Tech Hosts "Hometown Heroes" Training for Emergency Responders

That wasn’t an accidental propane fire in the Forestry Building parking lot at Michigan Technological University; it was a training exercise to help firefighters learn how to handle propane fires safely.  Michigan Tech is hosting the “Hometown Heroes” training this week for emergency responders from Baraga, Houghton, Keweenaw and Ontonagon Counties. 

More than 100 firefighters, paramedics, hospital and emergency management personnel from the western UP counties gathered at Tech for training in hazardous materials and fire dynamics.  It is the first of planned annual training for emergency responders.

“We want to develop a strong collaborative relationship with the agencies and people who protect our campus,” explained Jon Stone, emergency response specialist at Tech. Emergency responders from metropolitan areas receive regular training, but there are fewer training opportunities for volunteer responders and others in rural areas like this, he explained.

A featured trainer is C.B. “Buzz” Melton, a former battalion chief of the Baltimore Fire Department.  He will talk about handling situations involving hazardous materials and lead hands-on practice of chemical decontaminations.

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.