To be accepted by the Clinton Fire Department, applicants have to take a written test and a physical agility test. If they score well, they go through an interview process.
After they are hired, the real tests begin.
“It’s like being a full-time college student for the first three years,” said Capt. Wade Glasscock.
Wade is the principal instructor for Fire Certification I and II, which all new recruits must pass within the first year of being hired. Currently enrolled are Matthew Montaleone of Clinton, Jarrod Hix from Windsor and Camron Hooper, a former intern with the Bolivar City Fire Department who lives in Hickory County, south of Truman Lake.
The ultimate goal of all the classwork and training: “Getting prepared for the actual scenario,” Jarrod said.
Being prepared is in their genes. Many of the firefighters were Boy Scouts, Wade said. Matthew, a 2008 graduate of Clinton High School, is an Eagle Scout whose project was to help build playground equipment at Trinity Lutheran Church.
Wade’s Eagle Scout project was helping build the playground at Clinton Intermediate School and painting the map on the asphalt. Jarrod, a 2014 graduate of Windsor High School, was hired last year and in July, and has been promoted to Engineer. He is responsible for operating rescue equipment as well as other apparatus.
Fire Certification classes start out with lectures, Wade said, but last week, included a tour of the Square to view buildings that illustrate different types of construction. Brick buildings with wood interiors, known as ordinary construction, are rated 3 on a scale of 1 to 5, he said. Concrete or steel industrial buildings are rated fire-resistant or non-combustible. Two shops and commercial garages are heavy timber construction, rated #4, and stick-built homes #5.
By understanding how the building is constructed, firefighters can tell two things.
“You know how the fire is going to act, and how much time you have to effect a rescue and contain the fire,” Wade said.
New recruits are also required to earn an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) license within two years, Chris said. Of the 1,400 calls the Clinton Fire Department fields a year, 80 percent are medical, according Capt. Chris Reno.
“That’s why having an EMT is so important,” he said.
The Clinton Fire Department has a total of 12 firefighters plus Fire Chief Mark Manuel and Deputy Fire Chief Matt Willings. They work 3- to 4-man shifts around the clock, to say nothing of the dog, a Dalmatian named Blaze, who lives full-time at the fire station.
Wade, who has been with the fire department for five years, explained why he still finds it exciting when the bell goes off.
“You want to help people,” he said.
Learning about events that shaped the collective memory of the town is also part of the coursework, Wade said. These include the Western Auto store, which caught fire and collapsed in 1986, and the Pogue Building explosion in 1972. The Rotary Club is now on the corner where the Western Auto store was, and the Clinton Chamber of Commerce is in the old train station depot, which was moved to where the Pogue Building stood.
Chris, who was named the department’s Firefighter of the Year in 2018, said what continues to inspire him is that no matter what the incident or the extent of the fire, the Clinton community comes together. Full Line Lumber frequently shows up with materials, he said, including materials to help shore up a ditch after it collapsed, trapping a worker. Both Full Line and RP Lumber have donated plywood for firefighter training exercises, and Tracker Marine grants use of its boat ramp for training on pumping equipment.
Completing fire fighter certification almost earns you an associate degree in fire science, Wade said. State Fair Community College will accept certification courses towards credit, he said.
The three recruits should complete the current courses by Christmas, and go to the Missouri Division of Fire Safety office to take the test. The reward: a certificate, and “you get to keep your job,” Chris said.
But the learning never stops. All firefighters must complete continuing education courses, called ISO hours, every year. ISO stands for Insurance Services Office, which scores fire departments on organizational standards to determine property insurance costs. The Clinton Fire Department has the third highest ISO rating on the scale, which starts at 1 and goes down to 10.
While being prepared is paramount, the important thing Wade wants to impart to his students is not found in any book or training manual. It’s alive in the air of the station, the shine on the fire trucks ready to roll, the focused look on firefighters faces when the bell rings.
“If you truly care about the community,” Wade said, “the rest will come.”
To follow department news and get to know other faces at the fire station, go to the Clinton, Missouri Fire Department Facebook.
