DEASON, Tenn – The first rookie class of fire fighters soon to graduate from the Tennessee Fire Service and Codes Enforcement Academy will get their first look at one of the helicopters from Vanderbilt LifeFlight on Friday, and learn how to properly help guide it to a safe landing zone during an emergency.
It’s all part of emergency training the fire fighters are receiving at the $27 million, 15-building facility. The rookie fire fighters have also been training in a computer-controlled, six-story burn tower with propane-ignited fire props that aid in teaching fire suppression techniques for various building types, including theaters, offices and hotels.
Fire fighters from Shelbyville Fire Department, Fairview Fire Department, Columbia Fire Department, Covington Fire Department, City of Manchester Fire Department, Humphreys Fire Department, McMinnville Fire Department, Hendersonville Fire Department, City of Mt Pleasant Fire Department, Goodlettsville Fire Department, McMinn Fire Department, and Wilson County Emergency Management are part of the first class to graduate from the Academy.
"We’re very excited to have Vanderbilt LifeFlight as part of our emergency training program," said Karen D. Alexander, Academy spokesperson. "They bring with them a wealth of needed experience to teach the Academy students what they can expect in a real emergency."
The training on Friday will include landing zone selection, how to secure the landing zone, communicating with the flight crew, and safety around the helicopter. Weather permitting, LifeFlight II, based in Shelbyville, Tennessee at Bedford County Medical Center, will land at the Academy and give trainees a close look at the helicopter.
The Vanderbilt LifeFlight program averages about 1,900 flights per year utilizing three AEC BK117 helicopters. Flight nurses perform aggressive airway intervention including oral intubation, nasal intubation, needle and surgical cricothyrotomy, needle chest decompression, chest tube placement, pericardiocentesis, central IV placement, and blood transfusion.
More than 500 students have registered for FY 02-03 Academy residential courses, and 500 more registered for field courses. There is a waiting list for the fire fighter rookie class, because it is limited to 24 students per course.
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Media Contact: Jerry Jones, 615-322-4747 jerry.jones@vanderbilt.edu