RICK COSTA
Instructor, Northeast Fire Training Center
12 Professional Firefighters from Athens, Greece came to the Monroe County to the Northeast Fire Training Center on the week of September 20, 2002. These Firefighters were here to train at the new state of the art training center to enhance their skills in firefighting.
Twelve professional firefighters from Athens, Greece came to Monroe County,
Rochester, NY, to the Northeast Fire Training Center the week of September 20.
These Firefighters were here to train at the new, state of the art training
center, and enhance their skills in fire fighting.
Sunday was a day of sightseeing for the firefighters. They went as a group
to Niagara Falls on both the American and Canadian side. This was an honor
for these men who got to see one of the seven natural wonders of the world.
Monday, day 1, began the week with classroom work and with familiarizing
themselves with the facilities. This was an easy day for them to get in the
groove with the facility and the instructors.
Day 2 of training consisted of using our SCBA. Our SCBA's are SCOTT 2.2 air
packs. This is similar to what they use for their needs across the globe.
SCBA instruction consisted of learning to don and doff packs, partial and
full escapes, a mask confidence course.
What was thought to be a tough morning led to more challenging afternoon.
Tuesday afternoon's training consisted of structural fire fighting and all
it's aspects.
Day 3 was a fairly unique day of driving the two NETC crash trucks. The
morning was spent driving around the facility and using the bumper and roof
turrets along with the boom with piercing nozzle on Rescue 6.
Wednesday afternoon was a time to really heat things up. The firefighters
completed several hours of large fuel spill training. The PSTF has some of
the most advanced props and equipment available for aircraft fire rescue
training in the country. The Fuel Spill Fire Trainer, for example, is a
mockup of a Boeing 737 surrounded with thousands of propane fuel valves.
These are lit and controlled by computers in the control tower to simulate
an actual aircraft fuel spill fire, while maintaining a safe environment for
trainees. A 125-foot burn area surrounds the prop, and the valves can be
fully ignited to surround the entire plane or divided to allow for a partial
area burn. Before night burns began, the firefighters from Greece had the
privilege to meet with our local news media, and then return to night burns.
Day 4 was another long day spent in the SAFT (Specialized Aircraft Fire
Trainer). Here, the firefighters completed many evolutions on cockpit fires,
cabin fires, wing engine fires, wheel brake fires, and engine fires with
fuel spills. The firefighters were also put to the test of search and rescue
and body recovery.
The Final Day was a rainy Friday compliments of hurricane Isidore. The Greek
firefighters worked on the IFT (Industrial Fire Trainer). There they worked
fires at the propane tank simulator and the leaking flange simulator. The
firefighters had never encountered some of these types of fires. Friday
afternoon, the firefighters had a much-deserved break and went shopping at
Eastview Mall.
During the "down time", the various instructors took the visiting
firefighters to several different "hot spots" in Rochester area. They were
even invited to a nice lunch put on by the Greater Rochester International
Airport on-duty firefighters at their firehouse.
Many people have asked, was there a language barrier? No. Not really. When
it comes right down to it, no matter what side of the globe you are from, we
all still " PUT THE WET STUFF ON THE RED STUFF".
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