Hundreds of firefighters participate in weekend training courses

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Around 600 firefighters gathered from around the state to participate in training courses. The Pender County Firefighters Safety College hosted the event at Cape Fear Community College’s North Campus.

This weekend long training had 40 different classes to attend with a mix of both hands on and lecture styled training.

Teaching both the basics and beginner firefighters all the way to expert level senior firefighters.

Instructors said it is important to continue training no matter what level you are.

“We need our firefighters to be students of the fire service, and they need to continue their education all the way through the end of their career and that is what is so unique about this weekend. You’ll see there’s a lot of firefighters out here that have 10, 15, 20, 25 years of experience in the field and they’re still here taking classes and are still here learning,” Firefighter and instructor Christian Stenerson said.

Cape Fear Community College hosts special training programs throughout the year for firefighters and other emergency services.