This week, during a ceremony at the Office of the Sheriff in downtown Colorado Springs, five individuals received their Firefighter I Certification during a ceremony for the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office Wildland Fire Academy graduation.
The five-week-long Academy began on March 5th, and participants earned over 65 hours of training (each) of classroom time and hands-on field training.
“I am excited to welcome these five highly trained citizens to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office Wildland Fire Unit and the Wildland Fire community,” said El Paso County Sheriff and Fire Warden Joseph Roybal. “Education and mitigation play a crucial role in wildfire prevention, and the addition of these newly certified volunteers will enable our Wildland Fire Unit to expand their efforts in keeping our community safe.
“El Paso County is a community severely affected by wildfires. We have faced the Waldo Canyon and Black Forest Fires. Both caused loss of life and property beyond what any of us could have imagined.
“To this day, we have visual reminders and hear about the devastation caused by these fires—a true testament to the importance of fire mitigation, prevention, and education.
“I thank my staff, particularly our Wildland Fire Unit, for their work organizing and executing a top-notch Academy for our cadets. Congratulations to the graduates and thank you for stepping up and volunteering to become part of our diverse and dedicated volunteer team.”
In total, Cadets received over 325 hours of training during the Academy process. The Academy required several pre-requisite online courses and included instruction on fire line construction, emergency shelter deployment, wildland terminology, weather briefing, hose deployments, operating portable pumps, drafting from fire apparatus, sandtable training, radio protocol, basic medical triage, different ignition devices training, wildland fire tool maintenance, engine operation, engine driving, and field training0 at the South Meridian burn scar.
