BELGRADE, Mont. – Bozeman Fire, Central Valley Fire, and the 83rd Army Civil Support Team out of Helena came together on Tuesday for a special training.
Hazardous Material Training, better known as Hazmat training, is something that is done all across the country.
The local fire departments and the 83rd Army Civil Support team came together for this day-long, life-like exercise to learn and to see just how prepared they are.
Bozeman Fire Engineer Josh Charles believes coming together for training’s like this is important.
“It’s a big valley, but a small world and we need to get these fire departments together and realize that we can work together as one team,” Charles said.
Central Valley Fire Captain Jason Wheeler added, “It’s a great training where we get to integrate with people we don’t normally get to integrate with. It’s a local, regional and state integration, and so we’re meeting new people, we’re trying new things, we’re seeing new equipment and new abilities.”
If an incident like this were to occur, these three teams would come together to keep everyone safe.
“It’s key that we all get together and we practice on this, it’s all about relationships. The interagency coordination that we do during this exercise is invaluable because if something really did happen we have already practiced and trained together,” 83rd Civil Support Team Deputy Commander Jason Steichen said.
Though a situation like this is unlikely to happen in Montana, our local fire departments feel that it is important to keep their skills up to date and be prepared for anything.
“It’s something that we’re training for the worst and hoping for the best,” Wheeler said.
