Outside of family, there are few people in life that we can count on like the folks who work or volunteer in fire, rescue and emergency medical services. When tragedy strikes—whether we’re in an automobile accident, our neighbor’s house is on fire or our cousin’s child falls in a pond and can’t swim—these are the folks who rush to our aid and, frequently putting themselves in harm’s way to offer aide, comfort, treatment and protection to the rest of us.
Training the folks who provide this care is a big job and requires a lot of manpower and coordination. One of the state’s largest providers of this training is McDowell Technical Community College who, with a host of agency partners, offers a massive weekend training program each year in March.
The 46th annual McDowell Fire, Rescue and EMS College opened earlier this week at McDowell Tech with about 70 participants taking part in week-long classes that preceded this weekend’s main event, many of them participating in a class for Fire Inspectors. As of Tuesday evening, about 830 students had already registered for weekend classes, which is up about 20% from last year’s enrollment. More students will register onsite Friday evening or Saturday morning.
A decade ago, the college registered approximately 1,400 students during an average “Fire School” weekend. However, COVID changed all of that and numbers decreased significantly. Now, however, numbers are once again on the rise. 70 courses will be offered this year, with new classes being offered in Railroad Safety and Transportation Hazards, Sonar Operations for Drowning Victims and Recovery, and EMS Officer I.
“After COVID, and the cancellation of our first ‘fire school’ in over 40 years, we were concerned about getting back to where we were, but here we are—coming back strong!,” said Stacy Buff, Vice-President of Workforce Development at McDowell Tech. “The need for volunteer and paid firefighters is great, and we are excited to see this increase. It seems to be a sign that we are seeing new firefighters register for classes this year, not just veteran firefighters.”
“Ronald Morgan, our Director of Fire Training has done a remarkable job putting everything together and working with college staff and the McDowell Fire School Training Committee, made up of local fire, rescue and ems volunteers, to pull this thing off seamlessly.”
Some of the increase in students registering for classes may also be due to a change in training requirements a couple of years ago from the Office of the State Fire Marshall. Classes that had previously been offered in one or two sessions of four to eight hours each are now requiring twenty hours of training. Others now require forty to upwards of 60 hours of training. Some folks who participated in longer classes earlier in the week will also take second classes during the weekend training session.
The largest number of classes and participants are expected on Saturday and Sunday, the 16th and 17th. Almost all classroom training will be held on the campus at McDowell Technical Community College, with additional classes being offered at partner sites. For hands-on elements, students will fan out across McDowell County at locations appropriate for their particular type of training.
As in past years, live burns and Basic Engine Company classes will be offered at the Fire Training Grounds in Marion, off of Old Hwy 10 West, utilizing a specialized “burn building,” as well as large propane tanks and flammable liquids pit.
“Of course, our primary job is to make sure that folks get the training they need to do this all-important work,” said Buff. “But in addition to providing high-quality training, the McDowell Fire, Rescue and EMS College has a huge impact on the local economy, with students and their families staying in local hotels, eating in local restaurants, and shopping at local retail stores throughout the week, and especially this weekend.”
“As training requirements from the State Fire Marshall’s office increases, our folks have risen to the challenge of providing more and better training, and we continue to be a leader statewide in the fire, rescue and EMS training community,” said Buff. “We appreciate our agency partners for their assistance, now and throughout the year, in training those who serve and protect us today and every day. You all are the best.”
The Fire, Rescue and EMS College is co-sponsored by MTCC and the McDowell County Fire and Rescue Training Committee, with assistance from the McDowell County Emergency Management Agency, the McDowell County Fire Commission, local fire departments and the McDowell County Rescue Association.
