Colleton County Fire-Rescue hosted the third annual
Lowcountry Fire and EMS Weekend Friday, Saturday and Sunday, November 6
through 8. 114 Firefighters, mostly from South Carolina and Georgia
participated, however some participants traveled from Pennsylvania, New
Jersey, New York and Idaho to take or assist in the training. 56 instructors
and/or vendors also participated. Saturday and Sunday were packed with
training opportunities for Firefighters and EMTs/Paramedics. South Carolina
professionals conducted a variety of classes and many corporate sponsors
made it possible to bring in some highly regarded instructors from around
the country to provide specialized instruction. Classes were conducted at
four locations in Colleton County. The School District was most
accommodating allowing Fire-Rescue to use the Middle School on Tuskegee
Airman Drive as the hub for the training sessions and all classroom courses.
Hands On Training (H.O.T.) classes were conducted at Station # 33 on Risher
Mountain Drive, Tommies Auto/Diesel facilities on Jefferies Highway and the
City of Walterboro’s Fire Training Building located at the sewer plant.
Planning began last year following the 2014 training weekend and last week
was a flurry of activity readying the props and preparing logistically for
the influx of students and instructors.
A small army of support personnel kept things moving in
the background providing instructors and students the ability to concentrate
on teaching and learning. Over a dozen vendors set up displays of equipment
in the large common room at the Middle School to show their wares, which
included Peirce and E-One Fire Apparatus, Wheeled Coach and Braun
Ambulances, Fire and EMS Equipment, Drones and Simulator manikins. Doors
opened at 06:30 with the first H.O.T. classes beginning at 08:00 both days.
H.O.T. classes, which lasted all day, included, Engine
Company Operations, Truck Company Operations, Rapid Intervention Teams,
Advanced Auto Extrication and Hose Streams.
Classroom Courses included Unified Command, Command
from the Car, Nozzle Tips, Role Playing, Transitional Fire Attack, Medical
Simulation Lab, Diabetes for Dummies, Rehab for Survivors, Passing the
Baton, Forgotten Valor, One Pot Method and 73 minutes
Sheriff’s Deputies conducted classes on Clandestine
Drug Lab Awareness
Air Methods/LifeNet of South Carolina provided a meal each
day so students could stay on site.
H.O.T Class
Instructors, R.I.T
Combat Operation - Jim Crawford, James
Ellis, Nick Sohyda, Mike Bates, Ed Farley and Brent McClellan.
Auto Extrication Instructors -
Carl Haddon, Jim Payne and Trevor Steedman.
Truck Company Operations -
Michael Ciampo, Aaron Heller, John “Bart” Simpson, Tom
Decker, Nate Evans, Chris Losee and Eric Hankins.
H.O.S.E (Engine Class) -
Ray McCormack, Jim Smith and Steve Robertson.
Classroom Instructors - John Tippett, David Greene, Tim Wojcik, Dr. Lucinda DeMarco, Tommy Keefer, Brendan McGurk, Brent Turner, Ed Marcarella, Ben Waller, Chris Carson and Mark Schrade.
Sponsors
included Holmatro Rescue Equipment, Tommies Auto and Diesel Repair, Colleton
Medical Center, LifeNet of SC, Sully’s Photography, Honeywell First
Responder Products, Gaumard Simulators, Scott Safety, Fireline Inc., Skyview
Aerial Solutions, Task Force Tips, Rhinehart Fire Services, Heape Bow’s and
Wally’s Fire & Safety.
Vendors
included Wally’s Fire & Safety, Spartan Fire Apparatus and Equipment,
SkyView Aerial Solutions, Emergency One, Colleton Medical Center, Rhinehart
Fire Services, South Carolina Firefighters Association, SC Fire Academy,
LifeNet of SC, Carolina Gear Medix, Columbia Southern University, Rhinehart
Fire Services, Honeywell, Skyview Aerial Solutions, Wheeled Coach,
Garniewicz Leather, NAFECO and the DHEC Bureau of EMS
