At a press conference held August 24, Con-gressman David Wu announced proposed funding of $300,000 toward a new marine fire training facility to be built at the MERTS campus of Clatsop Community College at Tongue Point. Wu stated he is dedicated to helping this region prepare for the projected doubling of traffic on the Columbia River in the next 20 years and the development of a fire training facility is a step in that direction.
The entire project is estimated at $2.5 million and the monies allocated so far will only provide for preliminary building work on the fire school which has been designed by Symtron Systems, Inc.
The triangle-shaped training center will be designed to simulate a burning ship with engine rooms, crew quarters, galley, heads and a bridge. The rooms will be maze-like to confuse the firefighters and be equipped with natural gas nozzles and burners that will shoot flames and smoke at various levels to simulate differing computerized fire scenarios. The life-fire training props include several types of marine fireplaces, oil spillage, and confined space simulators.
The mostly two and three-day courses of study planned for the program include: First Fire Responder, to provide initial response training for those first on the scene of a fire; Fire Fighting Basic, for all maritime personnel who may be involved in fire fighting; Fire Fighting Advanced, for marine personnel who require both basic and advanced fire training; Incident Command System, a course devoted to command and control procedures for officers; Confined Space Rescue, enables students to perform extensive rescue exercises for full-scale confined space rescue training; and, Tankbarge Firefighting, providing students with extensive training in various phases of firefighting and emergency training. LCB
MERTS Marine Fire Training Center
Contact: Patrick Killion, director
Address: CCC MERTS Campus
6550 Liberty Lane, Astoria OR 97103
Telephone: 503/325-7962
Fax: 503/325-9777
e-mail: pkillion@clatsop.cc.or.us
Hours: M - F, 9a - 5p
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