Henry County Firefighters Complete Georgia Smoke Divers Training

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Recently, Henry County Firefighter/ EMT's Justin Ganes and Kyle Prince joined the 760 "Elite Few, Strong in Mind and Body" when they graduated from the forty-first Georgia Smoke Divers training course.  The training took place in Dalton, Georgia at the City of Dalton Fire Department Headquarters training facility.

"The Smoke Diver course is an extremely challenging, intensely physical, and takes students to their limits and then further, so many do not graduate. It has been said, Smoke Divers are the 'Navy Seals" of the fire service. Class forty-one began with twenty-three students, but only graduated fifteen," stated Captain Sabrina Puckett.

Functioning as an interior structural firefighter can present unknown challenges around every corner. A hazardous environment and potentially hazardous situations can present a scenario that standards do not encompass. While there are no guarantees, the training course is designed to take an experienced 
firefighter and teach him/her practical advanced survival skills in full gear with Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA).

The six-day, 60 hour program is designed for the experienced firefighter who desires realistic training in self-survival, firefighter rescue, advanced search & rescue, thermal imaging, emergency procedures, teamwork, discipline and how to function within elements of the Incident Command System. "You learn when your body says to quit you can still go on," said Kyle Prince. The program condenses and replicates the extreme demands that may be placed on firefighters during multi-day operations such as catastrophic disasters and acts of terrorism. This course is the most physically and mentally challenging program offered by the Georgia Fire Academy. "Awesome! The hardest but the most enjoyable week of my career so far," stated Kyle Prince. "It was unbelievable training, that has given me a lot of confidence to face whatever situation I may encounter," said Justin Ganes.

Experience builds expertise and expertise leads to better decision making. Today's firefighters are getting seriously injured and killed because of failures in decision making, because of a lack of situational awareness, or lack of orientation to the environment.  "The course saves lives, and I encourage every firefighter to take the course.  It was one of the most challenging, yet rewarding weeks of my life," stated Justin Ganes. 


Author:Henry County Fire Department Press Release