RF-DASH Training

Schedule an RF-DASH Training!

The RF-DASH program has funding to provide at least 20 full-day trainings from 2025-2027. Trainings can take place anywhere in the U.S. and Canada, though there will be a special emphasis on the U.S. Grain Belt.

RF-DASH Lead Trainer Tim Zehnder is available to conduct training activities. Tim has over 30 years of experience as a firefighter and educator and has instructed numerous first responders across the U.S. and Canada.

Tim is also the Director of Safety & Education at ExEnvironmental, Inc., a safety and rescue training company based in Hudson, Wisconsin. Thus, in addition to leading RF-DASH trainings, Tim and the ExEnvironmental team can also provide a variety of services related to safety, rescue, and compliance, including grain bin safety & rescue. Learn more about Tim here.

Are you interested in an RF-DASH training? Get in touch.

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RF-DASH Curriculum:

RF-DASH uses a train-the-trainer approach that equips trainees with knowledge of the farming environment, farm safety, and agricultural emergency prevention strategies. The RF-DASH curriculum is based around agricultural emergency prevention and preparedness rather than rescue and response. There are five core modules:

1. Introduction to Agricultural Emergencies: Familiarizes first responders with modern agriculture and raises awareness about agricultural hazards.
2. Pre-Planning and Mapping Farms: Discusses the importance of pre-planning and how to use pre-planning tools.
3. Farm Hazard Analysis: Explains how to evaluate, prioritize, and mitigate farm hazards.
4. Farm First Aid: Demonstrates how first responders can teach farm-specific first aid to farm/ranch families, employees, and others.
5. Farm Community Outreach: Describes several methods that first responders can use to build trust and connections with members of the agricultural community.

These modules can contribute to alignment with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards, specifically NFPA 1300 on community risk assessment and reduction and NFPA 1670 on technical search and rescue training.

Standard RF-DASH trainings take place over a full day and involve a combination of in-classroom and hands-on learning. The morning is spend on the modules listed above and in the afternoon trainees practice applying pre-planning and hazard analysis at a local farm. However, the RF-DASH curriculum is flexible, and can be delivered in various formats. Modules can all be taught together, individually, or in any combination. Training can take place over several days (e.g., two evening training courses). RF-DASH curriculum could also be paired with more hands-on or technical safety and rescue content.