The drill began in 1993 as the Lake Shastina Fire Drill in an attempt to bring the numerous fire agencies in the county together and foster relationships among departments, according to CAL-FIRE Unit Chief and Siskiyou County Fire Warden Bernie Paul.
“Our main goal is interagency cooperation and familiarity,” KNF Public Information Officer Kerry Greene said. “We want them to get familiar with each other and build relationships so that when they get to a real fire, having that connection beforehand and the training, they will be more effective in their firefighting efforts. They’ll have gone through all the motions of actual emergencies, so they’ll know what each others’ capabilities are and what their equipment can do.”
A few years after the drill began, the event was renamed in honor of Eric Hall, a Lake Shastina Fire Department chief who passed away.
“He was a huge supporter for training and really pushed for more interagency trainings,” CAL?FIRE Information and Education Officer Suzi Brady said.
Over the years, what has been taught has changed slightly, with drills varying from structure fires, vehicle fires and vehicle crashes to equipment safety and radio operation.
This year’s four drills were focused on fire shelters, equipment inspection, GPS tracking for lightning fires, mass casualty triage and I-Zone wildland interface.
“Because of the training these drills provide, our departments are more efficient. It’s been a good thing for the whole county,” Paul said. “These drills bring the level of training up and improve the county’s safety.”
Participants included personnel from state and federal organizations – CAL FIRE, Klamath National Forest Service and?Shasta-Trinity National Forest Service – as well as volunteers from the Yreka, Etna, Gazelle, Weed, Butte Valley, Fort Jones, Mayten, Hammond Ranch, Dunsmuir, South Yreka and Klamath River fire departments. The Scott Valley Fire Protection District, Mt. Shasta Ambulance, Northern Siskiyou Ambulance,California Highway Patrol and Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office also participated.
“Shasta-Trinity came down because they have seen how we do our drill and want to model trainings in their area after ours,” Greene said.
The attendance of the volunteer departments has been a big bolster to fire safety, Paul said. It has brought the volunteers’ level of expertise up and allowed them to be included on a list of strike teams that can be sent out across the state.
CAL-FIRE Captain and Lake Shastina Volunteer Fire Department Interim Fire Chief Mike McWilliams said the drill is a great opportunity for volunteers.
“Something like this helps the people who don’t do this professionally to experience working with those who do this every day, to see the capabilities of these other departments,” McWilliams said. “It’s great for volunteers to have an opportunity like this so close to home.”
The drill is held the second weekend in July each year and is optional for departments to attend. Paul said almost all county fire agencies show up, leading to about an 80 percent participation rate.
Much of this year’s training took place in Lake Shastina. At their fire department, equipment was checked and vehicles were inspected. At the same time, other crews weaved through neighborhoods practicing structure protection, locating ribbons that represented spot fires and taking action, spraying the ribbon with water.
In a field, children from the Big Springs 4-H Club feigned injury in a van. They were quickly removed by firefighters and paramedics and taken to colored tarps that designated their level of injury. Personnel practiced triage with the help of equipment from Office of Emergency Services trailers, filled with enough equipment to handle multiple casualties, McWilliams said.
Delaney Whipple’s favorite part of the day was watching firefighters do their job assessing injuries and moving children onto the tarps. Some children were placed on a yellow or red tarp, were put on back boards and had oxygen masks put on their face. That part – being “packaged up” – was Tyler Wilson’s favorite part.
Meanwhile, at the College of the Siskiyous’ Fire Tower, crews practiced tracking lightning fires through GPS coordinates, quickly suppressing the fires and creating a containment line.
“In Siskiyou County, probably the number one cause of wildland fires is lightning. We see hundreds of lightning fires each year,” CAL?FIRE Battalion Chief Darin Quigley said. “We’ll probably be on a lot this summer. This is a good opportunity to focus on the basics.”
For some, the annual drill is a refresher course attended every year, but it pays off for everyone in the end.
“A lot of firefighters love any kind of training they can get,” Paul said. “The little money it costs to put this on pays off over and over. It’s well worth the investment because it all pays off in the end.”
For more information about the drill or county fire information, call Brady at 842-3516.
http://www.siskiyoudaily.com/features/x909205628/Fire-agencies-hold-annual-drill-in-Weed