Thalacker presents DMACC fire truck to public

Tim Thalacker knows there are many components needed for quality firefighter training he’s receiving at DMACC’s Fire Science Academy is the best he can receive. He also knows some equipment is tough to obtain.

Thalacker spoke at a recent press conference where DMACC officials unveiled a fire truck, announcing the college had obtained the truck to use at the fire academy, with grant money, along with an ambulance.

“Not many firefighter training centers can claim to have their very own fire trucks,” said Thalacker, who is a second-year student in DMACC’s Fire Science Technology program and a volunteer firefighter with the Baxter Fire Department. “The fire truck will help the fire science program tremendously. In the fire industry, we can learn a lot in the classroom, but almost everything we learn has to be applied hands-on, at some point.”

Thalacker said DMACC classes and hands-on training, historically, have not generally taken place at the same site.

“All our hands-on things we did was out at Urbandale Fire Department, including live burns in their burn tower, extrication practice, testing, etc.,” Thalacker said. “We always used one of their fire engines and we are grateful for that equipment. But by having this truck, we can literally go through a lecture (on a DMACC campus) and walk 20 feet and have our own fire truck we can practice while it’s still fresh in our minds.”

The purchase was made possible by a $113,000 grant from Prairie Meadows. The grant covered the truck, equipment and some minor repairs.

The 2000 E-one Freightliner Pumper, commonly called a fire engine, was purchased from the Barnard Fire Department in Rochester, N.Y. Equipped with a 750-gallon onboard water tank, the truck holds five firefighters, more than 2,000 feet of hose, an electrical generator and vehicle-extrication tools.

The DMACC EMT Paramedic Program has purchased an ambulance from UnityPoint Health-Des Moines that had previously used by West Des Moines paramedics.

For Thalacker, building “muscle memory” is an important component of training, and being able to train on an easily accessible truck, in front of instructors, will benefit him — both as a student and in his regular volunteer work with the Baxter Fire Department.

“I think the one of the biggest impacts it will make is learning and getting repetitions on things such as pulling fire hose off the truck and knowing how and where to lay it out in a timely manner according on what fire attack we are planning on doing,” Thalacker said. “This is very important. When we get to Urbandale, we can maximize our time going through drills and not having to take a bunch of time to go over those (basic) things. Kids will already know and can do that effectively already they will have much more time going through evolutions (of fires and accidents).”

There really is no limit to the types of practice that having a fire truck on campus helps create, Thalacker said.

“The engine we have now will let us do things as simple as learning how to make a fog pattern or advanced as running the pump and learning how pumps and tanks operate,” he said. “These are just some of the areas it will help greatly.You name it, we can probably do it — and on campus.”

Having extrication tools on campus is also a huge benefit, Thalacker said.

“We will already have an idea on what to do when we get cars to cut up, so we can learn about some more technical aspects of extrication,” Thalacker said. “In Fire 1 we do a lot more fire oriented things. In Fire 2, it’s more technical and extrication-based.”

Thalacker said there will also be less war and tear on the regular fire department that is the most deeply involved with the DMACC programs.

“I think it will help Urbandale Fire out as well, as we aren’t using their equipment as much,” he said. “And it will definitely help Baxter Fire out as well, since I will be able to continue to train and just get repetition after repetition down, so whenever I get called upon at my department, it will be fresh in my mind.”

Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com