Orland Fire Protection District supervises emergency
trainings
The Orland Fire Protection District completed a three-day
Train the Trainer program that was funded through a $302,400 Federal grant
received earlier this year to support the district’s MABAS needs.
MABAS is the “Mutual Aid Box
Alarm System” which networks the emergency response system for hundreds
of emergency services.
The training program, held
June 25-27 at the OFPD Training Center at 163rd and 108th
Avenue, included 21 fire professionals including 12 from the MABAS Divisions,
Bloomington, Countryside and Orland who were certified to provide instructions
in the Blue Card Hazard Zone Management System.
These instructors, said
organizer Fire Lt. David Piper “will assist in facilitating certifying
the over 400 officers and firefighters covered in the grant. They will go out
and train others.”
The goal, Piper explained, is to facilitate
“inter-operability and efficiency” among participating emergency service agencies.
The 400 officers are responsible for managing emergency responses of more than
1,500 firefighters serving more than 750,000 people in Chicagoland’s south and
southwest suburbs.
Piper said that the trainees were led through a series of
instructions on hi-tech computer programs and training simulators that present
emergency challenges to help the firefighters respond more effectively and in
coordination with others.
“Everyone has to be trained in these techniques and
practices to make them work,” Piper said.
Fire Chief Ken Brucki said that in order to maintain and
provide the highest levels of emergency response services, the Orland Fire
Protection District is committed to insuring all of its employees and partners
in neighboring districts have the most effective training.
“Our firefighters are constantly being trained in the newest
and most effective techniques to respond to emergencies and to improve the
efficiencies of coordinated responses,” Brucki said.
“Lt. Piper supervised an important training for those who
depend on our ability to respond to emergencies.”
