©2011 Galesburg Broadcasting Co.
| Firefighters Go to School |
Firefighting is an ongoing learning experience. And that's the point of an annual fire academy held here in Galesburg Saturday.
Firefighters school was in session at the Galesburg Fire Department's training facility at Hawthorne Center. Chief Tom Simkins says firefighters new and old and from Galesburg, Knoxville, Abingdon, and even Wisconsin among others, all came to learn.
Simkins tells WGIL there were six different classes in session at various parts of the training site.
"We've got, I believe, six classes. We've got 20-25 guys in each class," Simkins said. "We have instructors from the [University of Illinois] Fire Service Institute as well as our department here. I believe the numbers are somewhere around 140 students here today. Some of the classes are the basic essentials class for new firefighters, a class for structural firefighting, we have a company officer class, a hazardous materials class, and a technical rescue class," in addition to automobile extrication, Simkins said.
Simkins says virtually all of the fire departments in attendance are comprised of volunteers, and training and certification are both becoming more and more crucial to them.
He says it speaks well to training site coordinator Captain Scott Benson and the rest of the department that they're able to put on a school like this every year.
(Firefighters practice breaking down a door Saturday at the Hawthorne Center Training Site.)
(Firefighters make entry into a building during a training exercise.)
(Firefighters get acclimated with turnout gear during Saturday's training exercise.)
(Firefighters take a break during school Saturday.)
(Vehicles are prepared for an extrication exercise.)
(Alexis Fire Equipment had a display during the fire school.)
(A kids area contained games and activities that benefited the Muscular Dystrophy Association's "Fill the Boot" campaign.)
(A child practices shooting a fire hose at a target. WGIL News Story and Photos by Will Stevenson.) |
|
| 08 29 10 by Newsroom |
Click here for the WGIL News Archive
Click here for national news
The following provision applies to all visitors (which shall include persons and representatives of legal entities, whether such representatives are persons or digital engines of a kind that crawls, indexes, scrapes, copies, stores or transmits digital content). By accessing this Web site or digital service, you specifically acknowledge and agree that: (i) Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium; (ii) No Associated Press materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use; (iii) The Associated Press will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing; (iv) The Associated Press is an intended third party beneficiary of these terms and conditions and it may exercise all rights and remedies available to it; and (v) The Associated Press reserves the right to audit possible unauthorized commercial use of AP materials or any portion thereof at any time.
