New York Wildfire Academy Holds 9th Annual Academy at Brookhaven Lab, 10/20-30

October 19, 2006

The following media advisory is being issued by the New York Wildfire & Incident Management Academy.

The New York Wildfire and Incident Management Academy (NYWIMA) will be holding its 9th annual Academy from October 20 - October 30, 2006 at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in Upton, NY. Many events, including wildfire field exercises, are scheduled throughout the 11-day operation.

Field exercises will include demonstrations on "Ignition Operations," "Wildfire Power Saws Usage," "Portable Pumps & Water Usage, " "Helicopter Training" and "Basic Firefighting and Wild Land Fire Behavior." All field events are weather-dependent and may be rescheduled due to weather concerns. Weather-permitting, field exercises will include the lighting of prescribed fires, hand crews' constructing fire line and chainsaw operations, portable pump operations and helicopter operations. Engine operations courses will focus on the use of foam in firefighting operations, structure triage, structure protection tactics and aspects relating to wild land fire and urban interface issues. Classroom sessions, and all Academy operations, will occur daily from 6:45 a.m. to 7: 30 p.m.

The NYWIMA is an interagency training opportunity for firefighters and other emergency responders. In addition to wildfire training, the Academy is offering courses in the Incident Command System (ICS). The ICS system forms the backbone of emergency response plans and is utilized nationwide by emergency responders. Over 460 students, instructors and overhead personnel from across the nation as well as individuals/students from Long Island-based government agency and emergency response personnel organizations will be participating in the 2006 Academy.

Interested members of the news media should contact Bill Fonda directly, prior to the Academy at the above number, to confirm times and locations, and to arrange for site visits and interviews with trainers and students. During the Academy, please contact Mr. Fonda at (516) 808-2731 or Trevor Augustino at (508) 400-3891. Interested media representatives are also urged to contact Brookhaven National Laboratory's Diane Greenberg at (631) 344-2347 or Mona Rowe at (631) 344-5056. Due to recent events, security has been tightened on the BNL grounds, thus it is highly recommended that a contact is made well in advance to ensure admittance to Academy activities.

2006-10554  |  INT/EXT  |  Newsroom