The SDFA is always on the hunt for new instructors, classes and presentation ideas for South Dakota State Fire School. State School is typically held roughly mid-June (the dates for 2024 were June 13th-15th, 2025 Scheduled dates are June 12th-14th). For the foreseeable future SD State Fire School will be held at Lake Area Technical College in Watertown, SD.
If you are interested in presenting an idea please fill out the following form as completely as possible. That form will be forwarded to the SDFA Board members for review. Should the SDFA Board be interested in the idea a board member will be in contact to obtain further information. Keep in mind that classes and presentation are typically locked down for the coming year some 9-12 months ahead of the event so logistics can be planned and advertising can begin. We booked several classes for next year at the conclusion of this years event and our goal is to have most all classes selected or locked in by the end of September.
Just to give you an idea of schedule, the event runs 3 days, two of them class/presentation days. The first day being only registration, trade-show and some social events, classes are conducted on Friday and conclude Saturday afternoon. We typically offer 3 different lengths of classes. We are looking for all types of classes and proposed audiences, new firefighters, seasoned firefighters, leadership/officers and administrative. We also try to have a solid mix of classroom only and hands-on-training. Keep in mind the demographics and potential attendees of your class. South Dakota is a state that is made up of roughly ~330 fire departments, most of which are rural and 100% volunteer, there are roughly ~5 100% career departments and a hand-full or two of combination departments.
- 3-4 hour sessions (half day) which are usually repeated AM and PM both days - 4 total sessions
- 6-8 hour sessions (full day) which are usually repeated both Friday and Saturday - 2 total sessions
- 14-16 hour sessions (two full days of the same class) - 1 session
Our participants register and choose from the menu of available classes (usually numbering around 30 options total). You can click HERE to view our 2024 Schedule, and click HERE to view a summary of the 2024 class offerings to give you a rough idea of the format of the event, also here is a copy of the 2024 State Fire School Booklet.
If you are interested in being and instructor at State Fire School, please fill out the following form.
Thank you for your interest!