WASHINGTON CO. FIREFIGHTERS CONDUCT COUNTY-WIDE TRAINING

  

Washington County firefighters spent all day on Saturday brushing up on their training.

Firefighters run a hose into a home as part of a
training exercise on Saturday.
(Joshua Blaschke)

Dozens of volunteers from the county’s fire departments, along with Washington County EMS and the CERT Team, came out to a property offered for their use in the Old Washington area so they could get further acclimated with all of the necessary equipment and procedures to tackle emergencies.  The training, which catered to all experience levels, provided hands-on lessons on topics including rapid intervention, search and rescue, forcible entry, ventilation tactics and firefighter CPR.

Dustin Brown, Chappell Hill Volunteer Fire Department Captain and chairman of the Washington County Firefighters Association training committee, said it takes multiple training sessions to develop the skillset needed for fire response.  While individual fire departments train often, Brown hopes that large-scale exercises like these can become a more regular occurrence.

One of the purposes of the training was to allow first responders the opportunity to build working relationships with others who serve across the county, even if they belong to a different department.  Washington Volunteer Fire Department Chief Chris Casada said establishing that collaboration is crucial in the event of a major call where several or all of the county’s departments are called out to provide assistance.

Brown said their goal is to ensure every department has the training to better themselves and better protect the community as a whole.

Anyone who is interested in becoming a volunteer can visit the National Volunteer Fire Council’s website, www.nvfc.org, to find nearby departments they can join.  If anyone has property they would like to lend to volunteers for training, they are encouraged to contact homebuilder and volunteer firefighter Garrett Casada at casadaenterprises@gmail.com

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One Comment

  1. As a participating Washington Co. volunteer fire fighter I can vouch that this event was most beneficial for all who attended especially in the area of search and rescue of victims in a structure fire. Kudos to the instructors who coached us and helped us to get a much better understanding of how to respond in these extreme crisis situations. Additionally, I salute those volunteer first responders who willingly put their lives in jeopardy while responding to the needs of others in extremely dangerous situations. God bless the volunteer fire fighters of Washington County.

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