Five Members Complete EVOC
Five company members recently completed the Utica National Emergency Vehicle Operators Course hosted by the Kingsbury Fire Department over the weekend of June 7 and 8.  The Emergency Vehicle Operations Course (EVOC) is designed to provide apparatus operators with the knowledge and skills necessary to safely operate an Emergency Vehicle in emergency and non-emergency mode.  Topics covered include legal aspects of Emergency Vehicle operations, navigating and route mapping, driver roles and responsibilities, basic driving skills, and proper driving procedures. The course is held over a two-day period. The first day of the course is in the classroom. The second day of the course includes hands on Emergency Vehicle driving on a course.  The course was sponsored by Utica National Insurance and instructed by Robert Faugh.

SHC members completing the course:

• Lt. Rob Decker

• FF Shane Buhrmaster

• FF Ray Carr

• FF Jim Doubleday

• FF Marcus Lapitsky

Three Members Complete FAST Course
Three company members recently completed the 16 hour New York State FAST Course.  The course trains firefighters as a member of a FAST operation to identify the tools and staffing requirements for a FAST operation; develop a rescue plan for a missing, lost, or trapped firefighter; demonstrate rope search techniques; and demonstrate removing a firefighter/victim up a stairwell, up or down through a hole in a floor/roof, moving a downed firefighter out of a window, and lowering a firefighter down a ladder. This course requires students to perform a number of practical evolutions with self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA).  The course completed on June 19th was instructed by State Fire Instructor Peter Shaw and hosted by the Malta Ridge Fire Company.

SHC members completing the course:

• FF Ray Carr

• FF Todd Comtois

• FF Adam Myers