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Area firefighters participate in oilfield training
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Springfield Township firefighter Dustin Davis attended the Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program’s Responding to Oilfield Emergencies Training Workshop in May.
By Kalea Hall
Granville
Springfield Town- ship Fire Chief Matt Gebhardt wants 100 percent of the volunteer Springfield firefighters to participate in an oilfield training program.
Already there are 14 of about 62 Springfield firefighters with the training under their belts. But because of the influx of oil and gas industry here, he believes it’s important for all the firefighters to have — and it’s free education.
“It was a very well put together program,” Gebhardt said.
The Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program’s Responding to Oilfield Emergencies Training Workshop is fully funded by Ohio’s natural gas and crude oil producers and is free to Ohio firefighters.
Lt. Raymond Davis and firefighter Dustin Davis, father and son, of the Springfield Township Fire Department and Boardman firefighter John Berardi participated in the two-day, hands-on program in May.
“I like to do pretty much any training I can get,” Dustin Davis said. “It’s an ever-changing world, and there are new, different types of tactics and scenarios.”
OOGEEP’s program has had more than 1,100 firefighters from Ohio and seven other states in attendance since it began 13 years ago. Each participant received a certificate of attendance to go toward continuing education units as well as an optional college graduate credit.
The program teaches firefighters in the classroom about the oil and gas industry and the equipment used. The second day is hands-on, live-burn simulated emergencies with both oil and natural-gas props.
“It just goes back to the industry to try to be very proactive,” said Rhonda Reda, executive director of OOGEEP. “You want the communities to feel good that they have a well-trained industry, but you also want them to feel good that they have a well-trained fire department.”
Berardi said the training was very informative and answered a lot of questions he had.
“It’s all coming around here, and sooner or later we could be called to that,” he said.
Fire departments throughout Ohio are informed of the training through mailers OOGEEP sends out. Information on the training also is available on the OOGEEP website.
The program is endorsed by the Ohio Fire Chiefs’ Association, Ohio Society of Fire Service Instructors and the Ohio Fire and Emergency Services Foundation.
It has received numerous state and national awards and has provided the model for other energy-producing states’ training programs.