San Francisco, CA – Most public officials have to prove they’re tough under fire, but Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez and more than 30 mayors, city council members and elected officials from California and across the U.S and Canada will get a chance to put those skills to the ultimate test at “Fire Ops 101.” The event is being hosted by the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) on Saturday, October 4.
Participants will get a hands-on feel for the realities and risks of being a fire fighter and paramedic during a day-long interactive training session at the San Francisco Fire Department Training Center (Treasure Island, 600-Avenue M) in San Francisco.
“The mission of our Fire Ops workshop is to educate our elected leaders about the real challenges of being a fire fighter and a paramedic by showing them first-hand what these brave men and women face every day,” said Harold Schaitberger, General President of the IAFF. “After you get a feel about the dangers and stress of the job, it gives new meaning to esoteric words like response times and safe firefighter staffing.”
Fire Ops 101 will put public officials through a series of realistic firefighter exercises, including handling and scaling ladders, attacking a fire with a charged hose line, rescuing a victim from a dark, smoke-filled structure, experiencing the heat and flames of a flashover, and performing defibrillation on a mock cardiac arrest victim. Participants will wear protective clothing and equipment, including self-contained breathing apparatus, during the exercise.
The training is designed to educate public officials about the job of being a fire fighter and a first responder, especially considering their new roles as domestic defenders on the front lines of America’s domestic war on terrorism. The IAFF held it s first “Fire Ops” workshop with over 50 public officials participating on June 11 in Hollywood, Florida.
