Skill Packets: Install State Skill Sheets or Build Your Own

A skill packet is a set of skill sheets that belong together: Firefighter I, Hazmat Operations, Pumper Driver/Operator. It is the same unit your state certification body publishes, so an evaluator who thinks "FFI, Station 2, sheet 2.9" finds exactly that in Command Established. Each skill in a packet carries the sheet's steps, which of them are critical, how many must be completed to pass, the time limit, and the standard it satisfies.

This article covers what a packet is, installing one from the library, the Department packet, and how sections, codes and standards fit together. For recording who demonstrated which skill, see Skill Check-Offs.

What's in a Packet

Open Training → Skills to see your department's packets. Each row shows the packet's name, the standard and edition it is written against, and how many skills and sections it holds.

Open a packet to see its sheets, grouped by section. A section is a heading from the source document: a station on a Firefighter I practical, a skill area on an Airport Firefighter packet, or whatever grouping you choose for your own. Under each section, every skill shows:

• Code — the sheet number as printed, such as 1.1 or HMO-01.
• Name and the standard references it satisfies (for example NFPA 1001 2019, 4.3.14).
• Time limit and pass rule — "10 of 16 to pass, 2 critical" means the candidate must complete ten steps, including every critical one, within the time.

Expand a skill to read the instructions to the candidate, the instructions to the evaluator, and the steps themselves with critical steps marked. A few sheets offer more than one way to perform the skill (for example, circular saw or chain saw); those show each method with its own steps.

Installing a Packet from the Library

The library contains packets transcribed from state certification documents, plus a Starter skills packet: a general set of common firefighter, driver/operator, EMS and specialty skills for departments that don't follow a state document or want a place to start. To install one:

1. Go to Training → Skills
2. Click Add packet, then From library
3. Filter by your state and pick the packet; the preview shows its sections and skills
4. Click Install

Installing copies the packet into your department, and the copy is yours. You can rename sections, adjust steps, archive skills you don't test, or add your own sheets alongside the state ones. The packet keeps a note of where it came from and which revision of the document it was copied from, so you always know what you started with.

If your state publishes a new edition, it appears in the library as a separate packet. Install it alongside the old one and retire the old one when you are ready; existing check-offs stay attached to the packet they were evaluated against.

Note: Beyond the Starter skills packet, the library currently covers the Tennessee Commission on Fire Fighting packets. Ask us if you'd like your state's sheets added.

The Department Packet

Every department has a Department packet. Skills you created before packets existed live there, and so does any skill you add without choosing another packet. It works like any other packet: give it sections, codes and steps as you like, or leave it as a simple list.

Building Your Own Packet

To create a packet from scratch:

1. Go to Training → Skills
2. Click Add packet, then New packet
3. Name it and, optionally, record the standard and edition it follows
4. Add sections, then add skills to each section

For each skill you can set a code, the standard references, the instructions to the candidate and the evaluator, a time limit, and the steps with their critical markers and pass threshold. None of these are required: a skill with just a name still works for check-offs.

Codes and Standards

Codes are how evaluators and members refer to sheets, so keep them as printed on the source document, and give each skill in a packet its own code. Two packets can use the same codes.

Standard references record which professional-qualification requirement a skill satisfies, with the edition. Editions matter: the numbering of objectives changes between editions, so a skill written against NFPA 1001 (2019) stays accurate even after you install a packet written against a later edition.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I edit a packet I installed from the library? Yes. The copy in your department is fully editable. The library entry itself never changes.

What happens to my existing skills and check-offs? Nothing is lost. Existing skills move into the Department packet with their history intact. Check-offs already recorded stay exactly as they were signed.

Can I install the same packet twice? Yes. Each install makes a separate copy you can name and edit on its own, which is useful when you run more than one version of a course (for example an academy copy and an in-house drill copy). The library marks packets you already have, and asks you to confirm before adding another copy.

Do I have to use every skill in a packet? No. Archive the sheets you don't test; they disappear from pickers but stay on any check-offs that already reference them.