Grant to provide virtual training, connectivity for area fire departments

The Mountain Brook Fire Department will soon be able to virtually connect to the Alabama Fire College and other area fire departments, allowing for more training and educational opportunities.

A federal regional assistance grant was recently awarded to the Mountain Brook Fire Department, Vestavia Hills Fire Department, the Rocky Ridge Fire District, the North Shelby Fire District and the Cahaba Valley Fire District.

Mountain Brook Fire Chief Chris Mullins said the city’s portion of the grant, $98,000, will pay for equipment to help the department conduct virtual training with Alabama Fire College as well as other departments, including the ability to livestream training at their own site to nearby departments.

Mullins said the change helps streamline training for area departments.

“We found we were reinventing the wheel,” Mullins said. “Everyone was doing their own thing.”

Rocky Ridge Fire District Chief Jon Lord said the equipment can also help connect fire departments to the Alabama Fire College, which provides educational courses and ongoing training for firefighters.

Grant Wilkinson, public information officer for the Cahaba Valley Fire District, said while some required training courses at the college must be done in person because they are more hands-on activities, there are many classes that are more classroom-type settings. About half of the standard classes firefighters take can be done virtually, Wilkinson said.

Vestavia Hills Fire Chief Marvin Green said the fire college is expanding their virtual classes, including EMT courses, paramedic courses, fire instructor and fire officer courses. Those 40-hour courses are now available online, he said.

Vestavia Hills received the largest portion of the grant at $121,000, while Rocky Ridge received $83,000 and both North Shelby and Cahaba Valley received $54,000.

Lord said having the equipment, due to be delivered by mid-August, includes cameras, speaker systems, computers, smart TVs and more. It helps save on wear and tear on fire department equipment, and also helps keep firefighters physically separate while bringing them together virtually, a much-needed blessing in the time of COVID-19.

“Anytime we get to work with neighboring departments, it helps us get to know each other more,” Wilkinson said.

Wilkinson said since the departments often help each other during emergencies, it helps to get to know other firefighters. Cahaba Valley, he said, has gotten to know firefighters in Liberty Park, Vestavia’s No. 4 station located in the backside of Liberty Park.

Green said that during the pandemic his department has focused on more online training, but has kept up its required hours of training.

Department leaders can use the technology for morning meetings, and since the equipment will be installed at each station, firefighters no longer have to leave their stations while on duty, which, in the past, would mean someone else would have to replace that firefighter.

“It absolutely will help us save money,” Wilkinson said.

Green said being able to broadcast information more quickly means battalion chiefs don’t have to travel station to station, cutting down on travel time and cost to the department.

“This will be a game changer for us in terms of training and how we get out information in the future,” Green said.