MFSA is thrilled to once again be able to partner with the Marine and Environmental Research and Training Station (MERTS) to host its annual live fire training in Astoria, OR. The ability for local fire agencies to participate in joint trainings built around realistic shipboard scenarios at a facility that, while scaled down, is built to capture some of the hazards and intricacies that responders may encounter aboard a ship is crucial.


Thirty-seven total attendees from six FPAAC member agencies, two instructors from MERTS, and three MFSA representatives combined to participate in this year’s second quarter Technician Level Training, focusing on a range of dynamic scenarios that saw participants split into companies and “dispatch” to perform reconnaissance, search and rescue, boundary cooling, and implement firefighting strategies using assistance from role players acting as the ship’s crew.

These training evolutions exercised numerous portions of the National Fire Protection Association 1005 (NFPA 1005) and Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards & Training (DPSST) task book that can only be accomplished during live-fire exercises.


As always, we wish to extend a sincere thank you to Jake Campbell, Tony Como, and Clatsop Community College for their continued support of MFSA and FPAAC members.

Anyone interested in learning about the FPAAC training program should contact Mason Sullivan, sullivan@pdxmex.com