Lincoln Fire Rescue hosts Basic Wildland Firefighting class

Lincoln Volunteer Fire Rescue hosted firefighters from five other districts last weekend for a Basic Wildland Firefighter course sponsored by the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation.

Twenty volunteer firefighters from Lincoln, Seeley Lake, Potomac, Ovando, Helmville and Greenough participated in the twenty-hour course that got underway Friday night and wrapped up Sunday afternoon.

"DNRC sponsors these trainings. The fire department is doing the legwork," said Bill Cyr, the fire forester at the Lincoln DNRC field office and a captain with the LVFR.

Cyr said the training was a basic certification course for firefighters who are just getting started in wildland firefighting. He said the experience level of the students ranged from a twenty -year veteran who had primarily worked as a structure firefighter to a brand new rookie who had only been a volunteer firefighter for two days.

"They don't have to have this training to fight a wildland fire in their own district, but it's just goods training that teaches them how to do it safely and effectively," he said.

After the firefighters completed the classroom training provided in Lincoln, they will go back to their home stations for the hands-on training they need to become familiar with the basic techniques they learned and with the specific equipment their departments use. Once their chiefs sign off on that training, they are nationally qualified as Firefighter 2, an entry level wildland firefighter.

"This is a nationally recognized training," Cyr said. "This is the same training a rookie firefighter in Florida or Texas would be taking right now."

Although DNRC has been hosting the class as virtual online training for firefighters, Lincoln Fire Chief Zach Muse said the LVFR opted to provide a live class, which other departments in the Blackfoot Valley joined in on. Muse, Assistant Fire Chief Derek Perz and firefighter Billy Cyr served as the primary instructors, while Cyr and other Lincoln firefighters shared their experiences as well.

The course began Friday with training on the state/county cooperative fire program and the Incident Command System used nationally for all manner of emergencies. Saturday's training covered fire safety, topography, fuels, weather, fire behaviors and woodland safety.

Sunday wrapped up with a look at techniques for the efficient use of hoses and water, and mop up procedures.

Cyr said it turned out to be a very good class. "The students are very engaged, asking some very good questions. The instructors are experienced firefighters, but not necessarily experienced instructors and they're doing a a great job transitioning into being instructors."

Beth Homen and Jason Rawlings of Seeley Lake both appreciated the chance for in-person training from experienced firefighters.

"The instructors put a lot of the more technical things into terms I think were easy for everyone to understand. I actually did the woodland course on line last year. I didn't end up completing it because the fire they were going to send me on shut down. Its a whole different thing," said Rawlings, who has been a volunteer firefighter for about two years, first in Superior and now in Seeley. "Being in a classroom with other people, they're asking questions that I wouldn't have thought about asking, but I need to know the answer. I learned a hell of a lot more from these guys than I did sitting on my bed with my laptop watching videos on line. Don't get me wrong, its still educational, I just enjoy the interaction."

Homen, who has been in the Seeley Lake Volunteer fire Department's cadet program for three years, said she had picked up tidbits about fighting wildfires, both during her time as a cadet and from her father, who is a Seeley lake firefighter.

"I didn't have the whole picture, so this was very, very useful," she said.

Coming into the training with just one day as a volunteer firefighter under his belt, Steven Van Grinsven of Potomac said it was his first training of any type as a firefighter, and he appreciated the perspectives and experience the instructors had to share.

"It was pretty incredible to see all the thought and capacity that needs to come into addressing a fire," he said. "The one that stood out to me most is the amount of knowledge they have to have about weather, weather pattern all the weather elements that play into being a firefighter."

Van Grinsven is looking forward to continuing his training with his crew ahead of the upcoming fire season. "Obviously there's quite a bit of gear you have to understand and be able to use and operate correctly. For me it's more learning and training. I want to be out there and be as effective as I can on the first fire I encounter. I think this class gives a lot of knowledge that keeps us safe."