A steady, light rain, combined with a brisk breeze, made conditions Tuesday morning in Hannibal less than ideal for those standing outside for any length of time. But the students waiting to enter Hannibal’s newest school didn’t seem to mind one bit.
The “students” were representatives of area fire departments who had come to Hannibal to go to “school” in the region’s new mobile live fire trainer.
“Everyone is very excited to get in,” said Damon Jaeger, fire prevention/training officer with the Hannibal Fire Department. “This has been a long time coming. We’re so glad this kind of equipment is now here in the region. There’s 100 departments that are looking forward to seeing it in their house.”
Before those departments can take the new device home, instruction on its proper use must first be given.
“We are getting the company to train the trainers on the operation of the trailer,” said Jaeger, noting that approximately 20 instructors were on hand Tuesday, coming from as far away as Chillicothe. “Today all the instructors will be able to set the trailer up, do live burns, know all the ins and outs of the trailer. We’re hoping to get accomplished getting it in service here shortly so we can start getting it out to the neighboring departments.”
How difficult is it to learn how to use the new trailer?
“It’s not really hard to operate, there’s just a lot of procedures that you have to go through as far as safety. There’s a lot of safety checks and inner-locks. It takes two people for it to actually operate; they have to have a foot pedal pushed at all times. At any point they let off the trailer shuts down,” said Jaeger.
The cost of the new live fire trainer is $327,500. Of that amount, $255,000 will be funded through an “Assistance to Firefighters Regional Grant.” The HFD budgeted $65,000 for the purchase of the trainer, although that full amount will not be necessary thanks to donations from area fire departments and businesses.
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A steady, light rain, combined with a brisk breeze, made conditions Tuesday morning in Hannibal less than ideal for those standing outside for any length of time. But the students waiting to enter Hannibal’s newest school didn’t seem to mind one bit.
The “students” were representatives of area fire departments who had come to Hannibal to go to “school” in the region’s new mobile live fire trainer.
“Everyone is very excited to get in,” said Damon Jaeger, fire prevention/training officer with the Hannibal Fire Department. “This has been a long time coming. We’re so glad this kind of equipment is now here in the region. There’s 100 departments that are looking forward to seeing it in their house.”
Before those departments can take the new device home, instruction on its proper use must first be given.
“We are getting the company to train the trainers on the operation of the trailer,” said Jaeger, noting that approximately 20 instructors were on hand Tuesday, coming from as far away as Chillicothe. “Today all the instructors will be able to set the trailer up, do live burns, know all the ins and outs of the trailer. We’re hoping to get accomplished getting it in service here shortly so we can start getting it out to the neighboring departments.”
How difficult is it to learn how to use the new trailer?
“It’s not really hard to operate, there’s just a lot of procedures that you have to go through as far as safety. There’s a lot of safety checks and inner-locks. It takes two people for it to actually operate; they have to have a foot pedal pushed at all times. At any point they let off the trailer shuts down,” said Jaeger.
The cost of the new live fire trainer is $327,500. Of that amount, $255,000 will be funded through an “Assistance to Firefighters Regional Grant.” The HFD budgeted $65,000 for the purchase of the trainer, although that full amount will not be necessary thanks to donations from area fire departments and businesses.
