GAMO parking lot in Houston recently became the testing ground for the Texas County’s Firefighter I and II live fire burns.
The Firefighter I and II class started in November and will end the first week in March. By the end of the class, firefighters in the community will be state certified in Firefighter I and II, HazMat Awareness and HazMat Operations.
The 360-hour class is being taught by Michael Drozdo, Ben Pursifull and Robert Cardwell and is helping train 25 firefighters from the Raymondville, City of Houston, Licking, Roby, Summersville, Arroll and West Plains fire departments.
“These firefighters have dedicated a lot of hours to protect and serve the members of their communities and neighboring communities,” Raymondville assistant fire chief Drozdo said.
The Jan. 29 state testing was live fire skills on various props and took place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The live fire props consisted of a Class A fire, propane tank fire, flammable liquid fire, vehicle fire and a structure fire.
LET’s Train, a professional training organization from Illinois, brought all of the training props to Houston for the day-long event, which was made possible through a grant provided by the Missouri State Division of Fire Safety. LET’s Train commended local firefighters, stating they are “first class and among the best in the state” that they have seen and trained to date.
“They could not believe how well trained our firefighter I and II students were, for such a rural area,” Drozdo said. “We were lucky to receive this grant so that we could get our firefighters certified. Texas County is behind the rest of the state by not having a live fire training facility for firefighters in our county. We hope to change this in the near future. Firefighting is like anything else in life, if your team is to be good at it, you need to practice.”
Drozdo pointed out that the men who offer their services to Texas County’s volunteer fire departments deserve a lot of respect from citizens.
“Make sure to thank your local firefighters for their dedication to their communities,” he said. “Firefighting is often a thankless job that is not paid and most people do not realize this until they need help. (Firefighters) wake up, leave dinners, leave jobs, miss their kids’ ball games – and the list goes on – so they can come and help you in your time of need. Have you ever thought about becoming a volunteer? Have you ever wanted to help your fellow neighbor in a time of need? All of your local fire departments are finding themselves short on manpower.
“We are in need of people of any age looking for a way to serve their community. If you are interested, talk to a fireman. They will be glad to help you get started.”
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