First in a series of fourteen instructional outlines, this document provides an overview of a fire service training program designed for use by recently formed fire departments in which firemen have had no previous formal training. (Each of the other volumes in the set contains a more complete instructional outline of one portion of the program.) Forty-two hours are suggested for the completion of the fourteen-part course, and a specific number of hours is estimated for each topic. The fourteen topics are (1) introduction, (2) fire service rope, (3) portable extinguisher, (4) forcible entry, (5) fire apparatus, (6) fire stream, (7) treating the burn victim, (8) ventilation, (9) ladder, (10) salvage and overhaul, (11) rescue, (12) protective breathing equipment, (13) liquid and compressed gas emergencies, and (14) fire fighting procedures. Except for part 14, which should be covered last, the sequence for teaching the various practices can be arranged to meet the needs of the individual department. A bibliography of references that are used as guides throughout the set is included. (Two of the titles described in this introductory document--"Fire Hose Practices" and "Course Postmortem"--are not included in the actual set; in their places are "Immediate Care of the Burn Patient" [CE 016 675] and "LP and Compressed Gas Emergencies" [CE 016 674].) (ELG)