Industrial School Attracts Largest Number Since 1996

More than 760 industrial firefighters and safety officers are at the Brayton Fire Training Field this week for the 50th Industrial Fire Training School, which continues through July 20. The attendees are 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, Conoco Phillips, Shell, BP, Valero, Marathon, Dow, DuPont, Enterprise, Sunoco and more.

Participants have come from 10 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 training is conducted with assistance of 211 guest instructors with hundreds of years of combined experience.

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 23-27. A nighttime firefighting demonstration will be held at Brayton Fire Field on Wednesday, July 25, 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 and search and rescue props in the world. 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. TEEX is a member of the Texas A&M University System.

For Media Opportunities or more information, contact:

Brian Blake, Communications Director
Texas Engineering Extension Service
[email protected]
979-458-6837 (office) or 979-324-8995 (cell)