Stella Fire Training
By: Alisha Culbertson
Updated: February 4, 2013
STELLA, MO--- Stella, Washburn, and Neosho fire departments joined forces to train volunteers using a vacant house, scheduled to be demolished.
"We started out with a rescue type event, as if there was a down body in the building. They went in and rescued the body and extricated it safely. Now we're doing live fire training. We're setting fires in different parts of the buildings and five man teams go and put it out" , says Stella Fire Chief Tim Miller.
"It's extremely important not only for new guys but for us to learn different things, different procedures, what does and doesn't work. It just helps everybody", says Miller.
The volunteers say preparing for a controlled burn like this takes a lot of hard work, but the hands on experience makes it all worth while.
"We started on this a week ago, DNR and EPA have to take all the shingles off. There's specific regulations we have to adhere to before we can do a live training", says Miller.
This live training will prepare crews when an emergency arises in their community. Volunteer firefighters say these drills are more than just putting out fires, they also help forge a bond between each other.
"We got each others back. Whether it's two of us, three, or all of us, we watch each others backs", says Volunteer Firefighter Danny Kimbrough.
"Teamwork is key because we're all one group. If we're not fuctioning together then we're not doing the job correctly", says Stella Assistant Fire Chief Charlie Colvin.
"We started out with a rescue type event, as if there was a down body in the building. They went in and rescued the body and extricated it safely. Now we're doing live fire training. We're setting fires in different parts of the buildings and five man teams go and put it out" , says Stella Fire Chief Tim Miller.
"It's extremely important not only for new guys but for us to learn different things, different procedures, what does and doesn't work. It just helps everybody", says Miller.
The volunteers say preparing for a controlled burn like this takes a lot of hard work, but the hands on experience makes it all worth while.
"We started on this a week ago, DNR and EPA have to take all the shingles off. There's specific regulations we have to adhere to before we can do a live training", says Miller.
This live training will prepare crews when an emergency arises in their community. Volunteer firefighters say these drills are more than just putting out fires, they also help forge a bond between each other.
"We got each others back. Whether it's two of us, three, or all of us, we watch each others backs", says Volunteer Firefighter Danny Kimbrough.
"Teamwork is key because we're all one group. If we're not fuctioning together then we're not doing the job correctly", says Stella Assistant Fire Chief Charlie Colvin.
