Chevron Pascagoula Refinery hosts volunteer firefighter training

PASCAGOULA, Miss. (WLOX) - Volunteer firefighters were focused as they fought furious flames at the Chevron Pascagoula Refinery’s volunteer firefighter training.

Nicole Walters and John Ford with the East Jackson Volunteer Fire Department said they came to the training to become more prepared.

“We’re used to interior firefighting, and this right here is something different, something we’re looking forward to. Any kind of fire training we look forward to, especially as volunteers. We try to soak it up as much as we can,” Ford said.

Officials said the training included vehicle extraction, smoke house rescue training and putting out gas pump and fuel tank flames.

Emergency Services Manager Kaci Diantoniis said the company is happy offer the free, specialized training.

“Being able to hand that expertise over to our volunteer firefighters who may not get that type of training is really an incredible opportunity for us. This is the stuff that they may encounter during their line of duty,” Diantoniis said.

Even though firefighters must jump to action while wearing gear weighing 80 pounds, Ford applauds firefighters for traveling from the Coast and across the state for taking the time to train.

“Every fire is different. You never know when you’ll need certain kinds of training. You always have a bigger tool box to utilize when you’re on the fire ground,” Ford said.

The training had to take a pause due to COVID-19, but Chevron plans to continue the annual training.

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