| Firefighters Lori Talento and Ann Ivan attended the New York State Women in Fire Service Training weekend September 17,18 & 19 in Montour Falls. FF Talento attended the 12 hour Strategy and Tactics for Initial Company Operations Course and received her NY State Training Certification. FF Ivan, a NYS certified EMT, attended On Scene Rehab Practices for Fire Department Operations and also received a NY State Certification accordingly. The classroom courses were intensely informative, taught by State Certified Instructors with plenty of on-scene experience backed with impressive technical knowledge.
The professional networking and interaction was very positive, for example FDNY Women FF's attended in force with 8 or 9 of their total 31 female members represented. We also learned about the Phoenix Fire Camp where NYS Fire Service Women volunteers run a summer camp giving a group of twenty-four 13-to-19 year old girls the chance to experience fire fighter training at the Utica Training Facility.
The Rye Department T Shirts were a popular auction item (funds raised support the FSWNY outreach efforts and Phoenix Fire Camp) as well as Lori's Haiti Shirt which triggered a heated bidding battle at the auction.
As FF Talento noted, many departments are staffed by volunteers only- and their members had many interesting field stories to tell. Upstate rural departments have different operational concerns such as silo fires, greater response distance and since there are no fire hydrants in rural areas, all water is supplied by tanker trucks. We were impressed with the resourcefulness and overall mutual aid sharing that budget tightening has brought about.
The experience of staying at the NY State Fire Academy, meeting other firefighters from all around the state, and gaining new knowledge about different aspects of firefighting was very gratifying. Many thanks to our Department Chiefs, Officers and Fellow Members for their support.
Anyone interested in a more detailed review of our training course material only needs to ask. |
