Nearly one year after Hurricane Harvey flooded the Beaumont, Texas, Fire/ Rescue Training Center, Industrial Rescue reopened the school's doors Aug. 1. Since that time, the center has experienced expansive growth, according to Industrial Rescue owner David Owens. In just six months, the training center has hosted more than 300 fire and rescue training classes, and that number isn't showing any signs of dropping off as Industrial Rescue continues to add courses. Through 2019, Owens said Industrial Rescue has plans for more courses, including its inaugural industrial fire school, and to expand its offerings through partnerships.
BIC: What has happened at the Fire/Rescue Training Center since it reopened?
OWENS: We're seeing growth that we weren't expecting, and the turnout so far has exceeded our goals. By the beginning of February, we had done over 300 classes since we opened Aug. 1. It's been a big deal for us.
BIC: What kind of courses is Industrial Rescue offering?
OWENS: Right now, we are doing interior and exterior firefighting, hazmat classes, structural and confined space classes, medical classes and incident command.
Our inaugural industrial fire school will take place May 6-10 at our Beaumont training field. We're going to have a 32-hour 1081 fire class program that week, along with a 40-hour confined space and structural rescue class. There are no prerequisites for those who wish to attend. Those who are interested can email trinh.tran@irisrescue.com or give our office a call for registration.
BIC: What is the biggest news at Industrial Rescue right now?
OWENS: This year, we've gotten into a partnership with Paratech Co. This partnership is going to allow us to get into trenching and shoring schools and also damage control schools. We're hoping to be able to do this by the third quarter of this year.
We also recently became a cooperative learning center for Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX). We are now listed as the only cooperative learning center in the U.S. for Texas A&M University. That means we are going to be able to start offering ProBoard fire service certification classes down here on the Gulf Coast soon.
BIC: Why is quality training vital to the industry?
OWENS: The No. 1 reason is really so that everyone operating as an emergency responder goes home safe at the end of the day. There are benefits to their families as well as to the technicians and firefighters, but also to the company. A well-trained team can make a difference between just a bad incident and a catastrophic event. Those first 10-15 minutes during an incident are crucial to decision-making on how to prevent things from going to the next level.
The other reason is, honestly, as a teacher, when I hear on the internet or TV that a facility had an event, I have to be able to lie in bed at night and know we did the best we could do to equip them with the proper training to handle those types of events.
BIC: Where do you hope to see Industrial Rescue in a year?
OWENS: The main reason I took over the school and made this investment was to get this school back to where it was 20 years ago, when it was the heart of emergency response here in Southeast Texas and Southwest Louisiana. We're already working toward that, but my goal next year is to see that we've got everybody back here, building relationships, crossing bridges between mutual aid organizations and even helping the plants become familiar with those from other plants, and training together.
For more information, visit www.industrialrescue.com or call (409) 924-0710.