Local Fire Departments Work On Skills At 88th Annual Firemen’s Conference

Fire Departments across the Upper Cumberland honed their skills through the 88th Annual Firemen’s Association Conference in Cookeville.

Clay County’s East 52 Volunteer Fire Department participated. Fire Chief James King said members refreshed skills on rural water operations.

“In a lot of rural communities, there is not a lot fire hydrants in the area and trying to get water to a house fire,” King said. “Your average house fire takes about 10,000 gallons of water plus to extinguish and trying to get that much water to a scene is one of the major things to me.”

King said the conference was very beneficial, especially for the proximity. King said having the training in Cookeville made for a better turnout rather than travelling to Nashville.

“Without it being local, it is hard to get guys, the volunteers especially, say you got to go to Nashville for the weekend for training rather than spending time with your family,” King said. “If it is local, they are more opt to take the classes.”

King said his crew also learned about the new Volunteer Incentive law. The state legislation gives checks for firefighters to that participate in a set amount of training hours. King said firefighters as far as Pikeville participated in the weekend event.