The drill begins that Saturday at 8 a.m. and will last until Sunday at 4 p.m., according to Weldon Fire Department Chief Rusty Bolt.
The exercise will be held at 121 Watkins Drive in the Weldon Industrial Park where a huge hill of palettes will be burned.
While details of the operation are being worked out, numerous fire departments from across the area will participate in what is believed to be the first overnight drill of its kind in Halifax County.
“The training is helping with incident command,” Bolt said. “When we took incident command classes it was all on a blackboard. There’s nothing like the real thing.”
The drill will teach firefighters how to manage large fires and change shifts every eight hours, said Bolt.
It will also help firefighters develop planning, logistic and operation skills. The staging center will be at Halifax Community College while incident command will be at Weldon’s fire station B. “It will be just like you have at major incidents,” said Bolt.
Fire departments from Northampton County are expected to attend and there will possibly be fire departments from other counties as well. “It will teach firefighters about fire behavior and water supply.”
Kevin Kupietz, fire and EMS instructor and coordinator at HCC, said the exercise will give the firefighters a chance to practice multi-shift situations. “It will help them contain large fires and water flows which flow more water than the hydrants can give them.”
That means firefighters will have to draw water from ponds and use relay methods to get water to the fire.
It will also help develop firefighter rehabilitation techniques, especially new methods being taught to get firefighters rested before going back to work. “Heart attacks are the number one killers of firefighters. Rehabilitation is really important.”
The drill will also bring new players in. “We need to know how to use the available resources we have. We will work with the hospital and take victims to the hospital.”
Civil Air Patrol will be used to take aerial photographs so officials can learn to use them to help battle the blaze and the health departments from Halifax and Northampton counties will be used.
Forest rangers will be on the scene to participate and work to contain the fire should it get out of control. “It’s also going to help emergency management with new certification,” Kupietz said. “It’s got a lot of firsts to it.”
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