Fredericktown Community Fire District

With the upcoming Fire Cadet Recruitment Day next week, we thought that we would take some time to go over what some of the curriculum for the summer long academy consists of to prepare them as a cadet.

Class #1 – History of the Fire Service / History of the FCFD
Class #2 – SCBA / PPE
Class #3 – Trucks and Tools
Class #4 – Hydrants / Appliances / Portable dump tank
Class #5 – Motor vehicle crashes and Hydraulic Tools

Class #6 – Auto Extrication Day

Class #7 – Portable Extinguishers / Reading Smoke

Class #8 – Search and Rescue

Class #9 – SCBA

Class #10 – Review for Final

Cadets and recruits meet almost weekly throughout the summer as a part of this program and are invited to all FCFD training to further their skills and build teamwork. With few exceptions, our cadets are not sitting in classrooms they are the majority of the time in a hands on environment learning not only life safety skills, but skills for LIFE!   We are proud of the program that we have build at the Fredericktown Community Fire District, it is successful, growing, and already paying dividends in new firefighters in the community.  If you’re interested in the program and in grades 9-12, get in touch with us today!

Our Fire Cadets were hard at work on Tuesday night for their first training of the month. The cadets spent the nice weather outside building up a sweat and pushing themselves to be better prepared physically.

A short agility course comprised of the following was set up as cadets competed against each other, cheered each other on, and found what they need to work on.

1. Stair climb with hose
2. Hose hoist
3. Roof ladder carry
4. Cone obstacle
5. Stretch 100 foot of 1 3/4″ hoseline to a target

What have your firefighters been busy with lately? The answer is plenty! So far in 2018 the Fredericktown Community Fire District has responded to a total of 86 fire/rescue runs throughout our district and our second due areas in Mount Vernon, Morrow County, and Richland County.

We have a lieutenant that just completed their Firefighter II certification (240-hours). We have a probationary firefighter getting ready to head to classes to go from his 36-hours volunteer certification to the Firefighter I certification (120 Hours). We have a probationary firefighter that just completed her 36-hour volunteer certification. The FCFD was represented by seven firefighters at the Heavy Rescue 101 training day in Northern Ohio last month. One of our officers attended a water movement class last month and another firefighter attended a workshop/town hall on “active killer response”.

Members of the FCFD trained last Thursday night on the Paratech stabilization system used by the department. Guest instructor for the evening was Craig Mignogno from Rescue 16 with the Columbus Fire Department.

Firefighters works on several facets of stabilization from basics of cribbing, simple systems with the Paratech struts, and understanding some of the many features that the system has.

The FCFD received all of the stabilization equipment from a recent Ohio BWC grant. Paratech is the leader in stabilization, a rated, system, and the vey expandable system allows the FCFD for future growth. Beyond vehicle stabilization they can be used for lifting, trench rescue, structural shoring, rope rescue, and many other areas in the fire service.

Divers with the Fredericktown Community Fire District took part in a slightly different training than usual on Saturday at the firehouse. No, the department has not added a pool to the facility, but rather the firefighters setup one of the portable tanks used to supply water on the fire ground and utilized it for a training area. Underwater in the photos are FCFD divers Ben Beever and Tom Durbin. At the communications is diver Lt. Kevin Suain.

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), one of the leading dangers that divers can deal with is becoming entangled in something while in the water. Search lines, wires, debris, and aquatic plants are all possibilities that can cause them to get hung up. Unlike a fire scene where firefighters can get grouped into rescue teams, the availability of rescue divers is harder to come by.

On Thursday night for regular training, our personnel took a refresher training on the MARCS Radio system utilized with Knox County and some surrounding counties. Teaching the course was Arlin Bradford from VASU Communications.

The MARCS radio is the lifeline for our firefighters, proper use and understanding is necessary. A great number of questions were generated throughout the evening as Arlin went over current knowledge and upcoming changes that will help in running with mutual-aid departments.

Did you know? During the first two months of 2018 the FCFD responded to a total of 39 calls? During the weekday hours our response time to get the first truck out the door was 8.5 minutes, and 15.06 before the first one arrived on scene.

To compare numbers, on the weekend the numbers are vastly different. During the weekend (daytime hours) our response time to get the first truck out the door is 3.5 minutes and 6.5 minutes before the first one arrived on scene.

Daytime hours are our most difficult time due to more and more responders working outside of the district. Over the course of the last 10-15 years the makeup of the ranks have changed.

FCFD firefighters were out last night for regular training at a local residence they will be using of the coming months. Crews worked together as they practiced two different loads that our department utilizes on apparatus. Repetition, building muscle memory!

This past weekend, FCFD Firefighter Jason Bostic traveled to Columbus and competed in the American Lung Association’s Climb for Air! This was his fifth appearance at the climb, with the challenge to climb 40 floors, up 880 stairs at the Rhodes Tower in downtown Columbus. The climb was completed in full firefighter turnout gear, helmet, gloves, boots, coat, pants, and SCBA. To further add to the work, Bostic completed the 40-floor ascent on breathing air from the SCBA without running out of air.