2012 Firefighter Training:
UPDATE: The first FIREFIGHTER TRAINING,
scheduled to begin on Friday, January 20th, has
been CANCELLED due to this week's snow and weather conditions.
This training will be rescheduled as soon as possible. Stay
tuned for updates.
Winter 2012 Structure Training (24
hours total): Structure Training, originally slated to be
held during the fall of 2011, has been re-scheduled to after the
1st of the new year. Regular wildland firefighter training will
resume, following the completion of structure training.
Chief Steve Avgeris has scheduled the first training date
on Friday, January 20th, from 6:00 PM to about 8:00 PM at the Hilt
Community Church. Exact dates for the remainder of the
training sessions will be scheduled with firefighters' input at
the first session. Dates and times for the season will be posted
here as soon as they are available. Stay tuned.
All firefighters, medical responders, and all auxiliary helping
individuals (i.e., all capacities and levels of participation) should
attend the first meeting. Insurance and other necessary paperwork
will be handled, and the season's training plan and process will
be reviewed.
NOTE: If you are a valley resident new to firefighting, or anyone
wanting further basic info, see below for General
Firefighter Training Information and a review of what recent
training programs have involved (click on any of the following topics
listed). If you have any further questions and/or wish to participate,
please contact Steve Avgeris directly
at 541-488-1768.
Medical 1st Responders:
The 2012 formal complete EMR (Emergency
Medical Responder) course to be coordinated with our district
will be held in March and April, 2012 - when all of those
who were certified or re-certified by Nor-Cal in 2010 will need
to take a re-certification course in order to maintain
their certification status as current. Firefighters or others involved
with our fire district who wish to become 1st Responders for the
first time will also be able to take that course through the district.
The 2012 First Responder Re-Certification will
be held on March 10th and 11th, and on April 21st and 22nd
this spring (both sets of dates are on weekends). The course will
be offered through College of the Siskiyous, and will be held at
the Hilt Community Church. The course instructor will be
Amy Stacher of CalFire; Amy taught the 2010 course and is excellent.
We are fortunate to have her teach the course again this time around.
The cost to the district is not yet known; however, there will
be no cost to individual district firefighter / 1st responder training
participants.
Further details will be posted here as they become available.
(See below for a more complete description
of what this course has most recently involved.)
______________________
Also: The Nor-Cal 2012 Pre-Hospital Conference will be held
on Saturday, April 28th this spring. The location is again
at the Win-River Casino in Redding. This is open to all of our 1st
responders who are current in their status (certified or re-certified).
Based on the level of interest, we may be able to provide a carpooling
option with a district vehicle as was done last year.
A postcard-flyer announcement of this event is
available here.
As above, stay tuned for further details.
Previous Training:
The 2011 wildfire training involved
lots of hands-on practice along with some classroom theory. Except
as noted, all training sessions were held on Fridays from 6 –
8 pm at the Hilt Community Church.
March 11th - administrative paperwork; firefighting/training
overview; dispatch communications.
March 25th - local communications; 1st Responder
medical training review/practice - CANCELLED.
To be re-scheduled to a later date.
April 8th - 1st Responder medical training review/practice
#1st half.
April 22nd - 1st
Responder medical training review/practice #2nd half.
May 6th - Local communications/radio/pager use; more general
training.
May 20th - Communications
(rest of); hands-on practice with Wildland/Urban interface hose
lay training.
May 21st, Sat., in Redding, CA.: 2011 Northstate Pre-hospital
Conference : optional day-long class for all pre-hospital personnel
including first responders (EMRs), sponsored & promoted by
NorCal EMS. (See below for topics & more info.)
June 3rd - tentative
make-up day for 3/25: more general training.
June 4th IN HORNBROOK- Special Extrication class with CalFire
: 10:00 AM to approx. 3:00 PM.
June 17th - Last regular training for the season: more hands-on
practice; various remaining topics as needed.
July 7th: ( Final training) Special inter-agency training:
This year the multi-agency meeting was held in Hilt. CRFD was
the host agency. (There were three helicopters and lots of engines
so residents at the south end of the Valley may have noticed that
this training was occurring.)
Medical 1st Responders:
The 2011 Northstate Prehospital Conference:
The 7th Annual Northstate Pre-hospital Conference was held on Saturday,
May 21st, 2011 at the Win-River Casino in Redding, CA., for
EMRs (First Responders), EMTs, Paramedics, and other emergency
medical personnel who might be interested, intended as an informative
refresher, updating us on some of the protocol changes in the last
year.
A group of our first responders carpooled down on May 21st (participation
was not required however). The $50 registration fee cost was reimbursed
by the district.
Topics included: Crew Resource Management, Physical
Assessment - Adult, Heat Illness, Critical Incident Team Resource
Management, The Active Shooter, Auto Extrication, and Wilderness
Medicine.
- For more information on this event or similar events, see the
Nor-Cal EMS website at:
http://www.norcalems.org
(You may need to create an account to view material
if you don’t yet have one, but it’s simple and fast.)
- If you have any questions, you can contact NorCal’s office
directly at: 530-229-3979.
Nor-Cal EMS news and updates are always available at: http://www.norcalems.org/
**EMR (First Responder) CERTIFICATION UPDATE**:
On February 3rd, 2011, we were informed by the Certification Manager
for Nor-Cal EMS that:
"[W]e have been informed that [the] Sierra-Sacramento EMS
Agency EMR Program is now operational. If you are currently certified
as an Emergency Medical Responder (previously First Responder)
by Nor-Cal EMS, and utilize your skills in the S-SV area, please
see the information from S-SV EMS below and contact them if you
have further questions."
The S-SV area now includes Siskiyou County. NorCal EMS does not
now include Siskiyou County. According to the NorCal EMS office,
however, we are still able to train and become certified or re-certified
by NorCal, and NorCal's certification will still be considered effective
for our fire district's EMR/1st Responder certification purposes.
More will be posted here as we learn further details.
The complete information received by Nor-Cal EMS from S-SV EMS
is available on Nor-Cal EMS's website:
http://www.norcalems.org/docs/memos/20110203-memorandum-ssv-emr-certification-available.pdf
Below on this page:
2010 Firefighter
Training - Awards Night
Photo - 2010 Firefighters & Medical
1st Responders
Firefighter Training & Schedule 2010
1st Responder Medical Training 2010
General Firefighter Training
Information
Firefighters &
Training - Legal Issues
Driving Policy for Emergency Vehicles
Photo - 2005 Firefighters indoor
training
2010 Firefighter Training - Awards Night:
Our first firefighter training of the
season on April 9th, 2010, was also an awards and appreciation
event, most notably honoring Andy Herskind, who has
just retired after 15 years of dedicated volunteer service
as Assistant Fire Chief in Hilt. Andy's wife, Carole Herskind,
was also recognized for her many years of service as a Board
member for Hilt, from which she has recently retired.
The appointment of David Lipking as the new
Assistant Chief in Hilt was announced, followed by a group
recognition of CalFire crew members who have assisted our
firefighter and medical trainings and other efforts; individual
recognitions of our emergency medical responders who have
recently completed that course, receiving either first-time
certification or re-certification; and a group recognition
of all of our firefighters.
Andy was presented with a plaque commemorating his long years
of never-hesitating service, there were refreshments with
cake, many photos were taken, and filmmaker (and firefighter)
Alex Cox filmed the awards presentations throughout.
[Note: Chuck Biegert, the newly appointed Assistant
Chief at the upper end of the valley for Colestin, was not
able to attend this event and is not included in the event
photos.]
|
1st Training, April 2010 - Colestin-Hilt Firefighters/Emergency
Medical 1st Responders,
with Fire Chief Steve Avgeris (front, center), Assistant Fire Chief
in Hilt David Lipking (right), and Emergency Medical Response Director
Cheri Avgeris (back row, center-left). [Assistant Fire Chief for
Colestin (north valley) Chuck Biegert and retiring Asst. Chief Andy
Herskind not pictured here.]
For more photos of this event, see: Firefighter
Training - April 9th, 2010 - Awards & Photos.
Firefighter Training 2010:
The start of firefighter training was postponed last
season until after the First Responder Medical course, held locally
in Hornbrook through COS (College of the Siskiyous).
Chief Steve Avgeris decided to suspend firefighter
training during the First Responder course in order to make it feasible
for as many of our firefighters as possible to attend, given the
time requirements for both this course and firefighter training.
Our firefighters are not required to take this course, but all are
encouraged to, in order to either gain or maintain certification
status as a First Responder (Emergency Medical Responder).
The course was originally scheduled to start on Sat.
January 9th but the start date had to be changed twice, to Sat.
Feb. 13th, and then to Sat. February 20th. The uncertainty of the
start date delayed scheduling our regular firefighting training,
in order to avoid an overlap on the calendar.
The 2010 (last year's) Training Schedule for Colestin/Hilt:
"Those that are already volunteers and those
who wish to be":
At the Hilt Church at 6:00 pm on the following dates:
April 9th (Friday) at 7:00 pm -
one hour later
due to Board meeting
April 16th (Friday) at 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
April 23rd (Friday) at 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
April 30th (Friday) at 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
May 7th (Friday) at 6:30 pm to
8:30 pm - one-half hour later
due to Board meeting beforehand
May 14th (Friday) at 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
May 21st (Friday) at 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
(No training May 28th.)
June 4th (Friday) at 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
June 11th (Friday) at 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm
- one-half hour later due to Board meeting beforehand
June 18th at 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm - Test on S-190
Wildland Fire Behavior; fire shelter deployment practice; weather
instruments review; firefighting terms review; handlining review
& practice.
June 25th at 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm -
LAST TRAINING, EXCEPT FOR ENGINEERS; further Engineer Training
to be scheduled by arrangement. Communications equipment &
use - review & practice; firefighting equipment check-out;
misc. training wrap-up.
ANNUAL TRAINING IS REQUIRED for all
volunteers, including new AND current or previous volunteers. Last
year's training was conducted by our Fire Chief, Steve Avgeris.
Crew members of Cal Fire also provided many of the training
sessions.
If you have any questions about training,
call Steve Avgeris at 541-488-1768.
Emergency Medical Responder Training, 2010:
Offered by COS
and LOCALLY HELD:
FIRST RESPONDER
MEDICAL (EMS First Responder) (EMR) EMT 90 & EMT 91 (Refresher)
COURSE
SATURDAYS - FEB.
20TH through MARCH 27TH, 2010:
WHEN: 6
(six) Saturdays starting February 20th through March 27th, from
9 AM to 6 PM (9 hours each week, for 54 hours total).
WHERE: The
R-Ranch in Hornbrook. (Hilt/Colestin fire district members
are carpooling in district vehicles.)
Instructor: Amy
Stacher.
Description:
(as per the syllabus:) "This course meets the Public Safety
Training Standards covered by the U.S. Department of Transportation
curriculum and is approved by the local Nor-Cal EMS agency. Both
the lecture and skills information required for First Responder
training will be taught in this class. If the student passes the
written quizzes and successfully completes all skills he/she will
be eligible to take the Nor-Cal First Responder certification exam.
The First Responder certification is valid for 2 years with Nor-Cal
EMS agency."
Course Objectives:
(as per the syllabus:) "To develop and upgrade skills of all
individuals involved in providing emergency care to the sick or
injured."
This course is being coordinated with the Colestin & Hilt fire
districts as well as Copco and CalFire, and is also open to the
general public. It is a hands-on course in addition to lecture material;
no prior experience is necessary.
The cost for those attending as fire district participants,
regardless of state of residence, is $60, plus a $14 materials fee;
the fire district is covering these fees. (Normally, there is a
minimal in-state enrollment fee of $20 per unit for those with CA
addresses, while the out-of-state fee for Oregon residents is $199
per unit, or $597 for a 3-unit course such as this).
We are able to benefit from these reduced fees because
the course has been re-classified for fire district members as a
"community service" course. This means that fire
district participants will not receive college credit for the course,
but will receive or renew their national as well as local First
Responder (Emergency Medical Responder) certification upon full
successful completion.
(Those who wish to receive the 3 units of college
credit must be registered as "general public" and all
regular fees apply and are the responsibility of the individual,
not the fire district.)
For more info, call us at (541) 488-1768,
or see the COS course schedule under "recently added classes"
at: http://www.siskiyous.edu/schedules/Spring2010AddedClasses20091215.pdf,
course Ref. Section # 8457 (note that the dates listed have
been changed, as above), or see COS's Registration page at:
http://www.siskiyous.edu/counseling/advising/howtoregister.htm,
which has phone numbers and links for registration and other questions.
GENERAL FIREFIGHTING TRAINING INFORMATION:
ANNUAL TRAINING IS REQUIRED for all volunteers,
including new and current or previous volunteers. If you miss the
first training meeting, you can still play a part in helping the
fire district. You do not have to participate as a first-string
firefighter to be part of the crew – we are always in need
of auxiliary members for various support functions, which also require
training. We are all unpaid volunteers, and community participation
is how we survive as a fire district, and how the CRFD continues
to offer fire protection and firefighting services.
WHAT: CRFD / Hilt VFD trainings will be held with
CDF and Hornbrook VFD whenever possible. Training includes 4 hours
of Urban Wildland Interface training, and S130 and S190 Wildland
training. It is extremely detailed and required by law. Training
also involves some first responder - medical instruction and ICS
training presented by CDF.
The first training of the year covers essential paperwork (sign-ups
for those who are new, insurance and other legal forms for all firefighters
for this year, personal equipment & tool sign-out inventory,
etc.), a review of last season, and an overview of the training
program for the season before us.
WHO: All community members are welcome. Notices
were sent to all local residents as well as last year's participants
date for this year's training. Once training begins,
it may not be possible for newcomers to train as a fully qualified
firefighter for this season. However, we are always
in need of more new people from the community to join in our all-volunteer
efforts: as a firefighter, a medical first responder, base station
assistant operator, water tender driver, communications liason,
backup supplies and/or transportation provider, and many more support
functions. Please join us and contribute as you are able to. Those
with questions should talk to Steve.
HOW MANY HOURS: All firefighters and first responders
must complete a state-mandated minimum number of hours of training
prior to being eligible for dispatch on a district call-out. This
requirement applies to both new and previous participants, without
exception. Only those who attend all training sessions will automatically
meet this requirement for the upcoming fire season. Missed training
hours must therefore be made up (by arrangement with Steve).
Anyone who is already currently qualified by an alternate training
program, either professionally or in a volunteer-based department,
should discuss this with Steve Avgeris, to determine his/her status
relative to CRFD training needs.
WHEN: Training sessions normally will run through
May. Training dates are normally held every other Saturday from
6 to 8 pm at the Community Church building in Hilt, unless otherwise
announced.
ABOUT FIREFIGHTERS AND TRAINING - LEGAL ISSUES:
PLEASE NOTE: Only trained firefighters will be allowed to work with
the CRFD on the firelines. Those who show up to fight a fire but
are not trained, certified firefighters and/or have not participated
in CRFD's current firefighter training program will be asked to
leave. We hope to have everyone's understanding and cooperation
on this.
All of our current firefighters are covered by mandatory insurance.
Our insurance does not cover anyone who is not a CRFD-trained firefighter.
There are other safety liability issues as well. If you want to
be one of our firefighters, make it a point to join and attend training.
DRIVING POLICY for EMERGENCY VEHICLES:
Also, as of May, 2008, CRFD's new Safety Committee has developed
a Driving Policy Agreement for those driving our
District's Emergency Response vehicles.
This document must be signed by all participating
volunteers before they can be permitted to drive our vehicles. (If
you attend firefighter training, this form will be provided, along
with the other necessary paperwork you'll need to sign.)
A non-PDF (scanned) version is viewable here, as follows:
Firefighter Training in 2005 (Photo):
During the 2005 Firefighting Training
- Photo taken Sat. February 19th, 2005
Fire Chief Steve Avgeris, foreground
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