VDOF To Host Wildfire Training For Louisa County On Saturday

The Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF) will conduct wildland firefighting field training Saturday in Louisa County.  Firefighters who typically battle blazes in houses and other structures will get hands-on training in the tools and tactics used to suppress wildfires in Virginia.

“This is an opportunity to train individuals in a very different type of firefighting,” said David Stone, area forester with the VDOF. “The tools and apparatus used to combat a wildland fire are vastly different than what they are used to when fighting structural fires. Saturday’s field training will provide an excellent opportunity for these folks to learn how to operate the tools and use the equipment needed in the wildland firefighting realm.”

The hands-on training, which will be held at the Louisa County Fire Training Center, gets underway at 10:30 a.m. and will conclude by 2 p.m. The training center is located at

22 Sacred Heart Avenue in Mineral.

Note to reporters/editors: This learning experience will offer some excellent visual opportunities as the firefighters will train with brush trucks, water pumps, chain saws, leaf blowers, fire rakes, and other assorted wildland fire equipment.

On-site contact is David Stone. His cell number is 434.981.5202. Please leave your name and phone number if you get his voicemail and he will call you back ASAP.

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The Virginia Department of Forestry protects and develops healthy, sustainable forest resources for Virginians. Headquartered in Charlottesville, the Agency has forestry staff members assigned to every county to provide service to citizens of the Commonwealth. VDOF is an equal opportunity provider.

With nearly 16 million acres of forest land and more than 144,000 Virginians employed in forestry, forest products and related industries, Virginia forests provide more than $27.5 Billion annually in benefits to the Commonwealth.