preparation for Initial Company Operations | 03/01/2027 | 03/02/2027 | GPSTC, FORSYTH | 08:00 a.m. to 05:00 p.m. | TBA | Coming Soon |
| Preparation for Initial Company Operations | 07/12/2027 | 07/13/2027 | GPSTC, FORSYTH | 08:00 a.m. to 05:00 p.m. | TBA | Coming Soon |
| Preparation for Initial Company Operations | 12/02/2027 | 12/03/2027 | GPSTC, FORSYTH | 08:00 a.m. to 05:00 p.m. | TBA | Coming Soon |