IVFD members attend Western Nebraska Engine Academy

Last weekend the Imperial Volunteer Fire Department (IVFD) sent eight of its members to a two- day training with the Western Nebraska Engine Academy in Gering, Nebraska.  Fire Chief Doug Mitchell said the training participants and the facilitators were represented by local, state, and the federal agencies.  
Second Assistant Chief Kelsey Weiss of IVFD said there were 149 participants to the training from five different states.  IVFD is a volunteer agency and some of the costs to send eight members of our 35 man department came from grants, he said.
Second Lieutenant Greg Dannatt of IVFD said the entire two- day training was conducted in field exercises.  Firefighting responses are categorized as incident types, he said.  An incident five is considered the lowest, where one fire department responds.  The next, a four, is where other resources or departments, are called in.  A three is where we are called on to assist that involves an extended deployment where the state of Nebraska becomes involved.  A two is where there will be federal involvement, such as FEMA.  A one is the most major of incidents, he said.
Our department has been involved with numerous extended deployments, Dannatt said.  When a fire department is called on for that level of assistance it is called a “Strike Team.”  IVFD has an excellent communication with agencies around the state due to the deployments and this excellent training from last weekend with the numerous agencies and individual firefighters enhanced future coordination and communications overall, he said.
Some of the firefighting support in the training was from the National Guard with Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters, Dannatt said.  A Blackhawk can carry up to 500 gallons of water in their bucket and the twin rotor Chinook can carry 1000 gallons, he said.  There is a lot that must be understood about firefighting with aircraft, he said.  What type of vegetation is burning, how fast is it burning, what is wind and updraft doing, how the helicopter rotor blade prop wash will affect present circumstances, are just a few.  I was calling in helicopter and bucket operations with field radio throughout the training and that was very exciting, he said.
When fire departments are sent to fires where an extended deployment is the case it is for a minimum of two days in the field conducting operations, Dannatt said.  During the training last weekend the participants were given the choice of staying in the field like a regular deployment or be put up in the local hotels.  Most of us chose to sleep in the hotels.  It was nice to sleep in a clean bed and have a shower for a change, he said.
IVFD is a volunteer fire department that is supported by our community with the needed equipment and training like we participated in last weekend in Gering.  Presently we have 35 dedicated members serving.  We as a department also encourage anyone in our community that is interested in joining our ranks to contact us, Dannatt said.