Designed by the National Fire Academy, the program was developed to prepare fire department personnel from across the region to respond to and manage structural collapse incidents.
WESTFIELD – Firefighters from across the state spent two days in Westfield enhancing their skills by learning how to manage incidents of structural collapse of buildings due to fire, explosions and natural disasters, among other causes.
The two-day program was held Wednesday and Thursday at Amelia Park Ice Arena and was hosted by the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy’s Incident Command Systems for Structural Collapse Incidents.
Designed by the National Fire Academy, the program was developed to prepare fire department personnel from across the region to respond to and manage structural collapse incidents, said Westfield Fire Capt. Seth M. Ellis.
“We’re learning how to apply systems and technology on a daily basis,” he said. “This could encompass anything from a car driving into a building and causing a collapse to responding to a tornado. We’re also using case studies of actual incidents as learning tools.”
Some of those case studies include the June 2011 tornado that ravaged Western Massachusetts, the natural gas explosion in downtown Springfield in November 2012, the Oklahoma City bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in 1995 and the 2001 terrorists attacks on the World Trade Center.
Mark V. McCabe, technical resource coordinator for the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy, said the material presented during the two-day training sessions is newly developed and intended to provide firefighters with tools they can recall and put to use in the event of a structural collapse.
“We’re giving them the knowledge, skills and ability, and they will have those tools in their toolbox, underneath their helmets to investigate incidents,” he said. “They’ll know how to respond in order to keep themselves and victims safe.”
McCabe said the course takes a proactive approach to possible incidents, preparing firefighters for any eventuality in advance of a structural collapse.
“Structural collapse of aging buildings, especially in Western Massachusetts where there as so many older structures, is always a possibility,” he noted.
1.16.14| WESTFIELD| Photo by Manon L. Mirabelli| R. J. Pensivy, a firefighter with the Agawam Fire Department, studies materials on how to respond to structural collapse. The two-day program was held Wednesday and Thursday at Amelia Park Ice Arena. R. J. Pensivy, a firefighter/paramedic with the Agawam Fire Department said he can share the material he learned from the course with his colleagues and will help make him be more effective on the job.
“It will help us know how to respond to a call and the resources we need for a structural collapse,” he said.
The course covered causes, contributing factors and associated hazards of structural collapses, explaining basic command procedures. It also touched on identifying critical factors and issues that affect scene management, described all response operational phases associated with a structural collapse incident, and described the technical rescue expertise and equipment required for safe operations and effective incident management.