Fire Department Considering Class For Residents

— The command staff of the Rogers Fire Department is contemplating starting a citizens fire academy to allow residents to see how their tax money is spent, officials said Wednesday.

“We’re tossing the idea around,” said Michael Dean, department public information officer. “It’s not for certification purposes, but it gives people a chance to see how the fire department operates.”

Dean said officials would make scenarios as close to real-life as possible.

“It should give the average person a little more insight into what we do,” Dean said. “More than they get off watching us at a fire scene on the evening news.”

The practice is not new to Northwest Arkansas. The Springdale Fire Department has hosted several fire classes for residents, said Kevin McDonald, assistant fire chief.

“It’s an eight-week course that includes an understanding of fire behavior and education,” McDonald said. “We figure we need a minimum of 10 to 12 to put on a class.”

McDonald said the class is also offered to newly elected city officials to give them an idea of how the department operates.

Rogers Fire Chief Tom Jenkins said the idea is not to train firefighters, although some who go through the class might decide on the fire department as a career.

“We’re trying to find people who want to know how their tax dollars are being spent,” Jenkins said. “It’s an effort on our part to be as transparent as possible.”

Officials have sketched out classes on different elements of a firefighter’s day, such as training, types of fire trucks, ambulances, hazardous materials and the airport, Jenkins said.

“Outside of Northwest Regional Airport, we’re the only fire department in the area with a crash truck,” Jenkins said. “We have it at the airport for the Walmart fleet.”

A crash truck is a firefighting vehicle which carries specialized equipment used in case of an airplane crash.

“Certainly we have enough to hold people’s interest,” Jenkins said about an academy. “Our vision is to be nationally recognized. Part of that is informing our residents about what we do.”

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