Left to right, Tom Jansen, Monica Jansen, both of the Leopold Volunteer Fire Department, prepare to be tested on their rescue techniques. The insutructor is Mike Morgan of Cape Girardeau Fire Department. The students' masks are covered with black plastic so that they can not see to simulate rescue conditions in a fire.

Joe Russell (left) and Stan Long (center) ask about their next practical exam. The instructor is Dan Seymore, assistant fire chief at Dexter.

Left to right, Larry Sanderson and Howard Dowd, both of Glen Allen fire department practice putting equipment on quickly.

After eight months of classes, the Aug. 23-24 final exam may have been a relief for 30 area fire fighters that spent time away from their families and friends to get certified as level one and two fire fighters.

Marty Schuessler, senior evaluator for the University of Missouri and training coordinator for the area, said the training gives the fire fighters a baseline of knowledge, where everyone knows what to do in fire situations.

"I try to set up classes and training for anybody who is willing to take it," Schuessler said.

"Periodically, I would check up on them in Marble Hill," he added.

"Overall they did very good," Schuessler said.

This particular class was unique in that they were training to be certified as both firefighter level one and two.

Jim Bollinger, Marble Hill fire chief and senior instructor on the course, said that the class started in January with 37 fire fighters enrolled. Last Saturday, 30 fire fighters took the comprehensive practical examination held all day in Marble Hill.

The final written test was held on Friday night Aug. 23.

Bollinger said that the fire fighters studied a wide range of subjects including but not limited to: Fire Department Organizations, Fire Department Communications, Fire Chemistry and Behavior, Fire Suppression Techniques, Fire Hoses, Fire Streams, Ladders, Ventilation, Rescue, Building Construction, Inspections, Investigations, Public Fire Education, Portable Extinguishers, Ropes and Knots and Hazardous Materials.

The fire fighters are trying to become certified using the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards for professional fire fighter qualifications.

These fire fighters in training have all passed their practical exams and await the results of the written exam that has to be sent to Jefferson City for grading.

The NFPA 1500 safety standard states that fire department members doing structural fire fighting should be trained to a minimum of fire fighter one level. The fire fighters in the class at Marble Hill will be certified at levels one and two if they passed the written test.

"The departments are at least trying to comply with the national standard," Bollinger said.

The departments that were represented at the classes were: Marble Hill, Bollinger Civil Defense, Glen Allen, Patton, Marquand, Dexter, Advance, Scopus, Leopold and Chaffee, according to Bollinger.

The classes were taught under the guidelines of the University of Missouri Fire and rescue training in conjunction with the Missouri Division of Fire Safety, Bollinger said.

The courses are accredited by an international accreditor, International Fire Service Accreditation Conference. The certification that will be received by those that pass the test will be recognized world wide.

The training received in these classes is not the end of the training for fire fighters. There are many specialty areas that the fire fighters can train in.

Bollinger stressed that getting the certification was to meet a standard and not a law. Right now there are no requirements in Missouri, but most departments do it.

They do it because it serves a number of purposes. They can better serve the public by being better at fighting fires, they can better serve their family by doing the job in a safer manner and they lessen any legal liability if they can show they performed the job to the standards set out by NFPA.

Joe Russell, Glen Allen fire chief and student in the class, said, "It was time consuming, challenging and it was tough on all of us. But it was a lot of fun to go through the education, it was a tremendous amount of information to absorb."

"I am proud of the whole bunch," Russell said.

"I am really proud of the instructors, they spent more time than we did," he added.

Russell said that Calvin Troxel, instructor, spent the most time teaching the classes. Russell also said that Darin Shell, Kenny Simmons and Eugene Wilfong deserve a lot of thanks for taking time to train the fire fighters.

Bollinger added that Mark Hasheider, Cape Girardeau Fire Department training officer, Max Jauck, acting fire chief at Cape Girardeau, Brad Golden, of the Cape Fire Department, and Randy Carter, Dunklin County Emergency Operations director and associate instructor for the University of Missouri were all very valuable instructors for the class.

"I feel comfortable, there shouldn't be any in my department that needs to worry about passing," Russell said.

Russell added that one big plus of the class was getting to know the fire fighters from the other area fire departments.