Firefighters travel across Texas to attend TEEX’s 95th annual Municipal Fire Training School

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – Firefighters from across Texas came to College Station for the 95th annual Municipal Fire Training School.

KBTX went to training and got to see real-life rescues up close and personal.

At the Texas A&M Extension Service Brayton Fire Training Field, hundreds of firefighters were participating in drills like automobile extrication, rope rescue, and wildland firefighting to equip them on how to better serve their communities back home.

On Wednesday, Firefighters were seen putting out flames, training on how to rescue civilians trapped inside a vehicle accident, and practicing pulling out people who got stuck in a grain bin across the 297-acre training field.

“It’s firefighters, they come here, they learn how to do their job, they learn how to do these skills to protect their local communities,” said Division Director of TEEX Emergency Services Training Institute, Chris Angerer.

Angerer says the school’s mission is to provide training, develop practical solutions, and save lives.

“Think about all over the state of Texas right now, there is destruction that was caused by Hurricane Beryl, there’s fires in the panhandle that is a result of wildland fires. The damage that occurs there, it’s firefighters that come here, they learn how to do their job, they learn how to these skills to protect the local communities,” said Angerer.

And the training goes beyond field work where participants can choose from over 25 courses in fire, rescue, and emergency services.

Brad Britten is an instructor for the Incident Safety Officer class and discusses the importance of the classroom.

“This class that I am teaching, we are in the classroom environment, but we are bringing scenarios and simulations in the classroom to put them in perspective of an incident safety officer where they can work through the complex issues associated with the response,” said Britten.

KBTX also spoke to student, David Omonivuawo Kpologri, who traveled from Nigeria to train this week. He says the skills he learns here benefit him in the work field.

“The school has really helped us, you know Chevron as a company, the priority all the time is safety, safety, safety. The school recognizes the safety of their personnel, the environment, they don’t play with it. So that’s why all of us come here to learn, and learn, and re-learn,” said Kpologri.

In addition to the training that takes place this week, there was a vendor show at Reed Arena on Sunday, a memorial service on Wednesday morning, and a night of fire demonstrations open to the public on Wednesday night.

The goal of fire training: to keep you and those you love safe.

“The beneficiaries of all of this training is a local community back at home, and they are the beneficiaries of this. It’s their lives and it’s their property and we train those firefighters to protect their lives and their property,” said Angerer.

From July 7th through 12th, more than 900 participants and instructors attended the 95th annual Municipal Fire Training School.

Next week, the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service will host the Industrial Fire Training School for those who work in industrial environments and plants. Angerer is estimating about 1,000 participants and instructors will attend.