VBFD Presented Governor's Award for Excellence in Virginia Fire Service Training

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (June 9, 2021) — On June 4, 2021, at the Governor's 2020 Virginia Fire Service Awards Ceremony, members of the Virginia Beach Fire Department were presented with Governor's Award for Excellence, in the Virginia Fire Service Training category, for creating and executing a live fire training scenario at two high-rise Oceanfront hotels earlier last year. The department worked with both public and private partners to plan and implement the training exercise and provided an excellent opportunity for multiple Virginia Beach fire crews to experience and understand unique issues that may arise when responding to a high-rise incident. This exercise also helped hone their firefighting skills, test current Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), improve performance and response, and ensure NFPA, OSHA, city, state and federal standards and codes were followed. Deputy Fire Chief Ken Pravetz stated, "This training also helped prepare us to respond to and mitigate the recent fire that occurred earlier this week at the Mayflower Apartments."

The Governor's Fire Service Awards were established in 2002 as a formal recognition of excellence in Virginia's Fire Services. The awards are presented annually to recipients in eight categories, each having its own unique criteria.

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