Lieutenant Michael Knowles, and Firefighter Austin Fannin, both volunteers assigned to C-Platoon, have successfully completed the Maryland Fire & Rescue Institute’s (MFRI) Aerial Apparatus Driver/Operator course. This 27-hour program was held at the Ocean Pines Volunteer Fire Department and is designed to familiarize the new driver/operator of fire apparatus equipped with an aerial device with the intricacies of modern firefighting vehicles and the art of proper placement of aerial apparatus for rescue and firefighting operations.

Major topics covered in this course are truck company operations, tool requirements, terminology, techniques of spotting, stabilizing, working angles, loading, extreme operating conditions, raising and lowering, controls and valves, hydraulic systems, water tower operations, standpipe operations, ladders, safety rules, maintenance, and testing. Classroom instruction and discussion, as well as hands-on practical applications of lessons learned are all utilized in this highly-informative MFRI course.

Congratulations Lt. Knowles and FF Fannin!