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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 28, 1987)
Tuesday, April 28, 1987/n~he Battalion/Page 3 State and Local et very base /ery citizenis re if needed, hospitals lib ’t afford pri n in thelai cas are v western psi- as ranks SOtk quality of is and afta 1 didn’t ban embers arei d to the iliey just k ley’re the patientyj tient’s coi nge his d think d 'h.D. in t’t true, ose of s: ■Ip, hut thi .) will talk iten to thei try to undo! fiend. ASH, 1 made protection leader sees division in ‘era of change’ Firefighters at the Brayton training school go to work and practice putting out a fire. Battalion File Photo n, I'm ate 1 me for quilt iould be this and Texani itients in out Texans too. . By Carolyn Garcia ^ ^Yal Staff Writer Fire Protection I raining, the divi- s § oin 8° bn of the Texas Engineering Ex- ey can to get Ension Service that manages and perates the Brayton Firemen’s raining School and field, is facing a era of change. Charles L. Page, division head of tire Protection, said advancing tech- governraem his money It getting bad prioritit! the staff its icn man service d. We spend some hmii- imount weft tal care, tl -way street. . I wonder if tution some dogy and the increasing need f< hometown” instruction are serving scatalysts for most of the change. “We’re living in a time of ‘future is nothing It dock,’ ’’ he said. “Technology is to put then 'dtiplying very quickly. We’re hav- r ig to keep pace with that and it’s lot an easy task.” Diversification and high-quality istruction are the tools Fire Protec- bti will use to build a secure finan- ial future despite the state’s budget- rywoes, he said. Texas city and volunteer fire de- artments need to be kept informed fnew techniques, equipment and Tocedures, Page said. “Our mandate for state funds re tires the money go into free train- Jg of Texas firemen,” he said. That revenue ($500,000) is only 18 ercent of our budget, but if we suf- :r a cutback in state funds, we iould not be able to reach the num- ers of firefighters we do.” Fire Protection is doing every- ing it can to provide the most eniorjour- Jiri { n g f or the money, Page said. ~ Ji ‘" *he division has stationed instruc- irsin regional areas to cut down on avel expenses. Last year Fire Protection trained 1,520 firefighters throughout the ate, 11,460 of which were trained the Brayton Firemen’s Training tld at Texas A&M. "Chances are that at least half of te firefighters in Texas have been niched by something we’ve done,” age said. “We may even touch those have their own training facili- es, like Houston and Dallas, indi- ectly through their instructors.” Although many firefighters at- nd programs in College Station, said, a lot miss out on valuable aining because they can’t leave eir cities unprotected — especially ose firefighters in small, rural, vol- nteer fire departments. “We hope to be able to reach small “UP editor ild put m nnecessary e ex plana- oroper be- uion were aps more ployed, irs observ- racts from M. and is chool and fire departments across the state with at least one 15-hour extension course for professional devel opment, introducing the latest tech nology or whatever specialized train ing they need,” he said. “In five years there will be 2,000 lire depart ments in the state — two-thirds of which will be volunteer depart ments.” Establishing more extension courses and lire schools in others areas where interest is indicated is a goal for TF.LX, Page said. Even though extension courses are shorter, they touch more people — people who would have to give up their vacations or take leave-without- pay from their jobs to come here for a week, he said. Despite the oil crunch, Page said, the division’s industrial program is “holding its own,” and the marine firefighting program is anticipating a boost. The boost is expected to come in the form of increased enrollment in various marine classes for training Coast Guardsmen. Under the Coast Guard’s new licensing requirements, seamen are required to take additio nal firefighting courses, he said. More on-board ship firefighting training for coastal cities in Texas also are planned, Page said, as well as more diversification and expan sion in the handling of hazardous material: “The Superfund requires training for anyone who works at a hazmat (hazardous material) site or anyone who might respond to one,” Page said. “The engineering extension service is submitting a proposal to provide this training through its Oil and Hazardous Materials Division, and Fire Protection would provide training to the emergency person nel, and OHM would train the in dustrial personnel.” These requirements fall under the 1986 Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act, he said. Page added that he hopes the ex pansion plans also will go beyond the borders of the state. “T hrough our fee-based courses — the other 82 percent of our bud get — we are not only going to reach out throughout the United States, but the whole world,” he said. “We’re trying to establish continual training in Saudi Arabia and we’re working to get a major petrochemi cal company in Egypt to train its fire fighting instructors here. “We’re trying to locate municipal departments in developing nations. We’re looking for sources to (finan cially) bring personnel from these countries to be intensively trained. Right now we’re talking with a fed eral agency that underwrites world wide disaster relief.” The division was able to make all these plans only after it made it past a major change in its basic structure. In the division’s first 56 years of existence, only two men served as di vision head: Col. H.R. Brayton and Henry D. Smith. In February 1986, after 30 years of service, Smith retired and Page was named to replace him. It was a difficult time, at best, for Page. “Although I had been with the di vision for 16 years, I was untested as division head,” Page said. “Quite frankly, some people were afraid things would fall apart. Everyone knew, liked and respected Chief Smith. They didn’t know what to ex pect.” With the transition and profes sional growing pains behind him, Page said, the division can look for ward to a healthy financial future only through constant improvement and self-examination. “We can’t live on our past laurels or good reputation,” he said. “We have to set a track record. We have to be the first in the nation to pro vide the current, helpful technolo- gy-” Page said that even if the state’s economic stresses aren’t relieved soon, Fire Protection should escape budget cuts. “TEEX on the whole has always had a warm reception by the Legis lature because the state appropria tions committee sees we’re providing a valuable service and we get only a small percentage of our budget from state funds,” he said. “The service we provide protects state property. “It’s to the state’s advantage to provide volunteer fire departments with whatever help it can. It’s to the citizens’ advantage.” manne- to destroy surely, no f as being ive as you you know ; hoping id comes r fashion- ,■ serve as ve see Hy know or the :ar.0f radition- 1 avoid not give ly loved ,-eatshirts! res The 1988 Aggieland will be accepting applications for yearbook staff and photographer positions until Wednesday, April 29. Applications can be picked up in room 011 Reed McDonald. 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