Local Fire Department officers participated in a two-day training session facilitated by Mike Bucy, Chief of the Stevens County Fire District #1 near Spokane, Washington. The sessions were held at the Washington Township Fire Department.
Bucy was asked about what the information he was giving to the officers.
“This series of small classes, they’re one to two hours each, they all head toward leadership, decision-making, and fire strategy and tactics,” said Chief Bucy. “Every year, around one hundred firefighters are killed in the line of duty and over 15,000 are injured. What I’m trying to do is teach them how to properly make decisions, lead their people and make the right decisions on the fire grounds so that doesn’t happen to this department or anybody else.”
Bucy is originally from the Northern Indiana area and has been all over the country giving similar presentations.
“Since I moved a year ago, it slowed down because of my job responsibilities but I’m trying to get back into it and let other departments know that the capability is there for me to come out. I used to do a lot in Indiana and I’m just starting to pick up some out in Washington as well.”
Bucy talks about the fire department for which he is responsible in Spokane, Washington.
“I have a combination department. It’s a little different than I’m used to out here. It’s about 375 square miles, which is about 50 square miles larger than Starke County itself. I have about eight stations, 50 volunteers and six paid guys. It takes in all kinds of terrain. It’s not flat out there. We’ve got mountains and lakes. It’s a great department and I’m loving life out in the Pacific Northwest.”
