The Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service is hosting more than 700 firefighters from across the nation and more than a dozen other countries as part of its 57th annual Industrial Fire School this week.
Each summer, TEEX hosts three weeklong fire training courses that attract thousands from all over the world to Bryan-College Station. Last week’s courses brought hundreds of firefighters from 19 Spanish-speaking countries to TEEX’s Fire Academy, while this week’s program helps prepare those who may face blazes at oil rigs, chemical refineries or large industrial plants.
On Thursday morning, a class of 36 advanced firefighters from as far away as Detroit and Baltimore battled flames at a training site on TEEX grounds as part of a bulk storage tank firefighting class. Trainers burned a rail car loading rack just after 10 a.m., which gave the geared-up students opportunities to participate in a variety of roles.