(Photo provided) Members of the New Martinsville Fire Department take part in training to draft water from portable tanks and pump operations on April 8.

The city of New Martinsville Fire Department recently conducted training at its headquarters downtown and is planning additional training with departments across Wetzel County.

The training conducted on April 8 included pump operations and drafting from portable tanks.

“We train at least monthly and normally on the most common task to stay sharp,” said New Martinsville Fire Department Chief Rick Myers. “We will have speciality training from time to time but we concentrate on the most common so we can act quickly without having to think about it.

“Coming in June the Wetzel county fire chiefs have scheduled a rural water movement class for all Wetzel county departments. This is something we all need and it also gets us working together so we understand the resources and capabilities of each other,” he added.

“With the lack of members we are all experiencing we call on each other more and more. So the chiefs have decided training together will help us all better prepare and build teamwork.”

Meanwhile, the department has also released its activity report for the month of March. It responded to a total of 33 calls for service:

Structure fire, 3;

Brush/Trash fire, 5;

Auto accidents, 5;

Water rescue/recovery, 1;

Service call, 3;

EMS assist, 10;

False alarm, 4;

CO/Gas odor, 1; and

Standby/move up, 1.

The department also recently held a West Virginia Firefighter 2 class and that 10 members are now certified as such. Now all but two of its active members are trained as Firefighter 2.

The department also was recently awarded a $2,000 West Virginia Forestry grant that will allow it to update and replace hose and appliances used for trash and brush fires.