MANSFIELD — DeSoto Parish firefighters have been earning their stripes over the past two years when it comes to responding to a variety of oil and gas related incidents.
From deadly well blowouts to high-angle rescue to medical emergencies, the firefighters, most of whom also have medical training, have found their skills put to the test. And with DeSoto Fire District No. 8 covering the majority of the parish, most of the severe incidents have happened on those firefighters' watch.
District 8 firefighters will share some of what they have learned by shifting the focus of their annual spring fire school and opening training sessions to also include law enforcement officers, school officials or any representative of an agency that would be affected by an oil and gas emergency.
Simultaneous classes in hazardous materials, rope/high angle rescue and incident command for multijurisdictional response will be offered Aug. 15-17.
"The incident command class would be good for anyone who has to respond or deal with emergencies," District 8 Fire Chief David Manning said. "I think they will find it interesting and they could have input in the class."
Manning was one of 120 on Thursday at a Haynesville Shale emergency preparedness workshop/tabletop exercise in Bossier City attended by law enforcement, firefighters, parish and state government officials and oil and gas companies to discuss issues and concerns related to the ongoing exploration of the shale.
"It's hard to tell them all that we've been through here," Manning said, adding that rarely a day passes that emergence responders are not making some type of call to a rig, well or pipeline site. "The experiences we're run across, we want to share with other responders."
Even Manning's crew of 17 paid firefighters and dozens of volunteers have learned to adapt to their new challenges. After a difficult high angle rescue of an injured rig worker last year, firefighters partnered with Nabors Drilling and utilized one of its training rigs in Tyler, Texas, to develop a procedure of "how we want to bring people off of these rigs if it happens again," Manning said.
So far, firefighters from various locations across northwest Louisiana have signed up for the rescue classes. DeSoto and Caddo sheriff's deputies and Shreveport police are among those scheduled to attend the incident command classes.
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