The Waterville Regional Firefighter Academy offers area firefighters classes in Basic Firefighter practices and skills.
The Waterville Regional Firefighter I&II Academy prepares firefighters from around the region and state to take their Pro Board Firefighter I&II certification. The course is based on the latest edition of the Jones and Bartlett curriculum and recognized by Maine Fire Service Institute. All classes are taught by Pro Board certified Fire Instructors.
12/19/2021
Members of the Waterville Regional Fire Academy will not only have the option to be Pro Board certified in Firefighter I and II, but will also earn their Hazmat Ops certification and have the option of obtaining their S130/S190 Wildland certification. Next class begins at the end of February.
The 2021 Waterville Regional Fire Academy was a success!! Over 20 students participated in the academy from 10 different agencies all over Central Maine. The next academy will begin in February. Interested parties should contact Battalion Chief Eion Pelletier at the Waterville Fire Department (207)-680-4735, [email protected] to sign up. Deadline to sign up is January 21, 2022
Yesterday, 14 of our recent students took the Pro Board FF 1&2 Skills Exam. All but one successfully passed and the one that didn’t just barely missed it and will retest this spring. I am so proud of all of you for the hard work and dedication that you’ve put into this course. Soon they will take the written portion of the test. Good luck and congratulations!!
The 2019-2020 Waterville Regional Fire Academy culminated this weekend with live interior burns. Students participated in a total of 36 live fires utilizing the live burn trailer from MFSI. I would like to take this time to thank all of the personnel who instructed, the assistant instructors, the various departments who supported the academy and most of all, the students who worked hard to achieve the goal of becoming firefighters. We started out with 27 students from 11 different departments and, in the end we finished with 21 students. I am extremely proud of each and everyone of them. As I will be retiring in July of 2021, this was the last Rookie School that I will be the Program Coordinator for and these students made it one of the best. Good luck in the future to all of them.
Due to the recent outbreak of Covid-19 throughout the country and region, the remainder of the 2020 Waterville Regional Fire Academy is postponed. I will update everyone when classes will resume. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
02/04/2020
Know your buildings. Typical bungalow setup. The middle window is the bathroom window in between two bedrooms. The frame and glass are intact and in the dark, if you were told to perform outside vent of the middle window, it would not be a successful vent. The bathroom has been remodeled and the window covered with tile.
Mother Nature is not cooperating with our class schedule. There will be no make up class tomorrow for the class that was postponed last week due to the potential ice storm.
12/10/2019
IF YOU ARE THE ONE THAT REQUIRES HELP...
Calling a MAYDAY should be viewed as a request for help in saving ourselves. There are no rules in saving ourselves but here are some guidelines:
ACTIVATE PASS- be sure PASS alarm is not muffled.
LOCATE a hoseline and remember the male coupling is toward the water source and the female toward the nozzle. Smooth Bump Bump to the Pump.
TURN on hand light and point it upward if the smoke is light or along the floor if the smoke is heavier.
STAY with your crew. It becomes much more difficult to find many individuals then one group.
MAKE tapping noises with your tool against the floor, wall, etc. Anything to help draw attention to yourself and allow rescuers to find you quicker.
AVOID the fire for as long as possible. If you can't find an exit, find safe refuge.
BREACH floors to get below fire if necessary.
KEEP rescuers aware of your potential location.
INCREASE radio volume to full. Turn PASS alarm off when transmitting on the radio.
STAY calm, this way you will be able to commit to actions that will help save your life.
CONSERVE air with the proper breathing technique.
LOGICALLY retrace your thoughts, steps, proccesses and actions.
FIND an exterior wall. Move along it and describe it. Expansion joints in a cement floor will always lead to a wall. This way you are not moving in circles in the middle of a large floor.
UTILIZE windows for escape.
FOCUS on what you KNOW and not on what you SENSE.
SELF-TALK in a positive attitude.
STAY low, move slowly, minimizing mistakes and air usage.
FOCUS on what is important to know, not what would be "nice" to know. For example, losing the sense of time is disturbing but not vital if you can trust your SCBA gauges.
TALK to IC and RIT command until you are located.
MAKE SURE TO INFORM COMMAND IF YOU ARE ABLE TO SELF RESCUE AND HAVE EXITED THE BUILDING!