The schedule includes the following classes and the names of the instructors:
June 3, “Fire Cause and Origin,” four hours, taught by Thomas Mock.
June 8 and June 10, six hours, “Ladders,” taught by Tim Weglowski and Rusty Allbritton.
July 10, two hours, “Public Relations,” taught by Murf King.
June 15, four hours, “Fire Alarms,” taught by Murf King).

Persons interested in participating in the classes, either to refresh skills or to complete requirements for certification, can show up the night of the class of interest.

A complete schedule of the 97 hours of training, which will end in August, is available from Harold England, who is coordinating the courses. His phone number is 903-930-5096 and his e-mail address is moonshine@eastex.net.

David Ingram, president of the Harrison County Firefighters’ Association also has the class schedule and he can be reached at 903-407-8970 or dingram@hgpcorp.net.

The experience offered high school students a realistic scenario they might encounter as firefighters.First-year students in the Killeen Independent School District firefighter academy had an opportunity to put their classroom lessons into action during a training exercise that taught them how to work as a team to safely put out a blaze.

“Team effort is a big part of being a firefighter,” said Fernanda Redwine, a Shoemaker High School junior who’s dreamed of becoming a firefighter since he was a small child. “If one person messes up, everyone messes up.”

The program, which served 12 first-year students this school year, started in 2003 as the second high school fire academy in the nation, KISD officials said. The two-year program is offered for free to KISD junior and seniors, and gives them the opportunity to receive firefighter and emergency medical technician certifications before graduating from high school. The cadets attend three-hour courses each school day to prepare them for the state certification exams.

Many graduates, such as Cameron Cooper, a fire and rescue officer and part of the academy’s first graduating class, began working for the Killeen Fire Department directly after high school.

“A lot of kids come in irresponsible teenagers, but by the time they quit, they’re leaders, responsible, proud … and have aspirations to do something with their life,” said KFD Lt. Randy Pearson, program coordinator and training officer.

Instructors lit a large gas grill that resembled a Christmas tree, and the cadets worked to douse the flames.

Larry Mitchell, lead instructor and a KFD fire and rescue officer, said the scenario taught them how to control the fire hose nozzles, operate valves on the machines and effectively use the nozzles to push back the fire.

Mattia Pardee, a junior at Ellison High School who put out a fire for the first time Friday, said fighting a blaze is harder than it looks on TV and in textbooks.

“It’s really exciting,” she said. “It’s not an easy job.”

Although the situation was simulated, it lit a fire under the city’s firefighters and paramedics.

“It’s a way to evaluate firefighters,” said Capt. Mark Martin, the San Angelo Fire Department’s safety officer. “We’re evaluating on a firefighter who gets into trouble calls for help, how they find a downed firefighter and rescue him before he runs out of air.”

It was the second time in the past week firefighters had been dispatched to the derelict junior high school building in the 4100 block of Bowie for what the staff called a high-risk, low-frequency training exercise. Staff members said they chose the old Lincoln Junior High because it’s big and firefighters are not familiar with its layout.

The simulations varied in detail but were based on the scenario that one or more of the firefighters was lost or injured while fighting the fire. The goal of the training was to see how the crews handled fighting a fire while also going in to rescue one of their own.

“A lot of times we can’t stop fighting a fire to get him,” Martin said.

Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Lassiter said Wednesday’s simulation began when police officers drove by and reported they saw smoke. Three fire engines, a rescue truck, medical truck and battalion chief initially were dispatched.

Battalion Chief Royce Owen, who acted as incident commander outside the building Wednesday, was faced with several obstacles: One of his men fell through the roof while trying to ventilate the auditorium, and another was separated from his partner while inside the school.

Owen directed his men, called for backup — which under the simulation scenario, he discovered, was unavailable — and sent in the Rapid Intervention Team to pull out injured people.

Martin, who coordinates the full-scale exercises, said they usually take place twice a year.

Training staff make the exercise as realistic as possible — red flood lights to simulate flames, blacked-out windows and thick smoke generated by a machine and by smoke grenades. Martin said they try to have the exercises in large buildings unfamiliar to the men and women of the fire crews.

Each afternoon after the exercise Martin and other members of the training staff, the operation chief and the battalion chief of the day sat down to talk about what went right and what went wrong. After the group identifies the department’s weak points, they work to correct them. By the end of the week, more than 90 percent of the staff had gone through the building.

“This group did fairly well,” Martin said Wednesday. He said they did have some problems in communication, which they anticipated going into the training session.

“We … will be addressing those in case this happens for real,” he added.

In the exercise, one person “died” after crashing through a roof into a fire. His fellow first responders were able to find his body and carry it out.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, 90 firefighters died in the United States in 2009. More than 60 percent of those deaths involved emergency duty, with the No. 1 cause listed as stress or overexertion.

Capt. Todd Sanford, who has spent 19 years with the San Angelo department, said simulations are the most helpful training the department can get. He said while there’s no “true flame, true heat” there is enough smoke to take away sight.

“We probably couldn’t see two feet in front of us,” Sanford said. “Doing the search, we had to get within three feet of the downed firefighter before I saw him.”

When a fellow firefighter is injured or lost, it’s the worst situation possible, Sanford said, because you have a professional taken out of the picture and more manpower is then needed to continue to fight the fire and to find the fallen man or woman.

“It’s going to take more when that happens,” Sanford said about the scenario. “Your emotions are going to be flowing. … We train in case that does happen.”

They called it the Junior Firefighter program, intertwining lecture-style instruction on fighting fires with a business-style meeting, complete with agendas and a treasurer’s report.

“We wanted to do something for the young people of Nacogdoches County,” said Rickey Jones, Woden VFD fire chief, amid more than 12 of the program’s members on a recent evening. “Our biggest hope was to give the young people in our area something to do.”

But, as the program embarks on its second year, Jones said students will be gaining more of the physical training of being a firefighter.

“We’re limited in what we can do with them because of legalities,” he said. “But, we’re looking to offer some training both in firefighting and in first aid.”

At a recent meeting of the Junior Firefighter program, Jones inquired as to what the program’s 12 members were most interested in learning. Some noted that they’d like to learn how to roll up a hose properly, while others mentioned learning how to navigate through smoke.

“These are all things we could possibly do,” Jones said, “Our goal last year was to set up the structure of the program and to have them run the meetings by themselves, but now we plan to offer more training.”

Jones said there are several firefighters within his department who have voiced an interest in teaching and showing the junior firefighters proper procedures, and he is looking forward to what the students will gain from the experiences.

He said currently there are three or four of the junior members who have expressed an interest in becoming VFD members once they turn 18. Among them is the current Junior Fire Chief Josh Beall.

“I’ve always wanted to be a firefighter ever since I can remember,” he said. “I thought this would be something that could help me attain that goal.”

Beall, who is one of the program’s initial members, said he discovered it through his brother-in-law, a firefighter with Woden VFD, and has enjoyed it thus far.

Jones said the program is open to anyone between the ages of 14 and 17 in Nacogdoches County. He said students must have a minimum 2.0 GPA, and those who are interested can download and e-mail the application at www.wodenvfd.com.

Their father, Steve Caudle, currently serves as a fire investigator and second in charge at Hopkins County Fire Department. He is also shift lieutenant at Watauga Fire Department where he’s been a full-time firefighter for 25 years. However, Steve Caudle’s dedication to fighting fires goes back even further than that.

“I started volunteering in Watauga when I was 16, so I have 35 years total there,” Steve Caudle said during an interview of Steve and his sons earlier this week at the Northeast Texas Fire/EMS Training Academy, where Steve also occasionally helps out with live drills and classes.

He was also one of the first paid firemen for the Hopkins County Fire Department.

“Steve has been with the county since 1999. Along with Jerry Horton and me, we are the original three still left,” said HCFD Chief Carl Nix. “Steve has been a tremendous asset to the county, by handling all fire investigations and assisting me in the emergency management programs and fire prevention activities.”

The Caudle family’s roots as firemen go back even further.

Steve’s father, Merle Dean Caudle, was the fire chief in Watauga until his death on Feb. 12, 1978.

“He died of a heart attack in the line of duty at the young age of 40,” Steve Caudle explained.

Adam and Philip Caudle said this week that firefighting has always been their goal. From a young age they knew they wanted to follow in their father’s and grandfather’s footsteps.

The Caudle brothers have finished up the course work for the basic fire suppression class and last week together participated in live burns and other hands-on drills at Northeast Texas Fire/EMS Training Academy’s drill field in Sulphur Springs. They will complete their testing on Feb. 11.

Both Adam and Steve are also already enrolled in the academy’s basic emergency medical technician class; professional departments require that certification along with state firefighter licensing, and most now are requiring their firefighters also be certified paramedics.

Adam and Philip said they are willing to go wherever the job takes them. Where they finally settle will depend largely on which departments are hiring when they finish school.

The brothers share a passion for firefighting, and interestingly enough both are named after their firefighting relatives. Adam’s middle name is Dale, the same as their dad. Philip’s middle name is Merle, in honor of the grandfather neither got to meet.

While the Caudles are training for the same profession, they are as individual as their names. Their class choices are reflective of those differences.

Adam, 27, lives in Saginaw and has just completed the online fire training class. He commuted to Sulphur Springs for skills tests and live burns, such as this week’s activities. The online class was the perfect fit for a man with a 3-year-old daughter, Caitlyn, and wife, Samantha.

Adam was also raised in the Watauga area, like his father. After graduating high school, he served his country as an F16 crew chief in the U.S. Air Force. He served four years of active duty as a tactical aircraft journeyman and four additional years as a reserve, and expects he will have 9 years total before he finishes his service with the Air Force.

Philip has been attending the traditional 468-hour basic fire suppression course offered weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the training academy on Sharon Lane since Nov. 9, 2009.

Philip, 19, lives at home with his parents in Hopkins County, where he was raised. He graduated in 2009 from Miller Grove High School, and decided to tackle his goal of becoming a professional firefighter right away by signing up at NETF/ETA for the fall semester.

And firefighting does appear to be in the Caudle blood. There’s a distinct possibility a fifth name will be added to the list of firefighting Caudles. Steve’s youngest son, Brandon Caudle, indicated plans to attend the fire academy when he graduates from Sulphur Springs High School in 2011.

Until now, ACC fire academy cadets used refurbished buildings in Taylor for training. Now, all of the training facilities are in one place. Cadets practiced putting out a fire and rescuing dummy bodies from inside a building on the training grounds Wednesday morning as part of the dedication.

Austin fire Chief Rhoda Mae Kerr came out to watch, along with Council Member Mike Martinez.

“Firefighters get to practice. It’s never like the real thing, but if we can simulate it to the point where it’s almost like the real thing then the next time when it does come up you do it over and over and over again, when it is the real thing, they are able to perform without stopping and thinking and wondering,” said Austin Fire Chief Rhoda Mae Kerr.

ACC is the primary fire academy in Central Texas. It’s competitive to get into the program. Every semester the college reports about 150 applicants. There are usually just 35 open spots.
By Jessica Vess at KVUE News in Austin

This past weekend, Marion Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief Joseph Rodriguez was one of the instructors, working Sunday in a steady rain to teach firefighters how to do their job — and return home safely at the end of the call.

“This station is designed so firefighters can learn the salvage and overhaul course objective,” Rodriguez said.

Students were required to assess the situation in a residential fire to determine whether they should enter the building and how they should do so. Then, they were expected to secure and protect any valuables they could, determine whether the blaze had spread into the walls or ceiling and what to do about it.

“We have them make forcible entry,” Rodriguez said. “After that, they start salvage — make sure they protect that $6,000 antique table if they can — check for extension of the fire and begin mopping it up.”

At other stations, trainees were learning the basics of fire investigation and, in the burn house, how fire behaves and how to operate safely in an environment where temperatures can reach 1,000 degrees or more and the air is filled with poisonous gasses hot enough to sear the lungs — and deadly enough to kill.

The fire training facility is located off Lakeside Pass on land leased for the purpose from Canyon Regional Water Supply Corp. for $1 per year and has been used by local fire departments for training since 1992.

About four years ago, the fire association developed its local training regimen into a state-certified training academy to make it more convenient and less-expensive for local firefighters to get certified — and to raise money to help maintain the facility, which two years ago had to spend nearly $40,000 for improvements to its fire training “burn” house.

The State Firemen and Fire Marshals Association has in recent years revamped volunteer training so it can take place over four weekends — again improving the opportunity for unpaid local volunteers to become certified because they don’t have to go to College Station for a week-long program and absorb travel and housing costs.

The training conducted this past weekend and similar training two weekends ago were for 20 firefighters from around the state who needed to complete Phase III of four levels of basic firefighter training that is required by the state of all volunteers who seek basic certification. The training isn’t required, but the better trained a firefighter is, the safer that firefighter is, and volunteer departments with well-trained and certified volunteers reduce homeowners insurance rates.

There are three levels of volunteer certification in Texas — basic, intermediate and advanced — and the training takes about 600 hours in all. A volunteer who has completed the program can challenge the state’s certification for paid firefighters.

The training is conducted under the auspices if the Texas Emergency Extension Services out of College Station, known as TEEX, overseen by instructor Scott Matthews of New Braunfels, who will award state certifications to those who successfully complete the course.

Kingsbury Volunteer Fire Department Chief Bill Harborth and McQueeney Chief Tim Bogisch were conducting training in the burn house that consisted of two trips into the structure.

“We’re making two passes,” Harborth explained. The cool temperatures and damp weather moderated the training a little, he added.

“It’s not real bad,” Harborth said of conditions inside, where Bogisch was leading a crew through the training. “I don’t think it’s been over 500 degrees in there, and they’re all bunkered out.”

McQueeney Fire Capt. Ryan Blume, who is coordinator of the training program, pointed to safety enhancements added to the burn house in the renovations two years ago.

A new drop ceiling was put in, and electronic monitoring was added with leads to a control panel mounted on an exterior panel of the concrete block structure. Blume said state standards required that temperatures inside not exceed 800 degrees.

“We have to keep it under a certain temperature, and we monitor temperatures in every room,” Blume said. “Right now, they’re watching the phases a fire goes through, then we send them through a second time to put out the fire.”

A short distance away, Rodriguez worked with a group of young volunteers on command-and-control, as well as salvage and overhaul, explaining to the crew how to report their progress and observations over the radio to an Incident Commander who must make decisions based on those observations of conditions inside the building.

“This facility and this program is very important to us at the Marion Volunteer Fire Department and the other agencies here in Guadalupe County,” Rodriguez said. “Here, we can teach our people to become basic firefighters without the time and expense of having to go to College Station for a week. It saves us a lot of money and makes the program much more effective.”
By Ron Maloney in The Seguin Gazette-Enterprise

Before the city’s firefighters can rescue residents from a hazardous fire, they must go through a series of training courses lasting until December. Sponsored by Lamar Institute of Technology’s Fire Academy, part of the training entailed 21 Port Neches firefighters escalating up the 100-foot ladder of an aerial truck.

“This is parts of the skills they must exemplify during the training course,” Doug Saunders, LIT Regional Fire Academy captain, said. “These are the things they will encounter as a firefighter.”

According to Port Neches Fire Chief Stephen Curran, the firefighters will have ample opportunity to institute what they learned in the 16-week training session. Last year there were 1,520 fires, not including the other 911 calls the city received.

Even though the amount of fires in the area is high, the number of spaces to fill during recruitment is limited.

“It’s really competitive,” Curran said. “If they can’t perform, they’re weeded out of the training and they don’t get certified.”

Dorian Johnson, trainee, said climbing a few tall ladders and several daily obstacles does not rattle his cage.

Part of the training session consists of trainees entering a simulated house fire blindfolded with a partner. Their objective is to save the home’s occupant, replicating what it would be like to go through a burning house.

“If you’ve never put on a mask before, you will find out if you’re claustrophobic or not,” Johnson said.

It is the job of all firefighters to make sure no man is left behind.

“Two in, two out, that’s what we live by,” Johnson said.

The tall ladders and simulated pitch-black rescue missions are not the most challenging experiences.

“I’d say the most challenging part of the training is staying in shape,” Johnson said.

Although being a firefighter has many benefits, Johnson said the most rewarding part is knowing he has done something good for the community.
By Reesha Brown in The Port Arthur News

“This is by far the biggest class we have ever had,” said fire department deputy chief John Sheedy.

Despite this being the largest class, it is also the first time 100 percent of the recruits have passed the test on the first try. Typically fire academy class sizes are between three and five recruits and inevitably, Sheedy says, there are one or two recruits who need a second chance at the test.

According to statistics from the national registry for emergency medical personnel certification, in 2007 only 74 percent of Texas first responders who took the test passed on the first try.

“This is quite an accomplishment,” said Sheedy. “We’re really proud of our instructors for what they were able to pull off.”

Sheedy said equal amounts of credit belong to the recruits, who spent hours pouring over testing material while attending classes and clinical rounds at Val Verde Regional Medical Center.

“We are very proud of our new recruits who really stepped up to the plate,” said Sheedy. “They must have spent most of their weekends and nights studying.

Before being eligible to test on the national certification, fire department recruits must spend 120 hours in the classroom, then at least 20 hours in the emergency room, 24 hours on-shift with EMS crews and eight hours in the maternity ward, which also requires an assist with a natural birth.

“We have to thank everyone at the hospital, all of the directors, they helped us a lot along the way,” said Sheedy.

For years the fire department has required its personnel to hold an EMT certification, even when the law didn’t.

“Firefighters are required to have some type of basic first aid training to be certified, but we thought why not kick it up a notch to EMT,” said Sheedy.

By having all firefighters EMT trained, Sheedy says it also keeps the department in line with its first responder program, which often sends a fire engine to medical emergencies alongside ambulance crews.

But, firefighters aren’t ready to hit the streets just yet. Sheedy said the recruits still must complete the department’s fire academy, which won’t end until mid-December.

“This group has a lot of work ahead of them, but they’ve really given it their all and that’s what we’re looking for in our firefighters,” said Sheedy.
By Jennifer Killin, The Del Rio News-Herald

“Using and handling propane safely is very important to us,” said Richard Sandifer, company owner.

“The commission’s propane safety training for local fire departments is designed to increase firefighters’ knowledge of propane and help them respond effectively in any situation.”

Sandifer’s company worked with the commission to custom-design a three-hour class to meet local needs. The class included propane safety topics ranging from barbecue cylinders to residential tanks and commercial bulk installations.

Participating firefighters received hands-on experience with propane equipment as well as classroom instruction. In addition, Lumberton ISD brought over one of itsr new propane school buses.

Sandifer says, “These firefighters play a vital role in propane safety in this community. That’s why our company is committed to building a strong relationship with them.”

For more information on how to use propane safely, contact the commission’s Alternative Fuels Division at (800) 64-CLEAR or visit www.rrc.state.tx.us and click on “Propane/LP-Gas.”
From The Hardin County News in the Beaumont Enterprise