Hoover Fire Department hosts 1st recruit school

Last fall, the Hoover Fire Department received approval by the Alabama Fire College to host its first training recruit school. Initially intended for Hoover firefighters, they soon attracted recruits from all over the state of Alabama. 

The idea came about when the Hoover Fire Department hired a new employee who was already a paramedic but needed to be firefighter certified. Instead of sending him to a recruit school, they decided to hold their own. 

Rick Patterson, battalion chief over training, safety and health for the Hoover Fire Department, said the event worked out for all parties involved. 

“Our line of thinking was when we had the recruit school, we knew all of the Hoover officers would help and therefore keep up with their skills,” Patterson said. “It was a win-win. A win for new employees, for the cities that send their employees and for our officers, who would be able to keep up their training.”

The premise of the recruit school was basic firefighter skills. Topics included classroom work — including 25 tests, which each must be passed in order to continue with the course — basic firefighting, fire exiting, ladder work, handling fire hoses and hazardous materials and search and rescue techniques.

The end of each day included physical fitness training, consisting of a round of exercises such as running up and down the drill tower, push-ups, pull-ups, pulling hoses and dragging people out of buildings. 

“This part of the process helps in getting them ready to handle all of the physical tasks required of a firefighter,” Patterson said. “You really have to be in shape to do it. The physical portion of the drills were so intensive, we had to make sure the students were up to par with their physical fitness. We notified them before the class began that they’d need to get their physical abilities up to par.”

The training began with 16 recruits, and 11 of those completed the course. Five were unable to finish either due to medical conditions or not being able to handle the physical portion. 

The participants were from Hoover, Orange Beach, Indian Ford (South Shades Crest Road), Warrior, Forestdale, Vestavia, Demopolis and North Shelby.

All of the recruits had already been hired in their respective fire districts, but state law required the training. After their 360 hours of training, a graduation ceremony was held Nov. 18, 2015, and they were officially certified by the Alabama Fire College as Firefighters 1 and 2 and went back to work at their departments. 

Patterson said the training was very successful, and Hoover plans to host one again in the fall of 2016. He said they will get the message out to different departments, but he can be contacted and put interested parties on a waiting list for future training.