Academy offers emergency course

LUFKIN - Firefighters from Texas and across the country will converge on the Angelina College campus in Lufkin for the Tenth Annual Wildfire/Incident Management Academy, which runs from May 15-25.

Training classes offered at the academy will range from eight to 40 hours in length. Courses will cover everything from entry-level basic wildland firefighter to fire supervisor, and everything in between; from logistics and finance to classes specific to volunteer fire departments and the National Incident Management System (NIMS).

This year's offerings include more than 30 National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) courses taught by instructors from different federal and state agencies.

Registration information and brief course descriptions are available via the Internet at http://www.tamu.edu/ticc/train ing.htm.

Participants at past academies have come from a wide variety of backgrounds.

While most academy students have been employed by state and with natural resource management agencies, many paid and volunteer firefighters or individuals affiliated with specialized firefighting teams also have attended.

Individuals participating in the academy courses will be preparing themselves to be better prepared to assist with any type of emergency response - from fires to hurricanes to acts of terrorism, said Bill Rose, chief regional forester with the Texas Forest Service who will as the incident commander for the academy.

Some courses offered at the academy focus on specific aspects of wildland firefighting, but other courses teach participants how personnel from a wide variety of agencies and organizations can efficiently and effectively work together on emergency responses.

Rose encourages East Texas emergency responders to consider participation in one or more of the courses being offered at the May academy.

He urges prompt registration before classes are filled to capacity.