10-Minute Training Overview

Tactical Decision Games
Scenario-based command training for company and chief officers

10-Minute Training uses Tactical Decision Games (TDGs) to develop fireground decision making through structured, scenario-based practice. A Tactical Decision Game presents an incident scenario that requires participants to interpret conditions, anticipate what may happen next, make decisions, and communicate an incident action plan.

The core decision-making exercise is limited to 10 minutes, creating time pressure while participants interpret conditions, make decisions, and communicate an incident action plan. The complete learning activity also includes an introduction, review and discussion of the actual incident, and Additional Learning that extends beyond the decision exercise.

Why This Approach Works

0-Minute Training uses deliberate practice to develop decision-making competence.

Deliberate practice requires focused effort on challenging tasks, along with feedback and opportunities for continued improvement. In 10-Minute Training, participants repeatedly practice interpreting incident conditions, selecting a strategy, making tactical decisions, and communicating their incident action plan.

Discussion and feedback after the exercise allow participants to examine their reasoning and compare different approaches. Over time, repeated practice can strengthen recognition, improve decision speed, and develop more effective fireground decision making.

Key Training Elements

Each scenario includes core elements of fireground decision making:

  • Pre-arrival considerations
  • Conditions on arrival
  • Strategy selection
  • Tactical decision making
  • Communication of the incident action plan

Together, these elements provide structured practice with the decisions fire officers make during actual incidents.

Training Constraints

Realistic constraints are an important part of 10-Minute Training.

During the 10-minute decision-making period, participants work:

  • Within a fixed time constraint
  • With incomplete and evolving information
  • Without discussion during initial decision making

These constraints reflect fireground operations, where firefighters and officers often make decisions quickly and under uncertainty.

Decide, Then Discuss

A key principle of 10-Minute Training is:

Decide, then discuss.

Participants make decisions independently before reviewing and discussing their actions. This sequence provides opportunities for:

  • Honest assessment of decision making
  • Comparison of strategies and tactical approaches
  • Examination of the reasoning behind different decisions
  • Feedback and reflection

Discussion occurs after the initial decision process, not during it. This preserves the individual decision-making task before participants compare perspectives and learn from one another.

Relationship to Training and Research

10-Minute Training is informed by operational experience and research into fireground decision making.

The scenarios emphasize how firefighters and fire officers perceive conditions, make sense of developing incidents, anticipate what may happen next, and make decisions under time pressure. This approach connects scenario-based training with the cognitive demands of real-world fireground operations.

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