Firefighters complete advanced rescue school

Published March 3, 2010
By Susan Griggs
Keesler News editor

KEESLER AFB, Ms. -- The Keesler Fire Department hosted the Department of Defense Fire Academy's mobile travel team from Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas, for its advanced rescue school, Feb. 8-28.

J.D. Donnett, Keesler's fire chief, said the course included two DOD instructors, an Air Force technical sergeant and a Marine Corps staff sergeant, and 12 students from Keesler's fire emergency services team and other Air Force bases.

"The training curriculum is identical to the formal school at Goodfellow," Chief Donnett pointed out. "The three weeks of formal training included classroom and arduous practical evolutions in the field."

The chief said there were distinct advantages for hosting the course. Keesler received five student slots, compared to the one slot most bases get annually, saving hundreds of man hours and temporary duty funds required to send personnel away for four weeks.

For successful course completion, students must demonstrate proficiency in rope rescue; high angle rescue, including rappelling, ascending, descending, lowering victims from high angles, victim pick-off rope rescues and mechanical advantage systems; advanced auto extrication; and confined space technician rescue.

"The fire advanced rescue school is a highly-coveted course -- fire chiefs only select their best for the limited slots. Graduation is required to be assigned to fire department rescue vehicles."

Graduates are nationally accredited by the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress. Once assigned to rescue vehicles, personnel continue to maintain proficiency in rescue skills for any situation by completing daily crew proficiency training on and off base with other fire emergency service flight members and area fire departments.