Hundreds of firefighters learning new skills at annual Arizona Fire School

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- The 50th Annual Arizona Fire School is a four-day fire training course hosted by the Arizona State Fire Training Committee. It starts Sept. 6 and occurs at multiple training facilities and locations around metro Phoenix.

Overall skills training, fire prevention, investigation techniques and fire leadership are the focus of the school curriculum. Most participants are from rural areas that rely on both combination departments and volunteers and do not have the resources or budget to get the training they receive in larger city departments like Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler and Scottsdale.

Roughly 400 scholarships are provided to rural firefighters across the state, helping those departments receive invaluable resources and training. It is estimated that over two million of Arizona’s population is protected by volunteer or combination departments. These departments are mainly in rural or semi-rural areas where residents and structures are spread over a wide range of terrain and territory, and salaries for these firefighters are below the poverty level.

For more information, visit azfiretraining.org/fire-school/.

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