« LBFD Uses “Jaws of Life” at 710 Freeway Accident to Free Victim From Wreakage of Vehicle That Fell 45 Feet From Overpass | Home | LBFD Rescue 2 and Pick-up Truck Involved in Injury Traffic Accident at 10th Street and Alamitos Avenue »
LBFD Participates in Wild Land Fire Training
By frhayes | July 31, 2009
On Thursday, July 30, 2009 at 11:00 A.M., Long Beach Fire Department (LBFD) units Engine 2, Engine 3, Engine 8, Engine 12, Engine 13 and Battalion Chief 1 participated in Wild Land fire training.
Other agencies that participated in this training were Los Angeles City and County Fire Departments, the Glendale Fire Department, and the United States Forrest Service. The primary goals of the training was to work on the use of common forms of communication, the establishment of a communications plan, and to discuss the issues surrounding the deployment and operations of strike teams.
There were also demonstrations and explanations of specialized equipment that is used in the extinguishment of wild land fires. Including “Drip Torches” used in backfiring operations used to control the fires direction, and hand tools used to cut off the spread of these fires. The culmination of the training ended with 3 different organizations taking on the challenge of a “head to head” contest of deploying hose lines, with the first one able to squirt water at a target being the winner.
In the past during every wild land fire season the LBFD has responded strike teams (5 Engine Companies with a Battalion Chief) to assist other cities facing the potential devastation presented by these large fires. The LBFD provides this resource under the master mutual aid agreement, that would allow the City of Long Beach to request the assistance from other agencies in the future if we were faced with a major incident e.g., Earthquake, Flood etc. This cooperative agreement allows for state resources to assist other agencies with personnel and equipment when the local jurisdictions assets are overwhelmed. This training also served to prepare our members for the challenging and dangerous conditions that are encountered during these deployments.
A total of 6 LBFD apparatus and 21 personnel participated in this training.
Topics: Events | No Comments »
Comments are closed.