April 1, 2011
Four firefighters from the Eagan, Hastings, Inver Grove Heights, and Rosemount fire departments will receive special training this spring in Corpus Christi, Texas, through a scholarship program created by Flint Hills Resources Pine Bend refinery in Rosemount. During the three-day training sessions, the firefighters will receive hands-on instruction in all aspects of industrial emergency response and will battle live pressurized petroleum fires.
Adam Caneff from the Inver Grove Heights Fire Department and Andy Knoll from the Hastings Fire Department went through the training program on March 21-25. Tim Behrendt from the Rosemount Fire Department and Darrin Bramwell from the Eagan Fire Department will train on April 4-8.
“This scholarship program provides local first responders with the best available training that can help save lives in the event of a large-scale industrial or pressurized petroleum fire,” said Pete Herpst, Pine Bend refinery’s assistant fire chief. “Because these incidents occur so rarely, the best way to gain experience is through realistic simulations, which is what makes this training program so special and valuable.”
The scholarship program is a part of the Pine Bend refinery’s long tradition of providing mutual aid assistance to the area’s first responder community. The refinery has been granting personnel from surrounding fire departments with scholarships to the Corpus Christi training session for 16 years, and to other industrial training courses for more than 21 years.