COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service is hosting its 94th Annual Municipal Fire Training school.
Nearly 1,000 first responders are learning the ropes and sharpening their skills in the fire service industry at the Brayton Fire Training Field.
Gordon Lohmeyer is the TEEX Fire and Emergency Services Division Director.
“Basic firefighting to EMS to rescue skills, including agricultural rescue and vehicle extrication,” Lohmeyer said.
Those are just some of the skills participants in the municipal fire training are learning this week—along with rope rescue, wildland firefighting and leadership courses.
“We have folks that are as far away as California and Florida, Oregon, and Washington D.C., so you can see it attracts a wide variety of customers to this school to satisfy various needs that they may have back at home,” Lohmeyer said.
One participant traveled over 4,500 miles, a near 15-hour flight to Texas.
Megan Worters is a firefighter and MET living in Sunset Valley, just over the county line into Montague near the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
“So originally, I’m from Scotland and I moved here [Texas] three years ago and I’ve been coming to TEEX ever since,” Worters said. " I just fell in love with the fire service and helping people and so I started doing the firefighting"
The people and overall quality of training is what keeps Worters coming back year after year.
“They have so many great classes with a wonderful syllabus and wonderful instructors and just a whole wealth of knowledge that they’re eager to share with people,” Worters said.
One of those trainings is led by long time guest instructor of 12 years, Mario Troncoso, with over 30 years in the fire industry.
“I got my training here as a volunteer and then as I became a career firefighter, I continued my education here through TEEX, went through their fire chief’s executive officer leadership program which has also helped me in my current position as the fire chief with the city of Cibolo,” Troncoso said.
Worters is working with her team to learn agriculture rescue techniques that will be beneficial to her community.
“We’re using a picket system and we’re going to go in and package up a patient and haul them out,” Worters said. “Especially where we’re at in Sunset is very rural, lots of farms, lots of ranches so the stuff that we’re doing in ag rescue, we’re going to take back and be able to apply it in that situation.”
Troncoso hopes each participant walks away with this piece of advice.
“An open mind that the fire service is so fluid and ready to take on that next challenge to really grasp the new challenges of the fire service,” Troncoso said.
To Lohmeyer, the key takeaway is giving first responders the resources they need to protect their communities back home.
“There’s a lot of great education that’s taking place this week and you know the ultimate goal is these first responders go back to their communities and better protect those citizens,” Lohmeyer said. "That’s our goal.”
This municipal fire training school will wrap up Friday around noon. The public can be part of the action and fun as participants showcase their new skills for Public Demonstration Nightout at TEEX July 26. Gates open at the Brayton Fire Training Field at 6:30 p.m. and the event will start at approximately 7:30 p.m.