McALESTER, Okla. - In the midst of a dry season more than 400 volunteer firefighters from 90 communities descended on McAlester Army Ammunition Plant March 6-8 to learn how to handle nature's untamed beast -- wild fire.
The three-day event was the 9th Annual Bob Jones Wildland Fire Training Program sponsored by the Fire Training Department of the Oklahoma State University and the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant.
Two days of class room instruction culminated in an on-hands exercise the final day of the event. Controlled burns were ignited in an isolated part of the plant while volunteer firefighters exercised various methods of fire attack and control using fire hoses.
While the controlled burn class was in session, three other courses were simultaneously being held:foam application, emergency vehicle driver training and water shuttle operations.
Water shuttle operations involved firefighters using a pumper truck to obtain water from a lake where it was delivered to a simulated fire. The goal was to maintain a continuous flow of water from the water source to the simulated fire which was about 1.5 miles from the water source.
"Many volunteer firefighters would not be able to gain this valuable experience if it were not for this specific class," said Barry Daniels, a seven- year volunteer firefighter at Harmony, Okla.
Lynette Rose of Haywood-Arpelar, Okla., agrees.
"This is my first time here, there's lots of good training and I plan on being back next year," she said.
Canadian Shores volunteer fire fighter of 10 years Bobby Powell, said that what was taught here is something you can take back and share with other communities. This was his second year to attend.
While operating a fire hose spewing forth foam, Powell explained how the foam sticks to trees which will help prevent the trees from catching fire from an approaching blaze.
He said the advantage to using foam is that it sticks to the surface and penetrates through the leaves so you can "foam down" a line of trees in advance of a fire then leave to fight a fire somewhere else.
Cecil Mackey of Harmony explained the advantage to using foam.
"You use eight times less water when you use foam," he said.
Mackey explained that water can dissipate due to the approaching heat, while foam sticks to the surface and does its job.
When it comes to being a firefighter, one must always expect the unexpected. At around 3 p.m. the last day of training, the volunteer fire fighters from three communities and the ammunition plant responded to a double-wide trailer fire about a mile from the plant's back gate on Highway 31 West. While the trailer was a total loss, there were no fatalities or injuries.
"You have to be ready for anything. The training we received at the ammunition plant was put into immediate use at this house fire," said Richard Shropshire, a 13-year veteran of the Haywood-Arpelar volunteer fire fighting community. Shropshire was attending the training at the plant when he responded. He also works at the ammunition plant.
"What would normally take these volunteer firefighters 10 to 15 minutes to do, they can now do in two to three minutes due to their training they received here," said Paddy Metcalf, Oklahoma State University fire programs coordinator.
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