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| 5/27/2008 12:54:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article |
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| A group of volunteer Boulder Junction firefighters installs Res-Q-Jack vehicle extrication lifting and stabilization rescue struts on a rolled SUV during May training night exercises on the town fire hall grounds. State-mandated monthly firefighter training provides continuing education, refreshes and sharpens skills and builds camaraderie. |
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Training sessions sharpen skills for Boulder Junction's firefighters
Volunteer firefighters find nothing quite like hands-on practice
It's the third Tuesday of the month, and for Boulder Junction's 25-member corps of volunteer citizen firefighters, that means it's training night at the town's Park Street fire hall.
Over the course of two-plus hours on this mid-May evening, turnout gear-clad firefighters will rotate through two training stations under the direction of fire chief Dennis Westphal, assistant chief John Titel and training officer James Hanson.
One training station offers firefighters a refresher course on the department's 300-gallon brush fire truck and the hydraulic vehicle extrication equipment carried on the department's rescue vehicle.
The other training station gives department firefighters the opportunity to use the Lac du Flambeau Volunteer Fire Department's Res-Q-Jack vehicle extrication lifting and stabilization rescue struts on overturned SUV and pickup trucks, with the assistance of four LdFVFD personnel - fire chief Paul Harris, assistant fire chief Tom Wegner, firefighter Chris Mayer and firefighter/EMT Laura Ackley.
The BJVFD is considering purchasing a Res-Q-Jack rescue strut system from the Elmira, N.Y.-based manufacturer and Westphal wants input from his firefighters on what they think of the vehicle stabilization rescue tools.
"I knew I wanted to look at these (Res-Q-Jacks), so I talked to [Lac du] Flambeau and asked them to come over to demonstrate them, show us how they work," Westphal said. "It (Res-Q-Jack) stabilizes the vehicle for extrication, which makes it safer for the patient inside and safer for those people who are performing the extrication on the outside of the vehicle, because it's completely stabilized."
Westphal said he and his firefighters were sold on the product's effectiveness at stabilizing the two vehicles.
"We probably won't use them very often, but if we use them once, they've paid for themselves," Westphal noted. "From an aspect of safety, have we crawled around cars that were tipped on their side and whatnot? Oh, yeah. We shouldn't do it, because somebody's going to get hurt and we don't want anybody to get hurt. That's why we're looking at these. It will definitely help with ... safety. It's another tool to use."
Lac du Flambeau's Harris told The Times that he's been pleased with the performance of the department's Res-Q-Jack struts.
"They've performed very well the few times we've had to use them," he said. "It (Res-Q-Jack) is a good system."
Harris said he's hoping neighboring Boulder Junction invests in Res-Q-Jack, noting it's helpful to be "using the same equipment" in emergency mutual aid situations.
Training mandated by state
Monthly training sessions for Boulder Junction firefighters - and their counterparts statewide - are mandated by state law.
"By statute, structural firefighters must attend monthly training," Hanson said.
Westphal and Hanson get together a couple of weeks prior to the department's monthly training sessions to plan activities, which are typically set up by Hanson.
The training sessions, which can include classroom textbook and video instruction and practical hands-on components in the field, provide continuing education and skill refresher opportunities for firefighters.
"Training is important to keep everybody's skills sharp," Westphal said. "It keeps everybody familiar with equipment and operations ... Being volunteers, we don't have the volume of calls like the big city guys do, so we don't do it all the time ... When you train, you can stay sharp on things - what lines you're gonna drag at a fire; what tools you're gonna take if you've got to go up on the roof; where you're gonna set up your water supply; how the water supply works; how the pumps and portable pumps work ... It (training) keeps everybody sharp. It's super important."
Particularly helpful for firefighters, Westphal noted, are the hands-on training opportunities.
"Hands-on is very important," he said. "You need that hands-on. You remember it because you've done it. You can read about it in the IFSTA (International Fire Service Training Association) training manual or whatever, you can watch a video on TV, but there's no substitute for being able to get out there and do it..."
Hanson agrees.
"There is a certain amount of classroom, a certain amount of videos, but the hands-on is far more important," he said. "You really do have to sit in the classroom and do some work, it's unavoidable. But the hands-on is much more beneficial. There's no comparison. The alternative is sitting and watching it and maybe doing some simulations and pretending you're doing it. But to be able to actually take the ax or chainsaw or whatever tool you're using and actually do it, there's just no comparison."
And fire training, Westphal said, also helps develop and strengthen the all-important "camaraderie" between department firefighters.
"Everybody's friends, but you get a little closer when you're training together, and I like that," he said. "I'd like everybody on the department to get along. Do we always? No. Do we have our disagreements? Yeah. But that's life and we go on..."
With firefighter/EMT Hanson on board as training officer and the recent addition of seven new firefighting recruits to the department's roster, Westphal said that he'd like to see the department's training exercises expanded to also include surrounding fire departments.
"I'm looking to work more with neighboring fire departments," he said, noting such experiences help familiarize firefighters with each other's personnel, equipment and firefighting capabilities, allowing them to function better together in mutual aid situations. "We should work with our neighbors, because mutual aid is an important thing. With Jim on board as training officer and a decent amount of firefighters on our roster, we can bring other departments in and work on these things together, where in the past it's been real hard to do that."
Lac du Flambeau's Harris agrees, noting joint training initiatives bring definite advantages to fire service operations, particularly in real life emergency mutual aid situations, when efficient and effective coordination among multiple departments is of paramount importance.
"It's very beneficial that we're on the same page," he said.
Structural donations
Particularly helpful to firefighters are those rare hands-on opportunities to practice on structures in the community slated for demolition.
From June through September, Hanson said Boulder Junction's volunteer firefighters will have the use of the multiple buildings comprising the former Nor-Wis Resort on Fishtrap Lake for various non-burn training activities, including roof ventilation and wall-breaching exercises. Nor-Wis is being divided into three properties for redevelopment.
"We can train on different tactical set-ups and scenarios," Hanson said. "It's almost unlimited what we can do. I can think of hundreds of scenarios."
Westphal says use of the Nor-Wis Resort over the coming month will be "a real plus" for his department firefighters, as they practice search, rescue and structural firefighting techniques while clad in heavy, mobility-challenging full turnout gear - bunker pants, helmets, coat and airpack.
"Rather than just sitting in the training room and watching it on TV - here's the saw, the ax, the roof ladder - and talking about it ... I can have a firefighter cut a two-by-four foot ventilation hole ... peel it back and open it up," he said.
Eric Johnson can be reached at ejohnson@lakelandtimes.com.
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