
Chairman and District 4 Commissioner Robert Bender participated in firefighter training with Escambia County Fire Rescue (ECFR) to better understand requirements, Friday, Jan. 29. The training took place at a building slated for demolishment located at 309 Selina St., Pensacola.
"It's important for people to experience what we do in our profession," said ECFR Capt. Craig Ammons. "We can sit in a meeting and tell you what we do and what is required, but I think the person has a better understanding of what's involved if they can experience it themselves. We truly appreciate Commissioner Bender for coming out."
The training exercise consisted of three evolutions; search and rescue, forced entry and fire hose handling.
Ammons stressed the importance of operational and practical training as a critical element of the service and capability that ECFR provides to the community. ECFR made a life-saving effort in response to a residential structure fire on the 2500 block of Y St. a day before their exercise with Commissioner Bender.
"Firefighting skills are improved through repetition," he said. "The more that our personnel can do these tasks over and over, it becomes second nature for them. And that's what we want them to do. We want them to be able to respond to emergencies instinctively."
The partnership with Baptist Health Care to use this building made practical training exercises for ECFR possible.
"I enjoyed this great opportunity to get a hands-on look into what our hardworking Escambia County Fire Rescue team does for our community every day," said Bender. "Thank you to Baptist Health Care for donating space to conduct training, and SQ3 and E11 for letting me join them!"
Commissioner Bender said the firefighting team's heroism reflects their commitment to serving the community and saving lives.
ECFR is inviting media to interview the firefighters and paramedics involved in the Y St. residential structure fire. Media members are asked to meet at the Osceola Fire Station #12 (2601 Massachusetts Ave, Pensacola) Sunday, Jan. 31 at 10 a.m. Battalion Chief Curt Isakson will be the point-of-contact and can be reached at 850-393-0581.