The 73rd Iowa State Fire School has 1,000 firefighters from all over Iowa and the central United States in Ames this week.

ISU Extension’s Fire Service Institute sponsors the fire school and holds about 260 sessions throughout the year, said Mike Cherry of Fire Services Institute and a fire school instructor.

The fire school is being held at Hilton Colisum June 17-20.

“Field staff for the Fire Service Institute will commute to fire departments across Iowa to teach classes,” Cherry said.

Chris Sorenson, a firefighter from Council Bluffs, has attended this fire school three times.

“There is an exchange of ideas and information from experts,” Sorenson said. “I see techniques and procedures that can be taken back to my department and used.”

Sorenson and about 55 other firefighters are taking the Hazardous Material and Operations class. The class is taught by Matt Woody, director of technical services at the Des Moines Fire Department.

Woody said for the class a fuel tanker is tipped over on its side and the firefighters learn how to secure the accident.

“With this type of accident a firefighter must sit on top of the tanker and drill so the fuel can be drained out,” Woody said. “In the last 18 months we had four accidents that involved tankers we had to drill and pump.”

Amoco and Shell Oil Company developed this technique eight to nine years ago, Woody said.

Another class which is popular at the fire school is about flammable liquid and gases. This class is the only one that deals with live fire. The firefighters have to put on equipment that weighs about 65 pounds, Cherry said.

“It is gratifying to teach the techniques, the characteristics of the field and the emergency situations,” Cherry said.

Lt. Scott Siberski of the Ames Fire Department is the pit boss for the flammable liquid and gases class.

“There is a portion of the class that goes over chemistry, tactics and fire extinguishers,” Siberski said.

“It doesn’t matter if I fight fire in a class or in real life, I always get excited,” Siberski added.