City firefighters have been training on campus in preparation for the implementation of a the fire department’s new high rise policy to take effect in July.
A collaborative agreement between University Fire Protection and the Raleigh Fire Department has allowed the firefighters to train in dorms over the last few weeks, with June 17 being the last day.
According to University Fire Marshall Bill Stevenson, the cooperation between N.C. State and the city is something which allows the two groups to facilitate each other’s various needs in both training and live situations.
“We work with them on a regular basis on different types of training,” Stevenson said. “We have an excellent relationship that we got by working together and working as a team when we have alarms and calls on campus.”
Various dorms, including Metcalf and Sullivan, have served as training sites that city firemen have used in order to implement their new policy.
The fire department has been rotating all of its stations through the training sessions in a way that will not decrease coverage in case of an emergency anywhere in the city.
“They call us and say ‘hey we have a special need, can you help us out?'” Stevenson said. “[Campus Fire Protection] contacted Housing in order to work out dates and times to coordinate the drills, and what we basically do is find a location they need.”
For city fire officials, the opportunity to train in actual high rise buildings is an invaluable resource, which Capt. Bill Bristle from the Raleigh Fire Department said the city is thankful for.
“It’s hard because most high rise buildings are occupied 365 days a year,” he said. “This opportunity is invaluable.”
Bristle said despite having limited resources and places to train firefighters on the new policy, the working relationship the city has with NCSU was crucial in coordinating the training.
“Our administration spoke to Fire Protection and tried to coordinate through them,” he said. “[Fire protection] helped us out, got in touch with Housing and gave us a window of time in order to use these buildings.”
The new high rise plan, according to Bristle, is a more updated list of procedures that every member of the Raleigh Fire Department has been trained on over the last four weeks of training at NCSU.
Mike Boshart, a senior in political science who works for the county fire service, said the training Raleigh firefighters have been experiencing on campus is invaluable should Raleigh ever have a serious high rise fire.
“It gives them a structure with a lot of stories that makes the practice difficult,” he said. “The high rise fire is the end all of fires because they are the hardest to fight so the training is obviously very important.”
Stevenson said the positive relationship between the two groups keeps students and staff on campus safe in the event of an emergency.
“We guide Raleigh firemen through our campus based on our knowledge and expertise of the buildings and systems on campus,” he said. “They fight the fire, and we kind of coordinate and wok together under a unified command structure. It is a true partnership.”
