On Saturday, May 15th, 2021, firefighters in the Kneehill region took part in fire training hosted at the Fire Training Structure in Trochu.
Kneehill County and region received $13,136 in provincial grant funding for training through the Alberta Fire Services Training 2019/2020 Program. Though the training was delayed due to the pandemic, firefighting is considered an essential service and training was able to proceed with the proper safety measures in place.
Sixteen firefighters from Carbon, Linden, Three Hills, Torrington/Kneehill County, and Trochu conducted live burns as part of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1001 Level 1 Structural Firefighter and NFPA 1002 Fire Pumping Apparatus courses. An additional five students from Acme, Linden, Trochu and Three Hills also took the NFPA 1002 course recently. Six instructors were from our local departments and Kneehill County.
Skills practiced in the centre included fire attack into a basement, fire attack from the ground, fire behavior, and wedging a sprinkler. Students were on self-contained breathing apparatus working with pressurized hose lines to attack a live fire in the training structure, witnessing first-hand how fire reacts, and how little water is needed to knock a fire down.
Firefighters from all departments were excited to learn these essential skills and to be part of these successful training days, which will continue to build firefighting capacity in our communities.
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Pictured: Twenty-seven firefighter students, teachers, and proctors from all municipal fire departments in Kneehill County gathered in Trochu on Saturday, May 15th to take part in live fire training.