The Holmen Area Fire Department Chief Buck Manley has been sharing his expertise with firefighters half a world away. Along with overseeing the training and development of Holmen’s fire and emergency medical service personnel, Manley is teaching hazardous materials response techniques to Chinese firefighters and industrial emergency response personnel.
In China, firefighters are either soldiers or industrial company employees trained to respond to hazardous materials responses, rescues and fires.
“In the United States, the company firefighting teams would be known as industrial fire brigades,” said Manley. “The difference between our fire departments and soldier firefighters is the Chinese units anticipate losing personnel.”