ECC Fire Science students know fires
IOWA FALLS – What do you know about fire safety? Stop, drop, and roll? “Only YOU can prevent forest fires”? Check your smoke alarm batteries every October? For most of us the extent of our understanding doesn’t go much further than that. But at Ellsworth Community College there is a group of students that knows the science of fire.
ECC introduced the Fire Science program two years ago. That opened the door for students to prepare for fire science as a career. There are a multitude of rewarding and stimulating occupations related to fire science. Students receive the knowledge and training that is fundamental for fire fighters, as well as leading students into a vast range of specializations. ECC offers certification in Fire Fighter I and II following the standard set by the National Fire Protection Association.
Fire science expands into many related areas including: wildland fire fighting, arson investigation, hazardous waste response, emergency management, fire prevention, fire preventive design and construction, commercial or residential inspection. Each one can begin at Ellsworth Community College.
The basics come first. Students learn the science of fire behavior and get hands-on training to gain physical skills needed to use ropes, ladders, hoses, and hand tools.
Iowa Falls Fire Department Assistant Chief Dennis Barrick (yellow helmet) prepares a group of firefighters to enter the Iowa Falls Fire Department live-burn building for training.
“Fire fighters are the first to respond to an emergency call. They must always be prepared,” says Bernie Koehrsen, ECC associate professor of criminal justice and philosophy (with more than 45 years fire fighting experience). “The impact of a fire fighter’s response is enormous. Students learn what to be aware of when they arrive on a scene. As they approach a scene they watch for someone speeding away or acting suspicious or “too” interested. They learn to read the flames to determine the source of the fire, and to protect any evidence of arson. Fires react in predictable ways. We can do a better job of preventing fires than we can crimes because fire is a science, a chemical reaction.”
Daryl Wiese, ECC associate professor of carpentry and an experienced fire fighter in Iowa Falls, teaches the course on fire prevention, inspections, and investigations. Students explore building construction to learn where a collapse is prone to happen and the signs of a structurally weakened building, and how a fire might move through a structure. They also learn ways of building structures for safety.
They learn about hazardous materials and how to respond to an emergency safely.
“This is really relevant to the Iowa Falls area with HWY 20 and 65, two rail lines, and the surrounding farms,” says Koehrsen. “There is potential for accidents that involve transport of chemicals, spills at work sites, crop dusters overhead, and anhydrous ammonia, all have the potential to be very dangerous.”
ECC gives students the opportunity to pursue a professional firefighting career through the Fire Science program. Students can earn an Associate in Arts (AA) degree or an Associate in Science (AS) degree in Fire Science. Working in partnership with the Iowa Falls Fire Department, the hands-on fire science courses are taught at the Fire Department and its 3-story live-fire training building. The certified instructors incorporate advances in equipment and training as they change in the industry.
Koehrsen adds, “Firefighting is not a career; it is not a job. It is an avocation for us. We wake up in the morning knowing we can make a difference.”
For more information about the Ellsworth Community College Fire Science Program, or other career options, contact the Admissions office at 641-648-8519 or 800-322-9235, or visit them in the Gentle Student Center on the ECC campus, 1100 College Avenue, Iowa Falls.
|
