More Funds
Another $15,000 came into the MERIT Center fund this week from the DNR, Farm Technology Days and a private family donation, Monroe Fire Chief Daryl Rausch said.
The fund now stands at $128,000, which will go toward the purchase of a fire tower, valued at $185,000.
The entire MERIT Center plan calls for a total need of $600,000. Much of the work is being done by volunteers.
MONROE - A record number of emergency personnel turned out for training at the 72nd Monroe Fire School this past weekend.
More than 900 firefighters trained in 46 classes at 10 locations around Monroe and Green County.
The school doesn't just train firefighters to fight fires. Firefighters today must be prepared for any emergency, from handling hazardous materials to performing technical rescues, confined rescues and vehicle extraction and administering emergency medical techniques.
"We try to prepare firefighters for any emergency that comes up," said fire school coordinator Marty Schonoover of the Rockford (Ill.) Fire Department.
Seven classes added to the curriculum this year include exercises for fire explorers and cadets, boot camp for new volunteers, water rescue and recovery, railroad safety and ethanol burns, emergency driver training and ladder operations without a ladder truck.
A new FEMA certified course in NIMS, the National Incident Management System that creates a uniform language for communicating effectively when departments work together, also was taught by Fred Diehl, Rock Rapid Region EMS System.
An eight-hour course for cadets ages 14-17 included a practical exercise in breaking through walls of a trailer home under emergency conditions.
Second-year cadet Dustin Champlain, from Stillman Valley, Ill.,, said he has had training before, "but not to this extent."
Although they were not in any live fires, the young men were under a time restriction to complete their task.
"We are put under an emergency situation, with air tanks only 25 percent full," Matt Modrzejewski, 17, said.
If his tank's alarm went off, a cadet was "dead" and had to step out of the exercise. Only two of seven cadets successfully completed the exercise.
Afterward, they headed to the rehabilitation tent - as do all the firefighters. Every class location has a rehab tent.
"We monitor to make sure they're all right after each exercise," Venessa Carson, 22, an EMT from Ashton, Ill., said. "And we provide snacks and Gatorade."
Modrzejewski found out his blood pressure was "way high." With a little rest and some fluids, he was finally cleared to continue.
Cadets discuss their experiences with the instructor after each exercise.
"You guys were working way too hard. It doesn't take that much to get through," he told them.
The cadets also receive training in fire streams, hose and supply lines, ground ladders, ventilation, firefighter rescue and more.
The MERIT Center, located in the North Business and Industrial Park, was used for the first time this year. In the past, the county fairgrounds was the location of fire exercises.
"No more smoke in town," Monroe Fire Chief Daryl Rausch said with a smile.
About 20 trailers, connected in various configurations to simulate larger structures, were used in four major fire training exercises: new firefighters search and rescue and fire attack, rapid intervention for the rescue of a trapped firefighter, tactics for first arriving officers and advanced search and rescue training.
The MABAS Operations, with mutual aid divisions 17 and 104 from Stephenson County, Ill., also were at the MERIT Center. Fitchburg Chief Randall Pickering conducted training for rescues in collapsed trailers, and Tom Korte from Freeport for rescues in collapsed ditches. Hidden among the rubble were mannequins.
Ret. Chicago Fire Chief Andy O'Donnell and Capt. Dave Fornell, Casstown, Ohio, trained tactics for first arriving officers with live fire conditions.
Officers arriving on the emergency scene must quickly size up the situation in order to determine what equipment is needed, how to attack the fire and whether any people need rescuing, Rausch said.
Assistant Chief Boyd Van Dellen, Fulton, Ill., explained his "ABCD" method, in an officer's walk around a building.
"A, arrival, it's the front of the building. Notice, where are your hydrants, things like that. B, be aware of your surroundings. Where are your electrical, gas line, hazards? C, now you're on the back side - you're collecting all that stuff you're noticing. And D, on the last side, deploy your people," he said.
"It's pretty exciting to come over here every year. The tradition is staying strong," Schonoover said.
"This is where (new firefighters) should be. You can pick up tidbits from other departments," Van Dellen said.
The school gets about 160 to 170 fire departments from each state in the association participating each year.
The Monroe Fire School is put on by the Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois Fire/Rescue Association. The school began in 1937, and came to Monroe in 1960, where it remained. The school became a three-day event in 1998.
More than 900 firefighters trained in 46 classes at 10 locations around Monroe and Green County.
The school doesn't just train firefighters to fight fires. Firefighters today must be prepared for any emergency, from handling hazardous materials to performing technical rescues, confined rescues and vehicle extraction and administering emergency medical techniques.
"We try to prepare firefighters for any emergency that comes up," said fire school coordinator Marty Schonoover of the Rockford (Ill.) Fire Department.
Seven classes added to the curriculum this year include exercises for fire explorers and cadets, boot camp for new volunteers, water rescue and recovery, railroad safety and ethanol burns, emergency driver training and ladder operations without a ladder truck.
A new FEMA certified course in NIMS, the National Incident Management System that creates a uniform language for communicating effectively when departments work together, also was taught by Fred Diehl, Rock Rapid Region EMS System.
An eight-hour course for cadets ages 14-17 included a practical exercise in breaking through walls of a trailer home under emergency conditions.
Second-year cadet Dustin Champlain, from Stillman Valley, Ill.,, said he has had training before, "but not to this extent."
Although they were not in any live fires, the young men were under a time restriction to complete their task.
"We are put under an emergency situation, with air tanks only 25 percent full," Matt Modrzejewski, 17, said.
If his tank's alarm went off, a cadet was "dead" and had to step out of the exercise. Only two of seven cadets successfully completed the exercise.
Afterward, they headed to the rehabilitation tent - as do all the firefighters. Every class location has a rehab tent.
"We monitor to make sure they're all right after each exercise," Venessa Carson, 22, an EMT from Ashton, Ill., said. "And we provide snacks and Gatorade."
Modrzejewski found out his blood pressure was "way high." With a little rest and some fluids, he was finally cleared to continue.
Cadets discuss their experiences with the instructor after each exercise.
"You guys were working way too hard. It doesn't take that much to get through," he told them.
The cadets also receive training in fire streams, hose and supply lines, ground ladders, ventilation, firefighter rescue and more.
The MERIT Center, located in the North Business and Industrial Park, was used for the first time this year. In the past, the county fairgrounds was the location of fire exercises.
"No more smoke in town," Monroe Fire Chief Daryl Rausch said with a smile.
About 20 trailers, connected in various configurations to simulate larger structures, were used in four major fire training exercises: new firefighters search and rescue and fire attack, rapid intervention for the rescue of a trapped firefighter, tactics for first arriving officers and advanced search and rescue training.
The MABAS Operations, with mutual aid divisions 17 and 104 from Stephenson County, Ill., also were at the MERIT Center. Fitchburg Chief Randall Pickering conducted training for rescues in collapsed trailers, and Tom Korte from Freeport for rescues in collapsed ditches. Hidden among the rubble were mannequins.
Ret. Chicago Fire Chief Andy O'Donnell and Capt. Dave Fornell, Casstown, Ohio, trained tactics for first arriving officers with live fire conditions.
Officers arriving on the emergency scene must quickly size up the situation in order to determine what equipment is needed, how to attack the fire and whether any people need rescuing, Rausch said.
Assistant Chief Boyd Van Dellen, Fulton, Ill., explained his "ABCD" method, in an officer's walk around a building.
"A, arrival, it's the front of the building. Notice, where are your hydrants, things like that. B, be aware of your surroundings. Where are your electrical, gas line, hazards? C, now you're on the back side - you're collecting all that stuff you're noticing. And D, on the last side, deploy your people," he said.
"It's pretty exciting to come over here every year. The tradition is staying strong," Schonoover said.
"This is where (new firefighters) should be. You can pick up tidbits from other departments," Van Dellen said.
The school gets about 160 to 170 fire departments from each state in the association participating each year.
The Monroe Fire School is put on by the Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois Fire/Rescue Association. The school began in 1937, and came to Monroe in 1960, where it remained. The school became a three-day event in 1998.