Ten valley residents who completed Recruit School with Okanogan County Fire District 6 in 2012 or 2013 are now enrolled in the district’s Firefighter Trainee course, which began in December.
Trainees Kristina Liu, Derek Poindexter, Jake Hoffman, Nic Schulz, Andrew Winch and James Park hail from the Twisp Fire Station; Josh Jankowski, Alan Fahnestock and Dave Crosby answer calls from the Mazama Station; and Jessica Ohlsen is stationed out of Winthrop. All 10 are working to complete their district-issued Task Book — a record of skills to be demonstrated before candidates qualify to take the Washington State Firefighter 1 test, according to District 6 training coordinator John Owen.
The trainees have most recently been practicing “Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health” operations, a three-class series in which firefighters wear self-contained breathing apparatus to conduct search and rescue, interior fire attack, salvage and overhaul, said Owen.
Firefighter Trainee classes will continue, one Saturday per month, through October.
