Around the Country
East Side Brothers Train out West
By Eric G. Bachman, CHS
Oct 8, 2006, 10:44

During the week of September 25, 2006, two east side firefighters attended a unique training program in Elko, Nevada. Eden Firefighter Eric Bachman and Lafayette Lieutenant Dave Keens traveled to the University of Nevada Reno (UNR) Fire Science Academy and participated in a 32 hour program entitled “Terrorist Incident in Your Community: Flammable Liquid Fire Fighting Techniques for Municipal and Rural Firefighters.”

The program is funded by the US Department of Energy which allowed the local firefighters to attend without out-of-pocket expense. The four-day program included instruction and discussion on the psychology of terrorism and post-traumatic stress disorder. The program also included classroom instruction on pipelines, fuel marketing terminals, storage tank construction and foam firefighting. Practical exercises included handling incidents involving liquefied petroleum gases and natural gas.

The class included 60 students from all over the United States from large metropolitan areas like Los Angeles, California to small rural areas such as Mineral Wells, West Virginia. Five Pennsylvania responders attended including Bachman and Keens as well as members from the Carlisle (Cumberland County), Penn Township (York County) and City of Butler (Butler County) fire departments.

Program instructors included UNR staff as well as adjunct instructors from Fire Department New York and Lowell Massachussets. The training site is the only one of its kind in the United States. Using 12,000 gallons of diesel fuel during the four day program, the fire props present real life scenarios and experiences including dealing with dense smoke and intense heat.

Lafayette Lt. Keens (L) and Eden FF Eric Bachman (R) take a break during an afternoon live training burn session

Extinguishing a 70’ diameter open fuel tank using foam was a part of the training

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