Westover hosts Mass. Fire Academy course

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Timm Huffman
  • 439th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
WESTOVER AIR RESERVE BASE, Mass. --  A statewide exercise dispatched firefighters from as far away as Boston to take part in the 160-hour Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) Technician Course held at Westover in May.

     About 20 firefighters from 17 different firehouses are attending the course. After completing the course, the firefighters will earn their technician-level certification.

     The four-week course teaches firefighters how to handle an emergency dealing with the release of HAZMATs. It makes them aware of which products are hazardous, the types of containers they are shipped in, and how to contain and prevent them from spreading in the event of an accident.

     Airman 1st Class Walter Selkirk, a new member of the Westover fire department, cited the course's effectiveness.

     "This is a big part of the career field," he said. "I understand it much better and have a better idea of what to do in an emergency."

     Chief Michael Patrick, Westover's Assistant Fire Chief for Training, said exercise officials chose Westover for the course because it is the only location in Western Massachusetts with suitable facilities for the training.

     The classroom portion of the course is in the Emergency Management classroom and the base's live-fire training area allow students to get hands-on experience. The class also used some off-base areas for their training.

     The chief pointed out that some benefits of holding joint training is that the participants get to interact with other firefighters in a non-emergency environment. It allows them to form a working relationship so that in an emergency, everyone knows their responsibilities.

     "This lets civilian fire departments learn the capabilities that we have here and what they have available to them in an emergency," Patrick said. "It helps everyone 'play' better in an emergency."

     Joint trainings also encourage the one-on-one discussions, with firefighters sharing their job knowledge with one another.

     "It's great to meet people from other departments and learn their way of doing things and hearing about what they've run into and the things they've dealt with," Airman Selkirk said.

     Westover firefighters are already familiar with hosting other area fire departments for training. The Westover team often trains with the Easthampton and Northampton fire departments and recently hosted the Bangor, Maine, fire department.

     The HAZMAT course is scheduled to wrap up in June.