Task Force 1, Inc. present a training program at Fire Station 43 on Saturday, November 4, from 6 - 10 p.m. and Sunday, November 5, 2006, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. This course featured a combination of class room lecture and hands on exercises. 
 

The lead instructors for the class were Captain Alan Noznesky, a nearly 20 year veteran of the Washington, D.C. Fire and EMS Department and Jimmy Schneider, a firefighter with FDNY assigned to Engine 271. Jimmy worked for nearly 10 years with the DCFD before leaving for a position with FDNY. Both instructors are dynamic instructors who have a wealth of knowledge and experience to share. Both Al and Jimmy volunteered for several years with the busiest companies in Prince Georges County, MD. They were assisted by Greg Barnas, a Captain with the Jersey City (NJ) Fire Department.
 

The course, “The Coordinated Attack” was specially designed with the goal of integrating company operations into a well coordinate and safe approach to fire ground operations. Using NIMS and ICS compliant command principles, students  had the opportunity to work several incidents that challenged them both physically and mentally.
 

An aquired structure, the former Sterchak building on Main Street owned by Alan Hornbeck, Jr., was made available to the course instructors. The building allowed the instructors to set up scenarios that challenged students, from the newest probie to the most seasoned fire officer. Following each evolutions, the instructors reviewed the previous scenarios suggesting improvements and accentuating the positives.
 

“This was some of the best training I’ve ever had, “said Jason Joaniddes, a career firefighter with the Irmo Fire Deparment near Columbia, South Carolina. Firefighter Joannides traveled over 800 miles to attend the class. Joining him were three fire officers from the Grantville Fire Department near  Harrisburg, PA. A contingent of 9 firefighters and officers from the United Fire Company from Montrose trekked to the class, with their apparatus for the two days. Vandling Hose Company, Whites Cross Fire and Rescue, Blakely Hose Company, Cottage Hose Ambulance also donated their apparatus and had personnel in the training event. A contingent of firefighters and officers from Browndale rounded off the crowd of nearly forty emergency service personnel who participated in the course.

The activities drew a constant flow of spectators including Forest City Mayor Nick Cost who shared his praise for the  firefighters who sacrificed their weekend to keep their skills sharp...Pictures