October 29, 2004

WRT training 20 new firefighters

       The 20 full-time firefighters hired recently by the White River Township Fire Department must go through eight weeks of training before they start responding to calls in December.  But all of them already know how to climb into the gear, uncoil hoses and hook up air tanks.  The added crew members started training Oct. 4 and will continue studying policies, reviewing rescue procedures and responding to emergency scenarios until they receive certification Nov. 30.

       White River Township has more than doubled the number of full-time firefighters and now has 35 career firefighters and 60 volunteers. Eight of the added firefighters came from other departments in the state, while the rest were volunteers already serving White River Township.  The added staff means the department won't have to rely on nearby Greenwood and Bargersville firefighters to assist when the station is flooded with calls. Four fully equipped crews will be on duty at all times, said Joel Thacker, White River Township Fire Department battalion chief.  The department will be better equipped to respond to more fires, accidents and other emergency situations. Aside from more firefighters being on duty each shift, residents won't notice much of a difference, Thacker said.  The department has never hired more than five firefighters at once, although its fire-protection district is one of the fastest-growing in Johnson County.  State officials agreed to raise taxes to fund additional firefighters' salaries in February, after three years of requests from the understaffed department.

       The department faced challenges such as transporting the large group and locating sites that are big enough for training the crew.  Most of the training will be done in classrooms at the department's headquarters and on 30 acres of land on the southwest side of Indianapolis.  The training site is owned and operated by the Fire Department Training Network, a national nonprofit training organization with a base in Indianapolis.  Network president Jim McCormack, who also is a firefighter with the Indianapolis Fire Department, leads training exercises and calls on firefighters from across the country to instruct crews.  McCormack supervised the group Tuesday as they maneuvered heavy hoses around twists, turns and bends in a three-story building pumped full of smoke from a machine.  In upcoming weeks, the firefighters will learn how to rescue distressed workers as high up as a six-story water tower, review EMS skills that will help them assist heart attack victims and learn how to cut through mangled metal to free trapped motorists from vehicles.

       The department's aggressive training was what led Aaron Bryant, a former Noblesville firefighter, to apply for the job.  The new staff is being trained by firefighters from White River Township and Indianapolis and states including New York and Tennessee.  "The department sees a need to bring in trainers with expertise who have seen a lot more emergency situations than we ever have," Bryant said.  The biggest difference for Mike Combs, a seven-year volunteer who was promoted to full-time status, will be his paycheck.  "Now I have a job that will support my family for the next 20 to 30 years," Combs said.

         Most of the firefighters will work as engineers, transporting crews to fires and pumping water into buildings from the trucks. The remaining six will be lieutenants or crew leaders, who will direct and command firefighters at the scene of emergencies.  Starting salary for the department's engineers is $37,000 a year, while lieutenants earn $44,000 annually, said Lt. Jim Engmark, public information officer for the department.  Fire department officials reviewed more than 70 applications that came in after the openings were announced eight months ago. Candidates underwent physical-ability and written tests along with oral interviews to measure their skills. The 20 highest scorers were offered the jobs, Engmark said.  The department's boundaries are County Line Road, Stones Crossing Road and about four blocks east of State Road 135. White River Township serves part of the city of Greenwood.

 

              
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