Vermont Fire Fighters Hold Successful Fire Ops

October 10, 2006 – The Professional Fire Fighters of Vermont (PFFV) are making sure political candidates understand the importance of fire fighter issues. On October 4, the PFFV conducted its first statewide Fire Ops 101 – inviting candidates from all levels of government, including PFFV-endorsed congressional candidate Peter Welch – with great success. Vermont fire fighters also appear in a television commercial for Welch's campaign. Watch video...

“This is a great political action tool on every level – during election time or not,” says Matt Vinci, vice president of PFFV. “At the end of the day, participants all understood how crucial our issues are.”

At the Pittsford, Vermont Fire Academy event, Governor Jim Douglas welcomed participants, including Lieutenant Governor Brian Dubie, U.S. House candidate Peter Welch and other congressional candidates, city council members and town managers.

Candidates participated in several fire operations exercises, including car fire, vehicle extrication, structure fire and emergency medical response. All were surprised at how dangerous it was, even in a controlled environment.

“Campaigning is easy compared to facing a fire and a real threat,” says Welch, who is endorsed by the PFFV for a hotly contested U.S. House seat.

“We were impressed by how well the event went and are planning to budget for at least one each year,” says Vinci.

The event was covered by the Associated Press, two newspapers, one television station and a radio station.