PUBLICATIONS Inside Illinois Vol. 22, No. 21, June 4, 2003

Fire Service Institute hosts 79th Illinois Fire College

By Craig Chamberlain, News Editor
(217) 333-2894; cdchambe@illinois.edu

Photo by Bill Wiegand An instructor at the 79th annual UI Fire College critiques student performances after the students emerge from the institute's two-story smoke building on May 31.

More than 1,000 Illinois firefighters and emergency personnel were in Champaign-Urbana last week for the 79th annual Illinois Fire College, hosted by the UI Fire Service Institute.

The four-day training event included a keynote address May 29 by Carl Hawkinson, the Illinois governor’s deputy chief of staff for public safety and the state’s homeland security coordinator. Chief John Norman of the New York City Fire Department also addressed attendees. Norman was directly involved in the day-to-day operations following the World Trade Center tragedy on Sept. 11, 2001, as the senior adviser to the department’s incident commander.

The fire college also featured the first use of new equipment at the institute, a training prop that simulates what firefighters might encounter in the collapse of a multi-story office building. Fashioned after a similar model at Texas A&M University, the 30-foot-high structure contains such items as broken computers and office chairs, forcing firefighters to deal with obstacles as they investigate unstable confined spaces.

Photo by Bill Wiegand Following training while wearing self-contained breathing apparatus, students emerge from the Fire Service Institute's two-story smoke building on May 31. During this training exercise, firefighters learn donning and doffing, buddy breathing, rescue, smoke and heat drills with breathing apparatus and interior fire fighting evolutions.

The Illinois Fire College is considered the oldest event of its kind in the United States. Various sessions were held at the Chancellor, at the institute’s 25-acre facility and at specialized training locations throughout Champaign-Urbana.

The college helps prepare firefighters and first-responders through extensive
hands-on training. Classes range from basic firefighting to confined-space and trench rescue, as well as officer-oriented classes for both volunteer and career firefighters. Three National Fire Academy classes were offered to prepare first-responders for acts of terrorism.

The fire service institute is the statutory fire academy for the state of Illinois. In addition to training provided at the Champaign campus, the institute offers online classes and conducts and sponsors training throughout the state at regional training centers and local fire departments.

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