COLLEGE
STATION, TEXAS (May 5, 2020) – Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Texas
A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) has made the difficult decision to
cancel the 2020 Industrial and Municipal Annual Fire Schools. This comes on the
heels of the cancellation of Spanish Annual Fire School. All three schools were
set to take place in July. This cancellation also applies to the vendor exhibit
shows tied to each school.
Statement from Robert Moore, TEEX Chief Operating Officer:
“There
are a multitude of factors at work when we consider to hold or postpone Annual
Schools. Many of you may be aware that the decision was made several weeks ago
to cancel Annual Spanish Fire School for this year. The vast majority of these
students come from outside of the U.S., thus it just wasn’t feasible, considering
travel restrictions and other current restrictions to continue with this
school.
“After careful consideration, the decision has been made to also cancel the 2020 Annual Industrial and Municipal Schools. This wasn’t a decision that was made lightly or without thought. We look forward to when we can once again come together with the purpose of sharing our knowledge with others in 2021.”
About Annual Fire
School
Each
year in July, thousands of fire service personnel from municipalities and
industries around the world participate in intensive weeklong training courses
that make up the Annual Fire Schools. One week is dedicated to teaching those
from Spanish-speaking countries, the second week is for Industrial emergency
responders, and week three is dedicated to Municipal – both volunteer and paid –
first responders. Courses range from basic to advanced levels and are taught by
hundreds of guest instructors, each experienced in specific areas of emergency
response.
About TEEX-Emergency
Services Training Institute (ESTI)
The
Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service Emergency Services Training
Institute (TEEX-ESTI) is home to the 300-acre complex of the Brayton Fire
Training Field, Disaster City®, the Emergency Operations Training Center, all
in College Station, Texas, as well as the Center for Marine Training and Safety
in Galveston, Texas. Last year, TEEX-ESTI trained more than 120,000 people from
around the world in 130 emergency response discipline areas. For more
information, visit http://teex.org/esti.