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WSESI September Updates
FROM THE CAPITOL
Several laws passed during the current legislative session matter to the people we teach and the departments we serve.
Help with the cost of becoming an EMS provider.2025 Wisconsin Act 35 established reimbursement for eligible initial EMS training expenses at Wisconsin technical colleges and grants to expand access to EMS education. For instructors helping recruit new students, this is worth sharing. Direct prospective students and sponsoring departments to the program’s current eligibility and application requirements before promising reimbursement. Read WEMSA’s legislative overview.
Expanded PTSD workers’ compensation eligibility.2025 Wisconsin Act 145 expanded PTSD-related workers’ compensation eligibility to EMS professionals and volunteer firefighters. This belongs in our conversations about responder health. When we teach the risks of the job, we should also help students understand where support may be available. Eligibility and claim requirements still apply. Read the legislative update.
Regional EMS funding.2025 Wisconsin Act 212, signed April 8, addresses local levy-limit flexibility for qualifying regional EMS costs. For departments discussing shared services, it’s an item to review with municipal leadership. From an instructor’s perspective, those conversations are also a chance to discuss shared training, consistent expectations, and practicing together before the next mutual-aid call. Read the governor’s announcement.
Save the Date: 2027 WSESI Annual Conference
Mark your calendars for the 2027 WSESI Annual Conference at Fox Valley Technical College.
Dates: February 15–22, 2027
Location: Fox Valley Technical College, Appleton
The full schedule, registration information, speakers, hands-on programs, and special events will be announced as planning continues.
HELP INSTRUCTORMANIA GROW!
A stronger conference starts with people willing to make a connection.
Do you work with an equipment supplier, training company, local business, or organization that supports fire and EMS education? Share our sponsorship opportunity with them.
Sponsorship helps us build the conference and connect supporters with the instructors who train Wisconsin’s emergency responders. You don’t need a sales pitch. A personal introduction and a link to the form can get the conversation started.
Interested in sponsoring or learning more? Complete our sponsorship Google Form.
INSTRUCTOR RENEWAL: WHERE THE WTCS DISCUSSION STANDS
WTCS has asked organizations represented on the Fire Service Advisory Committee to weigh in on the future of Fire and Emergency Services Instructor certification renewal.
In the latest communication shared with WSESI, three options remained under discussion:
Make FESI certification non-expiring.
Adopt the proposed renewal form, including local verification of applicable requirements.
Keep the current process while WTCS works through the NFPA 1020 update.
These are proposals. Members should continue following their current renewal requirements unless WTCS issues an official change.
The question deserves more than a discussion about paperwork. How do we show that an instructor remains active, capable, and current without creating a process that adds work but tells us little about teaching ability?
One concept raised in our discussions is connecting instructor status with documented local approval through a department or technical college, along with ongoing teaching and professional development. That remains an idea for consideration, not an adopted WTCS requirement.
What works in your department? What causes problems? What would a useful renewal process actually verify? Reply with your thoughts so our input reflects the instructors doing the work.
Training Opportunities
FALL FIRE, RESCUE & TECHNICAL TRAINING
Free DSPS fall training
DSPS has posted its 2026 fall fire program presentations. Topics include fire codes, youth firefighter training grants, NERIS, community risk reduction, and respiratory protection.
Upcoming options include:
Date | Time, Central | Location or format |
September 16 | 6 p.m. | Mid-State Technical College, Stevens Point, or virtual |
September 23 | 6–8 p.m. | Virtual |
October 7 | 1–3 p.m. | Virtual |
October 13 | 6–8 p.m. | Cadott Area Fire and Rescue, or virtual |
October 27 | 6–8 p.m. | NTC Phillips campus, or virtual |
November 4 | 6–8 p.m. | Virtual |
November 11 | 1–3 p.m. | Virtual |
Select the correct in-person or virtual option when registering. View session details and register with DSPS.
Technical rescue development
For departments planning confined-space or structural-collapse training, Wisconsin’s REACT Center offers courses in both disciplines. Its catalog also includes instructor and officer development. Check scheduled offerings, prerequisites, and certification details before enrolling. Explore REACT courses.
Hosting a class this fall? Send us the topic, date, location, registration link, and any prerequisites. Help another department find the training you already have coming to town.
EMS CONTINUING EDUCATION
UW Health’s Emergency Education Night webinar series has several fall sessions scheduled:
Date | Topic |
September 16 | Med Flight chronicles: Against the elements |
October 21 | When nature wins: Drowning, hypothermia and environmental threats |
November 18 | Telestroke and the race for the clot: Pre-hospital recognition of LVO and stroke activation |
Sessions run 6–7:15 p.m. Central. The listing offers one hour of continuing education credit following attendance and completion of the participation survey. View details and registration information.
INSTRUCTOR’S TOOLBOX: MAKE EVERYONE COMMIT TO AN ANSWER
We’ve all asked, “Any questions?” and watched a room full of people stare back. Silence doesn’t tell us much.
At your next class, try a five-minute decision exercise. Put up a scene photo, a short incident description, or a sample document with a deliberate error. Ask everyone to write down three things:
What concerns you?
What would you do first?
What information could change your decision?
Give them a minute to think before anyone speaks. Then have them compare answers with a partner and explain their reasoning to the group.
You can use a blocked exit for fire inspection, an incomplete permit for confined space, or conflicting package information for hazmat. Keep the problem tied to one learning objective.
The useful part comes when you ask, “What did you notice that led you to that decision?” Now you can hear how students are thinking, identify a misunderstanding, and correct it before the practical evolution.
You don’t need another twenty slides. Sometimes you need one good problem and enough patience to let the students work through it.
New Member Features on the WSESI Website
WSESI members can now create their own profiles and access new members-only features on the Society’s website.
These features include discussion boards where members can ask questions, share ideas, and connect with instructors across Wisconsin. Members can also access the growing instructor resource library containing training materials, references, lesson resources, and useful tools.
The value of these resources will depend on participation.
Create your profile. Ask a question. Share a resource. Start a conversation. Help make the website useful throughout the year, not just during conference season.
Help Us Grow the WSESI Community
WSESI is strongest when more instructors, officers, educators, and emergency service professionals are connected to the organization.
Please like and follow the WSESI Facebook page, share our posts, and help spread the word about the Society. Every share helps us reach someone who may benefit from our training, resources, conference, and statewide network.
Membership is not only about what one person receives. It is about strengthening the entire instructor community across Wisconsin.
Invite someone to join. Bring someone to the conference. Share the newsletter. Start the conversation.
That is how the Society grows.
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