Three firefighters from the Sharps Chapel Volunteer Fire Department recently attended a Pump Operations Class, sponsored by Roane County Office of Emergency Services and Homeland Security.
The two day weekend class that was held May 16 and 17, consisted of both classroom and field work. A total of 16 students from area departments attended the class taught through the Tennessee Fire School by Instructor Scott McLeay.
Firefighters were taught how to properly operate the pumps on fire engines, how to pump from a fire hydrant, use of strainers and dump tanks and priming for suction. They also learned how to properly check off the trucks for maintenance and proper staging of the vehicles during emergency scenes.
Sharps Chapel Firefighters Dustin Ray, Matthew Dykes and Rich Zerbey said they enjoyed the class and learned a lot. The trio said they enjoyed meeting with and working with the members of other departments from different areas. They also wanted to thank Instructor McLeay.
SCVFD Chief Chris Upton said he wanted to thank the members for taking the time to attend the class. Upton said dedicated Volunteers are becoming harder to find and he appreciates their dedication and hard work to help make the department better. Upton said several other members of the department including these 3 have scheduled other training classes coming up later this year as we continue to better our department.
