Fairfax County VA

[mnsand]

[quote name='Roto-Ray' post='87608' date='Mar 16 2007, 23:23 ']Having just spent three years in the Academy as an instructor, who's specialty was teaching Driver/Pump Operator classes, and I can not tell you HOW HARD we tried to get a brand new pumper assigned to the Academy. Using hand-me-down's may seem fiscally responsible, but how am I supposed to truly prepare the recruit firefighter how to use a rig when I can't get anything that closely resembles their daily ride?



Last I heard, our academy may be getting a 1997 Quantum assigned to it near the end of this year, but that's still waiting to be confirmed.



Remember Loudoun also purchased an Academy pumper before it was reassigned into the field.[/quote]





I agree with Taylor....I am glad to see Fairfax County putting a new engine at the academy. There are many benefits of having the recruits familiar and comfortable with a similar engine that they will be working on.



Loudoun's newer Pierce training engine was re-assigned to the Neersville station because a career crew began staffing Station 16 at Neersville and the volunteers at the station did not have a reliable engine for the station. I have heard that once Loudoun County receives a group of Pierce pumpers that they have ordered (three Dash's due in August), one will be assigned to Neersville. I suspect the training engine will then return to the Training Center, unless another immediate need surfaces.



Mike Sanders

Ashburn, VA