Hundreds of emergency responders expected in Columbia for 37th Winter Fire School

Hundreds of emergency responders from across mid-Missouri and the country will attend the 37th Annual Winter Fire School Saturday and Sunday.

The University of Missouri Fire and Rescue Training Institute holds the conference on MU’s campus and offers more than 130 classes for any emergency personnel to partake in.

Kevin Zumwalt, interim director of MU FRTI, said the classes mirror the services that firefighters and other emergency personnel encounter on a daily basis.

Zumwalt said the majority of what attendees learn is in a classroom setting during Winter Fire School. He said if those attendees go to Summer Fire School, they will take what they learned in the classroom and practice outside.

Part of Winter Fire School includes an equipment exposition. More than 100 vendors displayed the newest equipment in fire trucks, ambulances, protective apparel and more. The expo was held Friday, and Zumwalt said agencies from all over, even those not attending training, visited the expo to see what new technologies have come out that would help in emergency situations.

For a list of classes, visit the MU FRTI Winter Fire School schedule here.