2020 Fire Department Annual Report

Home Browse Search

2020 Annual Report • Fire Department • St. Anthony Village, Minnesota 24 | Page VI. Training ST. ANTHONY FIRE DEPARTMENT TRAINING SUMMARY By Training Officer, Ryan Anttila Training for fire departments is a very important aspect, and much of the St. Anthony Fire Department’s focus is on preparing our people for the types of incidents that they may encounter while working for us. Many of the calls we prepare for are the ones that happen very infrequently, but that does not negate the preparation needed. As with everything in 2020, training brought its own set of challenges. While we were not able to train as we had initially planned over the course of the year, we were still able to accomplish much of what we had set out to in 2020. Training has been and will continue to be a primary focus for the St. Anthony Fire Department. Last year we were able to adapt. Several of our drills were postponed, or topics were changed to fit the training formats available to us. We were able to accommodate safety measures and mandates while continuing to train. Our training started the year with a well-received short topic instruction drill, small groups gave a short presentation about a piece of equipment or a process that is not used as frequently. We were able to practice with a new ice rescue sled, as well as use and practice with a new batch of ice rescue suits. We were able to use Silver Lake Beach for our ice rescue training. We had our police department introduce their de-escalation training. Officer South is a great resource for us in this area. This was useful to know what and why the police officers may be doing some of the things they do when responding to a person in crisis. We were able to complete our annual active shooter classroom and scenario training. We used a warehouse in the city and were able to simulate a workplace incident. The unusual layout and unfamiliar space was beneficial for our people to practice these valuable skills.