Local Call/Volunteer Firefighters Graduate State Training Program
EASTHAMPTON, Mass. — Eight local volunteer firefighters graduated Wednesday from the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy.
Class No. 54 of the Call/Volunteer Firefighter Recruit Training program included five Dalton firefighters, Craig Eggleston, Jordan Anderson, Matthew Chrostowski, Michael Shaughnessy and Mitchell Messana; two from Great Barrington, Jacob Borden and Joel Timm, and Michael Doyle of the Richmond Fire Department.
The certificates were presented by State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan and Director George D. Kramlinger in a graduation ceremony at Easthampton High School.
The Call/Volunteer Firefighter Recruit Training program delivers a standard recruit training curriculum, meeting national standards, on nights and weekends to accommodate the schedule of firefighters in suburban and rural areas. Bringing the training closer to the firefighters often means more firefighters can participate. In 2014, an "eBlended" format was implemented that has students doing more work outside of class and taking quizzes online. This allows them more time to practice training skills with instructors and to better control their own workloads and time commitments.
There was a total of 32 graduates — 28 men and four women — from 18 fire departments: Amherst, Belchertown, Chesterfield, Dalton, East Longmeadow, Easthampton, Granby, Great Barrington, Hadley, Hampden, Hatfield, Monson, Palmer, Richmond, South Hadley-District 1, Southampton, Ware, and Williamsburg.
Today's firefighters are the first ones called to respond to chemical and environmental emergencies, ranging from the suspected presence of carbon monoxide to a gas leak. They may be called to rescue a child who has fallen through the ice or who has locked himself in a bathroom. They rescue people from stalled elevators and those who are trapped in vehicle accidents. They test and maintain their equipment, ranging from self-contained breathing apparatus to hydrants, hoses, power tools, and vehicles.
In the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy program, they are taught all these skills and more from certified fire instructors who are also experienced firefighters. Students learn all the basic skills they need to respond to fires and to contain and control them. They are also given training in public fire education, hazardous material incident mitigation, flammable liquids, stress management, firefighter self-rescue, and vehicle extrication. The intensive program includes classroom instruction, physical fitness training, firefighter skills training and live firefighting practice.
Students receive classroom training in all basic firefighter skills. They practice first under non-fire conditions and then during controlled fire conditions. To graduate, students must demonstrate proficiency in life safety, search and rescue, ladder operations, water supply, pump operation, and fire attack. Fire attack operations range from mailbox fires to multiple-floor or multiple room structural fires.
Graduates have completed 240 hours of training on nights and weekends. Upon successful completion of this program, all students have met the standards of National Fire Protection Association 1001. In addition they have the ability to become certified to the level of Firefighter I and II and Hazardous Materials First Responder Operational Level by the Massachusetts Fire Training Council, which is accredited by the National Board on Fire Service Professional Qualifications.
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