VIDEO: Last month, fire crews were in the Michaux State Forest in Cumberland County to battle more than 1,300 acres of wildfires. Now, firefighters are back in the woods to learn how to protect Pennsylvania’s wildlands.
“It doesn’t matter where you are,” said Tristin Sedora with the Germansville Fire Department. “Everywhere you go, there’s going to be brush fires.” This week, the state’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources are hosting the annual Pennsylvania Wildland Fire Academy. The weeklong course puts students through a variety of classes and drills designed to show what it’s like to battle wildfires. Tristin Sedora, who drove from Lehigh County for the event, said the skills needed to fight wildfires are completely different from those needed to battle house fires. “This is a totally different world,” said Sedora. “You’re fighting something that’s moving, and it takes two totally different sets of mind.”
