EVOC Training : 28, 29 October 2011

Oglethorpe County had its first Emergency Vehicle Training Course (EVOC) on Friday and Saturday this past weekend, 28 and 29 October 2011. The training and testing was done by the Volunteer Firemen Insurance Service (VFIS). VFIS has long been the insurer of the Fire Departments, Rescue Squad, EMT, and First Responders in the county and provides many educational services to its clients. This one exceeds NFPA 1002 (Standard for Fire Apparatus Driver/Operator Professional Qualifications) and is free. It was a three hour instruction on Friday evening (kindly hosted by the Oglethorpe County Farm Bureau) and a practical exam on Saturday morning at the Oglethorpe County High School. The intent was to teach firefighters how to responsibly drive pumpers and tankers and to test their ability to drive and park in very close quarters.

Our instructor was Steven Smith. Steven is affiliated with VFIS/SE as an agent of Adamson Insurance Agency, Inc., of Lineville, Al. He is based in Jasper, GA and is also a volunteer firefighter and an EMT. This was about the fourteenth EVOC course that he had taught, so he was able to concentrate on the important issues of safety, responding to calls, and driving skills. A very good instructor and perfect gentleman.

Attendance was less than hoped for but we made up for it with enthusiasm. The students were Russell Utley of Maxeys, recent members Chris Tittle and Trandam Tittle of Pleasant Hill, Michael Patman of Vesta, and Ed Frey, Wayne Hughes, Charleen Foott, David Hill, and Glenn Galau of Wolfskin. Lisa Vaughan of Wolfskin helped secure and transport traffic cones from F4 Sanitation, Crawford Water Works, and Oglethorpe County to add to those loaned from fire departments.

Highlights from Friday night: 1) Do a Circle of Safety, a walk around the vehicle, before moving an engine; 2) Never back up without a spotter; 3) Code 3 lights and siren should only be used when responding to structure fires, wild land fires that threaten a structure, and cardiac incidents; 4) Never exceed the speed limit; 5) Obey all traffic laws; 6) Lights and sirens only request right of way; it must be granted by traffic and pedestrians; 7) Come to a complete stop at all controlled intersections showing red signals; 8) In such cases, stop at every lane as you cross the intersection; 9) Do not assume a driver has granted you right-of-way until you meet their eyes; 10) At a highway incident, position the truck between you and traffic from behind and the side as protection from rubber-neckers who drive into the incident; and 11) Everyone is a safety officer.

The driving course on Saturday had four parts: 1) Drive forward through two gates offset from each other; 2) Drive forward down a very narrow lane, park 18 inches from a wall, and back out; 3) Drive serpentine forward and then backward through three cones; and 4) Drive backward and park 18 inches from a second wall. The cones were placed to provide only about four inches of clearance on each side of an average-width engine. For the record, the wheelbase and width (excluding mirrors) of our pumper is 157 and 95 inches and of our tanker is 219 and 98 inches, respectively.

(Left) Steven Smith, Russell Utley and Ed Frey place cones at measured intervals for the serpentine course. (Right) Steven Smith in good humor on a cold morning.
(Left) More setup. (Right) The fourth course: back up to the second wall.
(Left) Unused traffic cones. Love the party hats! (Right) Walking the course.
(Left) Walking the course. (Right) Final instructions and pep talk.
(Left) Ed Frey of Wolfskin through the first gate. (Right) Ed driving up the alley.
(Left) Ed forward through the serpentine. (Right) Ed backward through the serpentine.
(Left) Ed backing up to the second wall. (Right) Not nearly close enough.
(Left) Chris Tittle asks Ed Frey about a fitting. (Right) Russell Utley takes off.
(Left) Russell drives backward out of the alley. (Right) The party hat nearly gets squashed.
(Left) Russell goes forward through the serpentine. (Right) Mixed attention from the onlookers.
(Left) Wayne Hughes of Wolfskin in the second gate. (Right) Wayne going up the alley.
(Left) Wayne backing up to the second wall. (Right) Closer than Ed.
(Left) Chris Tittle of Pleasant Hill. (Right) Trandam Tittle of Pleasant Hill.
(Left) Charleen Foott of Wolfskin. (Right) Charleen not tipping the cone.
(Left) Michael Patman of Vesta. (Right) Michael backing up to the second wall.
(Left) Ed Frey goes for a second run. (Right) The Three Ladies.