| Contact Information | Date |
|---|---|
| For Immediate Release Contact: Rich Reuse 804.796.4360 or 804.840.2042 John Campbell 434.220.9070 434.989.0665 |
May 23, 2008 VDOF-08017 |
Record Enrollment for Upcoming Wildland Fire Academy; Longwood University is the New Site for Firefighter Training;
The Great Channels of Virginia will be Conserved
For the first time ever, The Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF) will host a week-long Wildland Fire Academy at Longwood University in Farmville. And a record number (539) of firefighters – most of whom are members of volunteer fire departments from across Virginia and seven other Eastern states – will participate in the 17 firefighting courses that will be taught by the 90 certified instructors.
The Academy begins June 3rd and runs through June 8th. Classes will be taught on campus as well as at the Prince Edward/Gallion State Forest, which is located approximately 15 miles southeast of Longwood University.
(Note to reporters and editors: If conditions permit, one of the most visually impressive events of the week will be a 20-acre night fire Wednesday, June 4th, that students in the fireplow/tractor operations course will have to work to extinguish using only their bulldozers. If you are interested in being on hand for this part of the Fire Academy, please contact Rich Reuse at the number at the top of this release by 4 p.m. Tuesday, June 3rd so that personal protective gear will be available for your use during the fire. Rich will also provide you with the location at which you must be by 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 4th, for a safety briefing prior to the start of the fire.)
As the threat of wildland fire continues to grow in Virginia, preparing people to fight these fires is vital to preventing the loss of lives, homes and other property. [Since Jan. 1, 2008, Virginia has had more acres burn (25,995) already this year than burned in any single entire year since 1963.]
“The Wildland Fire Academy is the most comprehensive training program we offer each year,” said State Forester Carl Garrison. “The more techniques we can teach firefighters the better prepared they will be to safely attack and suppress wildland fires. And that will help reduce the loss of life and property.”
As the state’s population has grown and more homes have been built in rural and suburban areas, more people and more property are at risk. Already this year, firefighters in Virginia have protected 563 homes and 371 other structures, such as barns, garages and sheds, from wildland fires.
VDOF’s Director of Resource Protection John Miller said, “Because of population growth and development, the nature of wildland firefighting has changed. We can’t take a bulldozer and simply plow a line around many of these fires like we used to do. So, if we are to safely attack a wildland fire, we have to teach new ways of battling these dangerous blazes.”
Courses at the Wildland Fire Academy include: basic and advanced firefighter training; firefighting tactics; fire weather and behavior; fire engine operations; bulldozer operations; chain saw operations; safety; incident management, and various other topics. Many of the classes will include exercises in the outdoors.
The Wildland Fire Academy is a partnership between the Commonwealth of Virginia and the National Park Service (NPS), who work together to provide fire protection resources to fires in accordance with the National Fire Plan, to increase firefighter safety and enhance the fire protection capabilities of the state. Course instructors come from the following agencies: VDOF, NPS, US Fish and Wildlife Service and the US Forest Service.
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The Virginia Department of Forestry protects and develops healthy, sustainable forest resources for Virginians. Headquartered in Charlottesville, there are 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 184,000 Virginians employed in forestry, forest products and related industries, Virginia forests provide more than $29 Billion annually in benefits to the Commonwealth.
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