Drills and advanced learning not just for students Firefighters at all levels are


constantly taking recertification courses and upgrading their skills at department levels, institutes and conferences such as the annual Hampton Roads Marine Firefighting Symposium. The Port of Virginia states that the


Hampton Roads Maritime Incident Response Team (MIRT) “provides im- mediate on-scene maritime advice and agency liaison to the U.S. Coast Guard and Incident Command- ers responding to fires, hazardous materials, search and rescue, and other emergencies in the marine en- vironment. The MIRT will promote maritime response capabilities in the Port of Hampton Roads through an ongoing program of training,


drills, resources, and continued sup- port and coordination through port partnerships. The Hampton Roads Marine Firefighting Symposium is one of the methods through which the MIRT conducts its training.”


There are more than 20 agen-


cies with various and overlapping expertise in shipboard firefighting, damage control, stability, ship con- struction, and hazardous materials incident response. Marine Matters spoke with Bill


Burket, director, MIRT, and has an audio link here with his interview. During initial discussions, Burket mentioned that someone from Can- ada attended this year’s symposium. That person is Fire Marshall


Michel Brunet from the Port of Montreal. We spoke with Brunet to get his impression of the weeklong symposium. The audio interview is available here at this link.


Bill Burket, Director, MIRT Port of Virginia


Below and opposite above: Considerable resources are engaged at Hampton Roads.


25


Photo: Bill Burket September 2013


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