FPAAC hosted its first day-long Regional Awareness Level Training session held at the Cowlitz County Event Center on November 11, 2019 in Longview, WA. One of the purposes of this training was to target mutual and auto aid agencies in the region (non-FPAAC member agencies) with the aim of greater understanding of the complexities engaging with a shipboard fire. It was well attended and received great scores on the evaluation forms.
Forty three people attended the event which began with a discussion on what MFSA is, is not and how FPAAC was formed. Curtis Cannizzaro assisted with this discussion.
LT Don Doyle, Longview Fire, gave a presentation on the different training levels offered by FPAAC; the importance of the shipping industry to the regional economy; port facilities and construction of piers, docks and wharves. This progressed into the firefighting capabilities of a ship and its crew; and a review of some of the laws and regulations that govern the maritime industry. Longview Firefighter/Technician Koll Myklebust assisted with a Safety and Fire Control Plan search of a break-bulk vessel to show the complexity of these plans.