one to gear up. I worked near the station and lived near the station. I was gung-ho and was on as many trucks as a guy could get on.” That describes Moser’s competitive nature but also displays his desire for excellence in service. “When I first started, there were fewer volunteers and it also took longer to train individuals to serve,” Moser said. Over the years, there are more volunteers on the roster who are more experienced and trained as instructors and therefore more able to train new firemen. Along with the added experience, Moser said, the training is more local and available. Training sessions are held two Mondays a month in a two to three-hour session. Sometimes it may be nothing more than a repetitive session, going over techniques but making sure all the volunteers know the steps and pitfalls during a drill make it much easier when the crew is at the scene of a live fire. Firefighting practices have remained the same over the years although there are some new tactics available but it is pretty basic stuff Moser said. Practice makes perfect. Every year there is a state-wide Fire School with two days of training sessions. All firemen are encouraged to attend and the Yankton Dept. makes sure someone goes to receive the training and bring it back to the local crew, so all become acquainted with new tactics. There are district training sessions also available. Moser said the Yankton department is fortunate to have a volunteer who lives in Yankton and is a full-time firefighter in Sioux Falls. He always has access to new training methods and new equipment suggestions, so Yankton stays up to date. Along with that training, there is also HazMat training to be certified in and occasionally, the monthly training will include mock drills in conjunction with Emergency Management for natural disasters or terroristic threats. The mock drills develop protocols for these incidents. They have done a mock drill which involved a school bus and a train derailment with a chemical spill which introduced the firemen to correct handling of these types of incidents. Some of the firemen volunteers may work for a towing company or salvage yard and a Monday night session may happen in a junk yard Moser said. The owners allow the firemen to come in and use the salvaged trucks or cars for training. The instructors will run different scenarios and let the firemen work out possible solutions, Save up to 2100 $ cutting up the salvaged bodies for extractions. Occasionally, a Monday night session is a live burn session, or a smoke machine is used to simulate what it’s like in a fire situation by limiting visibility and then trying different search patterns. Fire tactics at a scene have changed over the years Moser noted. When he started as a volunteer, the firemen arrived at a fire, put the fire out and ventilated a house of the smoke. Now, in certain instances, firemen have learned to use ventilation to fight a fire, push the smoke out and then attack the fire. So different techniques have improved firefighting. But before all that drilling, each volunteer goes through two levels of certification to become an active firefighter. There is testing and vMOSER continued on page 18 with manufacturer rebates and utility incentives Save Up To 30%* Now with 2018 Federal Tax Credits for All Solar & GEO Thermal Home Comfort Systems *certain restrictions apply HEATING & COOLING 2401 Broadway, Yankton • 605-665-9461 www.larrysheatingandcooling.com Serving the Yankton, Vermillion and Surrounding Areas For Over 36 Years HISVOICEvSEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018v17