Volunteer firefighters get Structure Fire Training

On Saturday afternoon, 15 Malta City and Phillips County Volunteer Firefighters spent their morning in a classroom in the Malta Fire Hall before taking what they learned outside and applied it a mobile burn unit pulled by a semi.

"We are teaching them how to effectively manage a structure fire," said Brandon Brunelle of the Montana Fire Services Training School. Brunelle, a firefighter from Glasgow, spent about two hours with the Malta City and Phillips County Volunteers before the crew headed outside where a fire was started inside of the giant red structure fitted to a semi-trailer.

"We light it on fire and then they put it out safely," Brunelle added.

The training on Saturday lasted well into the early afternoon and Malta City Chief Greg Boos said that the training for the Phillips County firefighters is invaluable.

"Structure fires are something we don't see every day or get a lot of training on so any opportunity we can get for these guys is important," he said. "It's a refresher course for some of the older guys who have been through this type of training before and have been on structure fires. For the new guys, we don't have near enough training or resources to train them so this type of deal is really beneficial to them."

The Department consists of 27 city and county firefighters including the two newest recruits, Casey Knudsen and Jesse Schipman. Chief Boos said that the training was paid with money raised at fire fighter fundraisers including the ever popular Ag Day Burger and Fish Feed which is held each spring.

"It is good to be able to come to towns and set this up because the community gets a chance to see exactly what they guy can do," said Brunelle.