CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The Kanawha County Commission wants to help the county’s volunteer fire departments improve, pledging to pay for training for any firefighter attending the Sissonville Fire and Rescue School this spring.
Commissioner Lance Wheeler announced that financial commitment Tuesday and sees a significant need for training in local fire departments.
“What I’ve learned is that there’s not a lot of fire schools going on in this valley and these are necessary for promotions. Let’s say you want somebody to be chief one day. You’ve got to have these fire schools by the state fire board and making sure these people are qualified,” he said on 580 Live with Dave Allen.
The Sissonville Fire and Rescue School is scheduled to host its next classes in March and after talking with the Sissonville Fire Chief Tim Lilly, Wheeler devised a plan to help Kanawha County firefighters get the training they need.
“If you have a volunteer firefighter, a member, that wants to go and take this class then you as a station, as an agency will pay for it. If they complete it, because that’s a big if, we want to make sure that they’re completing the course. If they attend and complete the course, we will reimburse that cost,” he said.
28 different volunteer fire departments serve Kanawha County, and, according to Wheeler, some of them are struggling to keep the lights on, let alone pay for additional training. He hopes this pledge makes things less stressful on local first responders.
“Some of these smaller volunteer fire departments, who are struggling just even paying the electric bills, are then deciding, ‘How are we going to get our members to be trained from this extra cost?'” he said.
Wheeler considers himself a friend to Kanawha County’s first responder community and intends to continue efforts to improve conditions for firefighters, law enforcement, and EMS personnel. He believes this assistance to fire departments could save a life one day.
“These are firefighters that are coming out to save your life, save your property, and we’re going to make sure that they’re properly trained. We’re going to make sure that they’re qualified. We’re going to make sure that they have all the knowledge, when seconds matter, to make those very quick decisions,” Wheeler said.
The next Sissonville Fire and Rescue School class is scheduled to take part in two sessions from March 6-8 and March 10-12.