BELLEVUE, Iowa -- Two eastern Iowa brothers not only teach the basic concepts of firefighting, they instruct instructors on how to do the same.

Together, Chris and Fred Roling have a combined 60 years of fighting fires. That experience, coupled with their passion for keeping firefighters safe and a close working relationship, make the duo much sought after to lead fire training classes.

Chris Roling, 56, has been Bellevue's fire chief for nine years. For five years, Fred Roling, 43, has been a lieutenant on the Clinton Fire Department. Chris knows a lot about fighting rural fires, while Fred has experienced diverse urban firefighting situations.

"We bring different perspectives to the classes and we work well together," said Chris Roling, a retired carpenter.

"Between us both, one of us can answer just about any question that comes up," added Fred, who followed his big brother's example and volunteered with Bellevue's Fire Department as a young man.

The two teach at fire departments both big and small on topics such as addressing

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a firefighter's physical and psychological post-incident needs, putting an incident command system in place and responding to special situations such as train derailments or LP gas emergencies. In the past two years, they have taught about 500 firefighters, Fred Roling estimates.

Two years ago, the brothers added a new skill -- "teaching teachers how to teach," as Chris Roling puts it. They conduct classes for the Fire Services Training Bureau of the Iowa Fire Marshal's Office on topics like adult teaching methodology, when and how to use audio-visual aids and how to become comfortable addressing an audience. They are teaching a 32-hour session (over four days) in Dubuque this weekend and next weekend.

"We have a lot of good instructors, but we watch for the best, for those who can be role model instructors," to be tapped to teach firefighter instructors, said Randy Novak, bureau chief. "It's hard to define what we're looking for in a teacher. It's a gut feeling when you see it."

The state agency pays the Rolings and other instructors for their work.

"It's important that a teacher instructs well to make sure the message gets across clearly. They have to know and be able to use different teaching methods to make sure the firefighters get it," said Chris Roling, whose all-volunteer fire department numbers 45.

Fred Roling put it another way.

"We can't be everywhere, so we want to make sure that all fire departments are well-trained, especially if we call for mutual aid. It's a matter of protecting firefighters as well as the public."