Participants in the Arkansas River Valley Wildland Fire Academy, which is being held at Arkansas Tech, were at Shiloh Park today learning how to better combat a fire. The crews were learning how to use an available water source to fight a fire if a firetruck is unavailable.
The exercise is one of about 25 courses being taught during the two-week academy.
During the course, the students learn to properly pump water from a creek or a stream in order to combat a fire. The participants in today’s course then practice pumping water from the creek using several different styles of pumps.
Firefighters from several states attend the academy each year, and nearly 100 agency personnel volunteer to assist in training the almost 350 firefighters that attend.
Officials say because personnel from several state and federal agencies serve as instructors, those attending the academy receive a “broader view of the profession.”
The participating agencies in the Arkansas River Valley Wildland Fire Academy include:
- U.S. Forest Service
- Arkansas Forestry Commission
- Bureau of Indian Affairs
- National Park Service
- Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
- The Nature Conservancy
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Oklahoma Department of Forestry
- Department of Defense Personnel
- AR Department of Parks and Tourism
- Oklahoma Native American tribes (Apache Tribe, Caddo Nation, Choctaw Nation, Cherokee Nation and the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma)
This marks the sixth year for the Arkansas River Valley Wildland Fire Academy to be hosted at Arkansas Tech.
]]>
