Industrial School attracts emergency responders from Fortune 100 companies

More than 600 industrial firefighters and safety officers are at the Brayton Fire Training Field this week for the 49th Industrial Fire Training School, which continues through July 22. Enrolled in the school are 611 members of industrial emergency response brigades and safety officers from some of the world’s largest oil & gas and chemical companies, including Exxon Mobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Shell, BP, Valero, Marathon, Dow, DuPont, Enterprise, Sunoco and more.

Participants have come from 11 countries to TEEX’s emergency preparedness training complex in College Station to hone their skills on some of the world’s largest industrial fire props and realistic rescue and hazardous materials training scenarios.

Eighteen weeklong courses are offered, many of which qualify for National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) or ProBoard certification. Courses cover interior and exterior firefighting, hazardous materials, rescue, incident safety officer, LPG emergencies, leadership, fire instructor and more.

The most popular course is NFPA 1081 Exterior Fire Brigade Training, with 196 students enrolled. On Thursday, the top 10 students in the class will be recognized.

The training is conducted this week with assistance of 211 guest instructors with hundreds of years of combined experience. On Sunday, certificates were presented to instructors with 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 or more years of service to the school.

For the first time this year, a text messaging system is available for Industrial and Municipal Fire Schools that will provide participants with important information and updates. To sign up, text the word INDUSTRIAL or MUNICIPAL to 89031.

The Industrial Fire Training School is one of three summer schools for firefighters and emergency responders offered by the Texas Engineering Extension Service each year. The Spanish Fire Training School was held last week and the Municipal Fire Training School will be held July 24-29. A nighttime firefighting demonstration will be held at Brayton Fire Field on Wednesday, July 27, and is open to the public. The three schools draw approximately 4,000 students and guest instructors to Bryan-College Station each summer, which boosts the local economy during a typically slower summer season.

About Brayton Fire Training Field

The 279-acre Brayton Fire Training Field is one of the world’s largest live-fire training facilities and includes some of the largest and most realistic fire training props anywhere. Students can receive hands-on training on a loading terminal, process unit, chemical complex, aerial cooler, aircraft, ship and more. Rescue props include those designed for confined space and high-angle rescue, as well as towers and even a passenger train. Hazardous materials training include a hazmat chemical complex, tanker cars and 2,300-foot underground pipeline training prop with eight above-ground training stations.