Published: February 17, 2009 10:21 am      

Area fire departments work on getting on the same page

Henderson County fire departments are finding more opportunities to work together.

Last year, Athens Fire Department Chief John McQueary proposed multi-departmental training sessions to get all the departments on the same page.

AFD Assistant Chief Tres Winn said the first training was held last November at the old Henderson County Memorial Hospital. He said AFD, LaRue-New York Volunteer Fire Department, North 19 Fire Rescue, Malakoff Volunteer Fire Department and Brownsboro Volunteer Fire Department participated in the training.

Winn said 22 volunteer fire departments serve Henderson County.

“We basically just had four different scenarios,” he said. “The main thing was to know who you are working with.”

Winn said the training focuses mainly on realistic situations, such as structure and vehicle fires.

“I think it went very well,” North 19 Chief Bob Morris said. “I learned a lot about the abilities of the other departments. I would like to see us do it with other departments.”

He said the training also involved learning about protective equipment and tactical support. Morris said it gave the departments common ideas about how to approach an incident.

“If we ever have a major alarm, we will all be on the same page,” he said.

Winn said the departments have established an instant command system which places the first department on scene in command.

“You don’t want to go in there freelancing,” he said.

BVFD Chief Robert Chambers said the response from the training was positive.

“It puts everybody on the same page, speaking the same language, so to speak,” he said.

Winn said the departments plan to continue the training sessions, involving more departments.

“It is going to be up to the chiefs of the county to bring it up,” he said.