Dozens of Firefighters Attend Special Training in Fairhope
FAIRHOPE, Ala.
By Rick McCann
BlueRAMMedia.com
March 10, 2025
Firefighters gathered in Fairhope this weekend to sharpen their firefighting skills and learn valuable lifesaving skills.
The training, which was above the requirements of the Alabama Fire College, is all about real-life scenarios.
The mostly scenario-based training is called the ‘South Alabama Firefighter H.O.T. Weekend,’ because each building has a room burning with fuel that incorporates smoke and heat in these scenarios. It puts firefighters in the thick of things, placing them into real situations that face during structure fires.
One of the instructors involved in the training was Jeremy Donch, the founder of National Fire Radio. Donch has more than thirty years in the fire service.
In his training, Donch puts his students through the fire, in challenging situations where they learn what to do and what not to do and take that information back to their own departments.
Firefighting techniques, equipment and the fires themselves evolve and change, and you have to stay on top of things, said one instructor. Houses are built differently, including different materials which often burn hotter.
A shipping container was set up to bear these points out. Containers are filled with junk furniture to simulate the cramped spaces of a hoarder house.
Ladder and access training were also part of the advanced program.
About seventy firefighters from area fire departments attended the training.
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