City of Laconia Fire Department

Operations & Training

Deputy Chief Deborah Pendergast

The Laconia Fire Department Operations division is pleased to announce that we are the recipient of a 2007 Fire Act Grant from the Department of Homeland Security. We are receiving close to a quarter million dollars in Federal funding to replace all of our self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). We have put together a committee to research and test all of the latest equipment available to ensure the best possible use of the funds. The SCBA is one of the most important pieces of safety equipment a firefighter must rely on and can literally mean the difference between life and death. We are grateful for this funding opportunity and the chance to purchase up-to-date, safe and standard-compliant equipment.

2007 was a successful year for training hours and opportunities. The members logged well over 3500 hours in training in such areas as officer development, EMS, apparatus and equipment, rapid intervention, rescue operations and safety. Many members had opportunities to travel to seminars with speakers such as Vinny Dunn and Billy Goldfedder. All of this training was on top of a record-breaking year in regards to calls for emergency service. We responded to over 3300 calls in 2007. We were involved in joint training drills with Gilford, Belmont and Franklin Fire Departments as well as LRGH, the area hospital.

We look forward to training in 2008. We anticipate more joint training drills with area fire departments, more interaction with the hospital and getting involved in drills with Lakes Region Task Force of the NH Statewide Mobilization Plan. We will concentrate on "back-to-basics" drills at the beginning of the year and continue to focus on firefighter safety, self-rescue and rapid intervention drills. Rescue training will include getting more members involved in dive-tender training to help support the dive team and working with other departments in technical rescue techniques and equipment purchasing.

We believe in taking advantage of every opportunity to train and learn something new or simply refresh what you may have forgotten. "Train like your life depends on it."