Central Blue Ridge Wildland Crew: Faber Refresher Review

I want to thank everyone who took the time to attend the annual Faber Refresher Training on Sunday, November 7th. It was good to see the crew get together with a commitment to staying safe and being well trained. The following is a review from the training and some pictures that Martha Warring had taken during the day.

The day started at 07:00 with crew members completing all the usual paperwork and then heading outside to begin the physical fitness testing. The temperature was a brisk 28 degrees when the first group got started. The sun finally started to quickly warm things up for the following groups.

Once everyone worked their way through the pack-test and reassembled inside, the crew was welcomed by L.E Rhodes (Albemarle Co.). Martha Warring (Nelson Co.) then reviewed personal protective equipment that is required on the fireline. Martha also updated the crew on any new policy and procedure changes that may affect the crew.

Paul Stoneburner (Madison Co.) showed a video called "Attack From The Black". The video was produced by the Texas Forest Service and included sand-table reenactments of actual fires with a discussions from the firefighters who were on the scene. The objective of the video was to help firefighters think about initial attack strategies, contingency plans and identifing safety zones.

Derek Keiser (Amherst Co.) discused postion descriptions as a part-time firefighter with the Department of Forestry. Derek presented some upcoming training opportunities that will be available locally.

The final classroom presentation was from David Powell (Central Region) on wildland/ urban interface. David discussed safety issues, the importance of a thorough size-up and tactical stratagies when fighting wildfires in woodland communities.

As usual, lunch was BBQ with all the fixins'.

The remainder of the day was spent outside rotating through the dozer, hummer/engine and fire shelter deployment stations.