Earlier this week I took a quick trip down to Bowling Green in Northwest Ohio to teach my New Vehicle Technology class at the State Fire School at Bowling Green State University. I stopped off at the hotel to meet up with the Heavy Rescue Class Instructors and quickly realized that the Instructors are not just some of the top instructors in Ohio but heavy hitters from Indiana, New York, and Florida to name a few. When you see Mike Ciampo, Ron Smith, JJ Cassetta, it has the flavor of a mini FDIC.
After setting up in the classroom we headed over for the opening ceremonies. A large family was seated in the front row, it was the family of Ralph Zimmerman. Zimmerman volunteered in the fire service for 63 and was active up to his death in 2014. In addition, Zimmerman is credited with significant contributions to the fire service and was the longest serving chief of the Christianburg Volunteer Fire Department. Zimmerman was active for 63 of the department’s 66 year history. With 5 of his 7 kids getting into the family business in fire service his passion must have rubbed off.
The classroom presentation went great and after lunch a gasoline tanker was brought for a quick overview of gasoline tankers. The driver went over many features of the trailer that would help rescuers on scene of an accident that involved a gasoline tanker.
York County Vehicle Technician Class 2021
Pictures (by John E. Burruss)
Heavy Rescue
Large Animal Rescue
Working with their past experince, the Patterson Fire Department’s completed their 4th horse rescue in the past several years.
Horse Rescue
Per the post from the Patterson Fire Department’s Facebook page:
At 0732, 25th of August 2021, the Patterson fire department was dispatched for a public assist to a local farm. Patterson’s heavy rescue, 22-6-1, arrived on scene and found a 31-year-old male horse, named “Dozer”, in distress. He had apparently fallen and managed to get himself stuck between a rock and a fence line. At first, the crew attempted to assist the horse in getting up by shifting his position. It became apparent that additional equipment was going to be needed to help Dozer out since he had become too exhausted to get up on his own. After some discussion, it was established that the best plan of action was to use a Paratech bipod system. It would be used as an artificial high directional with TU-32 griphoist’s assistance to lift the horse up. With a lot of sweat and effort, the crew was able to lift the horse up onto his feet. After some much-needed fluids and rest, we were happy to see Dozer trot away, unassisted.
An interesting fact, this is Patterson Fire Department’s 4th horse rescue in the past several years, all with successful outcomes.
Photos below from Andrew Akin
Bowling Green State University State Fire School Certified Rescue Tech
These courses are NFPA compliant and covers all six disciplines of technical rescue operations. Students will utilize the latest and greatest equipment and will put learned skills to the test in intense hands-on scenarios.
General information on the Certified Rescue Technician Program.
Class Schedule
- Rope Rescue Technician
- Water Craft Ops / Swift Water Ops
- Confined Space Technician
- Vehicle & Machinery
- Trench Rescue Technician
- Structural Collapse Operations
Rescue Methods BGSU 2021 rescue tech series with structural collapse ops.
