Firefighters gather in Benton for training

Sixty-five firefighters from across the region gathered in Benton last week for training. Training Officer Jeff Coleman, of the Benton Fire department, told franklincounty-news.com that the training was called “Fire Cause and Origin.”   The class offered firefighters training on preserving the fire scene for example, said Coleman.

Also included was instruction on detecting the cause of a fire through investigative methods.

“We have to be able to say where the fire initially started,” said Coleman in describing the basic seminar points.

This is done, in part, for insurance purposes according to the Training officer.

The guest speaker for the conference was Eddie Bain, from Champaign,Illinois. Bain is a retired Fire Chief. he currently is Director of Investigative Programs for the Illinois Fire Service Institute.

A dozen different fire departments sent representatives to the conference. The department traveling the farthest distance was the Marissa Fire Department. This training was a classroom training only, with no laboratory. There will also be other trainings on various aspects of firefighting throughout the year, according to Coleman. Such training is mandatory in various aspects of the work, in Illinois.