Firefighters from U.S. Army Garrison Vicenza and Darby Military Community joined at Camp Darby to attend a two-week class offered by USAG Ansbach, Germany, Feb. 2-13. The USAG Ansbach operates a firefighting training center providing classes all over Europe.
"During this training firefighters learned how to work together and got familiar with current safety standards and procedures," said Markus Ungerer, fire instructor.
The complete training, as Mark Franceschini, lead firefighter for the DMC explained, consists of a level 1 training of two weeks theoretical training and a one week practical training which will be held in Germany and followed by level two training.
"This is the same certification for firefighters which are in place in the United States, once the Host Nation firefighters are trained they are officially recognized firefighters," said Franceschini.
Manuel Pavan has been a firefighter for USAG Vicenza for the past two years and is now taking certification.
"It is very important to take this class to learn the exact and correct terminologies and to have a full vision of the techniques, I can't wait to attend the practical training in March," said Pavan.
The class consisted of a pure theoretical part, but the attendees were also challenged with a competition on who was able to dress with all proper gear in less time.
"This class is very demanding and we needed to study and learn new words and refresh the laws governing firefighting practice," said Dario Barsotti, DMC firefighter. Barsotti has been a firefighter for 17 years, but he is still motivated and willing to learn.
"There are always aspects of our job that are not practiced often and training is an extremely important practice to maintain our knowledge and capabilities up to date," Barsotti said.
According to class instructor firefighters will learn the principles and basis of firefighting and get an update on all changes to maximize their performance and provide a better service for the community.
"Firefighters train and exercise continuously, there will be additional classes in future and all firefighters will be trained at one center," said Ungerer.
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