Firefighters hone their life-saving skills

After 18 months of getting back to basics, members of three volunteer fire departments graduated from an intensive course that reviewed life-saving skills such as rope rescue, aerial apparatus and rapid intervention.Members from Parkview, Pleasant Valley and Sharpsburg met monthly for the training course led by state Fire Instructor and Pittsburgh EMS District Chief Norm Auvil.Parkview VFD in O'Hara sponsored the classes.Members first met in April 2011 and began with an overview of equipment and gear, and a hands-on lesson in ladders and hoses. Each month, topics varied to refresh the volunteers of their basic fire-fighting skills.In September, for example, members met at Sacco Park in O'Hara to work on low-angle rope rescue techniques and aerial integration.In January, Auvil reviewed familiarization of Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus, the units that allow firefighters to breathe in a room where oxygen is sub-par.The sessions culminated in a "graduation" day at the Indiana County Public Safety Academy. It included a simulated basement fire where students were assigned to an Attack Crew or Rapid Intervention Team."We had a total of five teams with five evolutions," said Parkview Fire Chief Jim Habay. "Everyone was given an opportunity to be the nozzle man."There also was a simulated second-story fire where students climbed stairs with hoses."After the fire was extinguished, the nozzle man would use hydraulic ventilation out the back window to relieve the personnel of the heat and to clear the smoke," Habay said.Parkview EMS provided rehabilitation services throughout the day."The objective of this day was to gain experience and confidence in all of the training that has been conducted by (Auvil) over the past year and a half," Habay said."It was long and hot, but everyone gained much confidence."Those who participated:The following fire volunteers participated in an 18-month back to basics training course:Nathan Due, Tom Fannie, Robert Fischer, Larry Habay, Jonathan Jaso, Scott Lewis and Richard Markowitz from Parkview.Austin Baker, Brian Kozera, Logan Kozera and Geoffrey Metz from Pleasant Valley.Michael Daniher, Brian McClean, Christopher Wiest and Larry Wiest from Sharpsburg. Norm Auvil, Kevin Courtoy, Robert Gerlach and Sydney Harris provided emergency medical services.Jim Habay and Richard Fischer were apparatus engineers.