Latest news with #FireOps101
CBS News
22-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Pittsburgh-area firefighters share training course called "Fire Ops 101"
The Pittsburgh Firefighters IAFF Local Union gave the community an opportunity to see what it's like to be a firefighter. They're calling it Fire Ops 101, referring to a college course that starts at the very beginning. They want to train decision-makers on what it means to be a firefighter, getting them up close and personal. How Fire Ops 101 works During the experiential event, fire is set off on the second-story training building. Meanwhile, on the ground level, participants are being briefed by a battalion chief. Within minutes, the participants walk right through the thick brown smoke into the flames - all suited up, wearing thick, fire-ready layers, oxygen tanks and masks in place. It is this firefighting gear, and all it takes to fund firefighting, that is the purpose of this very real experience. "When you go to leaders and decision-makers and talk about funding, it's just talk, right?" Tim Leech, vice president of the Pittsburgh Fire Fighters Union, said. "But, we want to actually put the things in their hand and let them feel and use the tools that we use." At another station, they're learning CPR and lifesaving practices. The decision-makers include legislators from the local, state and federal levels, often the people who determine how much money is given to fire companies, like the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire, holding this experiential event. Nate Silcox, the executive director of the Pa. Senate Veterans and Emergency Affairs Committee, spoke to KDKA-TV and has experienced this event before. "You think about all the stuff of firefighting, and then you do an exercise on your knees, touching somebody's back, following their lead, going around a room. It's very eye-opening in some of those regards. I mean it's much more physically strenuous than you ever imagined," Silcox said. At another learning area, participants learn vehicle rescue using the jaws of life. In another area, they are making an actual climb up on a ladder truck that can cost $100,000 or more, but profoundly important when fighting fires and saving lives. The term the local union uses for these exercises is "immersive," a no-holds-barred experience of exactly what firefighters experience. Firefighters react to the training course "There's not any of us who thinks we're heroes. We don't. We don't look at it that way. Every emergency, every time we go out, yeah, something could happen. You just don't know where you're going or what kind of incident you're going to," said Ed Farley, the battalion chief for the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire. Planners of this event would all say they need the necessary tools for what many call the heroic acts of these men and women. This event is designed to let decision makers feel for themselves the importance of equipping these "heroes" with what they need. Seventy-five firefighters ended up training 28 influencers. It's an influence they hope they will take back to their law-making process.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Local lawmakers, officials learn the ropes at Allegheny County Fire Training Academy
State lawmakers, City of Pittsburgh representatives, and other local decision makers spent Thursday morning at the Allegheny County Fire Training Academy to get hands-on experience from the perspective of a first responder. More than two dozen Pennsylvania state legislators and other officials geared up for Fire Ops 101, an opportunity for them to see what it takes to save lives every day. 'What does the equipment do? Why does it cost so much? What happens? This actually shows them,' said Darrin Kelly, president of Allegheny County Labor Council and a Pittsburgh city firefighter. Participants were on a mission to learn even more about public safety, from live fire training, search-and-rescue operations, CPR, and much more. 'What everyone calls the Jaws of Life – get to cut someone out of a car,' said Tim Leech, vice president of Pittsburgh Fire Fighters IAFF Local No. 1 State Senator Doug Mastriano (R) is the chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee. He told Channel 11 this experience could shape the way he and others vote in Harrisburg. 'This will help me as a leader of that group to hopefully get a taste of what they do, hope to get an understanding of what they need, and I can serve them better in that capacity,' Mastriano said. Channel 11 spoke with some firefighters about the importance of mental health in life-or-death situations and when it comes to line-of-duty injuries. They're hoping this helps to continue the conversation at the State Capitol in Harrisburg and beyond. 'For years, this was a stigma in public safety that we've all worked so hard to push aside – the image that you're rough and tough and you can take anything. Sure, these are people that are so strong, but they're human beings,' Kelly said. 'The first time I was here, they didn't have worker's compensation coverage for post-traumatic stress injury. We've spent the last couple of years, we've finally got that to the governor's desk,' said State Sen. Lindsey Williams (D) - Senate District 38. MSA– The Safety Company provided all of the helmets and protective gear for participants. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
THFD works to be ready when you need them most
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) – Terre Haute firefighters constantly train and sharpen their skills so they're ready when you need them most. An effort took place Saturday that could help keep you and them safer in the future. Fatal fire Marshall, Illinois The Terre Haute Fire Department held 'Fire Ops 101'. One of the goals of this event was to show city, county, and state leaders why it's important to invest money in fire departments. The investment keeps medical and firefighting equipment up to date and also helps protect firefighters. 'Nothing in the fire service is cheap. So I think it opens a lot of eyes when someone hears one of our heart monitors costs $40,000. A pair of coat and pants costs $5,000.' Others, besides lawmakers participated in 'Fire Ops 101' including Christian Shuck. He was recently appointed to the fire department's merit board. House fire N. 21st St. Terre Haute In all 18 people took part in scenarios firefighters face. They included rescuing a person from a burning building, cutting open a vehicle to get a person out, and climbing a ladder truck. 'There are dozens of things I think we take for granted. You think a firefighter is driving a truck up and pulling a hose off a truck and spraying water on a fire and it's so much more than that,' added Christian Shuck. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
