Tuesday, April 28, 1987/n~he Battalion/Page 3
State and Local
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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
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iould be this
and Texani
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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
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,■ 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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