2008.11.05
Firefighters finish web-based certification on Poor Mountain
Seventeen firefighters from Roanoke and Botetourt counties passed and completed a two-month wildfire certification course the weekend of Oct. 25, with field training in the rain on Saturday and by trekking a 45 lb. pack for three miles within 45 minutes around Quence Perdue's Poor Mountain property on Sunday.
While that sounds pretty intense, the rest of the course was self-paced, and on a Web-ROM internet program called "Fire in the Field." "Usually, this course is a five-day, eight hour per day, course," said co-instructor Eddie Hite. "This way, they don't have to sit in a class after work." The course began on Sept. 9 when the course material and instructions were given. They didn't meet again until their field exercise on Oct. 25.
The Virginia Department of Forestry offers the course to volunteers and part-timers for free -- with a stipulation. Firefighters pay only if they don't pass the class or fail to complete the course material. Like an independent home study college course, the lead instructor monitors and communicates with students via the web. The students complete the CD on their own time and at their own pace, meeting certain deadlines for completion.
"We can train 250 percent more people this way," said VDOF forest technician Jon Willoughby. He leads the course and coordinates a 20-member volunteer first responder strike crew for wild land fires in Roanoke and Botetourt counties.
"Most firefighters are mostly trained for structural fires," said Hite. There is a faster and more aggressive approach to structural fires, he explained. With wild land fires, "it takes planning and it takes time -- hand tools and rakes."
The chain of command is little different in forest situations, too. Firefighters need to work more as a team and communicate clearly, because "what the fire will do, its behavior can change with fuel type, terrain, and weather conditions quickly ... a couple of inches of flame to ten feet," Hite said.
"This is a foundation on a foothold with changing types of conditions," Willoughby said. Like other firefighting certifications, it's all part of getting the opportunity to get experience on the ground.
Just two days after receiving their certification, several Salem area firefighters helped to contain the Wildwood Road fire Oct. 28.
More than 300 firefighters in Virginia have completed the program from a Florida company, Interactive Training Media. Other states currently using the program include Florida, Idaho, and Mississippi.
Click here to see more pictures from the training session.
