Firefighter leaders learn survival lessons

For three days about 100 firefighters attended a leadership conference at LSUE last week learning about safety.
Some of the lessons are hard-earned.
On Thursday, David Griffin of the Charleston, South Carolina fire department, talked about a fire that occurred on June 18, 2007, that cost the lives of nine of his fellow firefighters.
The fire changed with way the Charleston fire department operates.
Eunice Fire Chief Michael Arnold said, “I don’t want to change like that. I don’t won’t to bury nine of these guys.”
Arnold was a the conference with six of his firefighters.
“We need to change with the times,” Arnold said.
The Eunice department has older equipment, he said, but they can keep up through education and training, he said.
Dave Casey, director of the Carrol L. Herring Fire and Emergency Training Institute at LSU, said it was the third Louisiana Company Officer Leadership Conference.
The conference was held Tuesday through Thursday and was attended by about 100 firefighters.
“Most are captains,” he said of the participants. “We have a few chiefs and we have a lot of up-and-comings that are going to be company officers.”
The conference is presented by LSU, LSUE the Professional Firefighters of Louisiana.
“There are a lot of lessons between the three days,” Casey said. “One of the speakers, Jim Duffy, was really pushing the safety issue. Every call should be a round-trip ticket. He was going over safety concerns and things that a company officer can make changes in his crew in how they do things.”
The lessons are directed at the company officers, he said.
“We are not asking them to go back and change the world. We are asking them to go back and make sure their crews are better prepared, safe and, again, pushing the round-trip ticket,” he said.
The lesson is as basic as keeping track of firefighters on a call, he said.
“We did a survey of Louisiana fire departments last year. The vast majority of fire departments don’t do accountability,” he said.
Accountability is knowing where firefighters are at fire scene, he said.
Casey said firefighters are also made aware of their top danger, which is the toxic nature of fires. Firefighters face a greater risk of developing several cancers compared to the public. Those increased risks include: 102 percent for testicular cancer; 53 percent for multiple myeloma; and 39 percent for skin cancer.
Listening to a description of Charleston, South Carolina, fire that killed nine firefighters are, seated from left, Eunice firefighters Capt. Brett Fontenot, Capt. Garrett DaVille, operator Chase Brown, Capt. Blake Smith and Capt. Jeremy Faulkner. Eunice firefighter Many Sandoval, operator, is standing in the background. (Photo by Harlan Kirgan)
Eunice Fire Chief Michael Arnold was among about 100 people attending the Louisiana Company Officer Leadership Conference held Tuesday through Thursday at the LSUE. (Photo by Harlan Kirgan)