2005 Marine Firefighting Symposium

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PWSRCAC held the 4th Marine Firefighting Symposium for Land Based Firefighters in early May, 2005, in Valdez. This symposium built on skills taught in the 2003 symposium.

2005 Marine Firefighting Symposium Final Report (pdf/27KB)

Fifty people attended the 2005 gathering; they came from all over Prince William Sound and beyond: Valdez, Homer, Seldovia, Haines, Ketchikan, Unalaska, Cordova, Whittier, Port Graham, Seward, Nikiski, Kenai, and Kodiak. Petro Star, Alyeska, American Salvage Association, Tesoro, USCG, and the State Fire Marshall’s office sent people to participate. All firefighting ability levels were represented, from those who had finished Firefighter 1 training just days before the symposium to those who had been dousing flames for decades. Both paid and volunteer firefighters came, many of whom are small-town volunteer firefighters taking time off from their paid jobs.

Each day, participants learned something new:

Day 1: Introduction to Shipboard Firefighting
This was a refresher for some and for others it was their first exposure. Besides the basics, a roundtable discussion on proposed marine federal regulations for firefighting and salvage was held.

Day 2: Understanding Fire Plans, and Vessel Familiarization
This second day took place in the classroom as well as at the container dock, where firefighters were introduced to and familiarized with the tanker Polar Endeavour. A drill was conducted onboard. Three Crowley tugs supplied water.

Day 3: Small Boat Harbor Training
Thanks to SWAPA (Southwest Alaska Pilots Association) the Emerald Island from Homer posed as a vessel in distress. Two teams at a time practiced on the boat, and others toured the harbor looking at vessels with an instructor and envisioned potential issues and scenarios firefighters might encounter in a marina or on a small boat.

The council received lots of positive feedback for the symposium. Participants appreciate that PWSRCAC handles logistics of attending (plane reservations, hotel, and meals) so all they have to do is show up and train.

This year, as a class photo was being taken just after the Polar Endeavour exercise, Valdez firefighters’ pagers sounded. While they attended the urgent call, everyone else went to the fire house and serviced the day’s equipment used in training. They washed and hung hoses to dry. They laid the hose beds on the trucks. When the responders returned, everything was expertly squared away. Said symposium coordinator Rhonda Williams, of PWSRCAC, “Firefighters are firefighters no matter what piece of land you drop them on. We work extremely well with people we just met.”

2005 Symposium Photos

This year's program participants gather by the Polar Endeavour after finishing an exercise on the tanker.
	Marine firefighting symposium participants gather for a briefing.
	Rhonda Williams, (former) Project Manager with PWSRCAC, organizes the symposium. She also volunteers with the Valdez Fire Department.
	In addition to classroom instruction, hands-on training is provided onboard.
	The Valdez Fire Department is instrumental in supporting the symposium.
	A Valdez Fire Department truck is one of many pieces of equipment used in training.
	Firefighters board the Polar Endeavour.
	A tug with firefighting capabilities sprays water near the tanker.
	Firefighters thread fire hose through the often narrow confines of the tanker.
	A participant uses a hand-held radio to communicate with fellow firefighters.
	Practicing onboard a tanker when there is no emergency helps firefighters learn the most efficient procedures for fire control.
	Crouching low for better visibility, firefighters enter a "smoky" room. Nontoxic simulated smoke is used for training.
	On a large tanker, space is tight, and firefighters must be especially agile and fit.
	Shipboard firefighting requires many feet of hose. Here, firefighters remove hose from the tanker after completing the drill.
	Firefighters uncoil hose in preparation for boarding another vessel.
	The Emerald Island, from Homer, Alaska, is a Southwest Alaska Pilots Association (SWAPA) pilot boat. The vessel participated in this years' symposium as well as the one in 2003.
	With hose tucked under their arms, firefighters prepare to enter a simulated fire inside the Emerald Island.
	"Smoke" billows from the vessel's doorway.
	Symposium participants huddle on the Valdez City dock.